[ti:These Coral Reefs Are Doing Well in Gulf of Mexico]
[by:www.21voa.com]
[00:00.00]更多听力请访问21VOA.COM
[00:00.04]The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
[00:07.08]says changes in ocean temperature are the leading cause
[00:10.96]of coral bleaching around the world.
[00:14.72]From Australia's Great Barrier Reef to the waters of Florida,
[00:19.44]it happens when warm water causes corals
[00:23.40]to expel their colorful algae and turn white.
[00:29.08]Derek Manzello is the head of Coral Reef Watch,
[00:33.88]which is part of NOAA.
[00:35.96]He said at least 35 countries and territories
[00:40.80]across five oceans and seas reported coral bleaching.
[00:47.04]He said that by the year 2040,
[00:50.08]all of the world's coral will suffer from bleaching
[00:54.20]if water temperatures do not cool.
[00:56.80]He said coral needs extended periods
[00:59.96]of cooler water to recover from bleaching.
[01:03.32]If the water does not cool, he said,
[01:06.08]"the corals aren't going to have a chance to recover."
[01:11.60]But in the Gulf of Mexico,
[01:13.60]about 160 kilometers south of Galveston, Texas,
[01:18.68]a large coral reef is still doing well.
[01:22.40]The reef is part of the Flower Garden Banks
[01:25.68]National Marine Sanctuary.
[01:28.52]The reef formation covers over 400 square kilometers.
[01:34.56]It started with just two reef areas, called banks, in 1992.
[01:41.12]It now has 17 banks.
[01:44.44]It is described as undersea mountains of yellow,
[01:48.24]orange and pink coral as far as the eye can see.
[01:53.84]Michelle Johnston oversees
[01:55.84]the protected marine area for the federal government.
[01:59.56]She said seeing that much coral in one place
[02:03.08]is "magnificent" and rare.
[02:06.52]Johnston said fishermen used to tell the story
[02:10.68]of a colorful area in the Gulf of Mexico
[02:13.88]far from shore 100 years ago.
[02:18.64]But, scientists were uncertain
[02:21.56]that a coral reef could exist in such deep water.
[02:26.80]When divers finally reached the reef in the 1960s,
[02:32.12]they were surprised to find marine life.
[02:36.04]Johnston said the plants and animals do so well
[02:40.76]because the reef formed on top
[02:43.44]of mountain-like salt domes,
[02:46.36]high enough to catch sunlight.
[02:50.16]During the recent summer of record-breaking heat, Johnston said,
[02:55.04]the reef did experience some bleaching
[02:58.40]but nothing as serious as in other parts of the world.
[03:02.64]But that does not mean the reef in the Gulf of Mexico
[03:06.04]is not vulnerable to climate change.
[03:08.52]She is concerned about the area getting
[03:11.56]too hot and the coral dying off.
[03:15.44]Officials who watch over Flower Garden Banks
[03:19.08]say the reef has suffered more serious bleaching in the past,
[03:24.20]but its depth and health helped it recover.
[03:28.00]The reef is deeper – 18 meters
[03:31.80]- than many others that are often just offshore.
[03:35.32]Andy Lewis of Houston, Texas
[03:38.60]first saw the reef about 10 years ago.
[03:42.32]He loved it so much that he became an expert diver
[03:46.60]and started a company that leads dives to Flower Garden Banks.
[03:52.92]"It's just a real adventure," he said.
[03:56.40]Scientists are working to help the reefs stay healthy.
[04:00.84]For example, boats are not permitted
[04:04.00]to anchor themselves to the reefs.
[04:06.68]They must connect to special floating cables
[04:11.20]to stay in one place.
[04:13.20]Other workers help remove invasive fish
[04:17.16]and creatures from the area.
[04:20.28]Kelly Drinnen is an education and outreach specialist
[04:25.44]for the Flower Garden Banks.
[04:28.04]She said, "because coral reefs are declining all over the globe,
[04:32.92]when we find ones that are healthy,
[04:35.32]we want to keep them that way."
[04:37.60]Drinnen added that they could also provide information
[04:42.64]that can help other reefs stay healthy
[04:45.88]or recover from bleaching.
[04:48.72]In 2010, the Flower Garden Banks corals
[04:53.24]were not damaged by the large oil spill
[04:56.92]that followed the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
[05:00.80]Other reefs in the Gulf of Mexico were.
[05:04.76]So, researchers are using data from the reef
[05:08.52]to help guide the restoration of the damaged ones.
[05:11.68]Researchers are also comparing the genetics
[05:15.16]of Flower Garden Banks corals
[05:18.52]to corals in other parts of the world.
[05:22.20]And they hope to grow
[05:23.84]and possibly replant them in other places.
[05:27.32]I'm Dan Friedell. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM
END OF TRACK. "END OF TRACK." The two men bowed. "Whoever was that person you were talking to?" she enquired, as soon as they stood together. The took of triumph faded from her eyes, she had grown worn and weary. The roses were wilting on the walls, the lights were mostly down now. Hetty, looking in to see if anything was wanted, found herself driven away almost fiercely. I only saw Master Jervie once when he called at tea time, The year 1747 was opened by measures of restriction. The House of Lords, offended at the publication of the proceedings of the trial of Lord Lovat, summoned the parties to their bar, committed them to prison, and refused to liberate them till they had pledged themselves not to repeat the offence, and had paid very heavy fees. The consequence of this was that the transactions of the Peers were almost entirely suppressed for nearly thirty years from this time, and we draw our knowledge of them chiefly from notes taken by Horace Walpole and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke. What is still more remarkable, the reports of the House of Commons, being taken by stealth, and on the merest sufferance, are of the most meagre kind, sometimes altogether wanting, and the speeches are given uniformly under fictitious names; for to have attributed to Pitt or Pelham their[112] speeches by name would have brought down on the printers the summary vengeance of the House. Many of the members complained bitterly of this breach of the privileges of Parliament, and of "being put into print by low fellows"; but Pelham had the sense to tolerate them, saying, "Let them alone; they make better speeches for us than we can make for ourselves." Altogether, the House of Commons exhibited the most deplorable aspect that can be conceived. The Ministry had pursued Walpole's system of buying up opponents by place, or pension, or secret service money, till there was no life left in the House. Ministers passed their measures without troubling themselves to say much in their behalf; and the opposition dwindled to Sir John Hinde Cotton, now dismissed from office, and a feeble remnant of Jacobites raised but miserable resistance. In vain the Prince of Wales and the secret instigations of Bolingbroke and Doddington stimulated the spirit of discontent; both Houses had degenerated into most silent and insignificant arenas of very commonplace business. "It certainly will be. Miss Widgeon," answered Maria, with strictly "company manners." "One who has never had a brother exposed to the constant dangers of army life can hardly understand how glad we all feel to have Si snatched from the very jaws of death and brung back to us." "Just plug at 'em as you would at a crow, and then go on your way whistlin'?" persisted Harry. "Hurroo!" echoed Hennessey; "that's the ticket." "Come forward, keeper," continued the baron, "and state how these arrows came into your hands!" "Yes." HoMEJULIA京香2018下载
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