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Blowing
in the Wind "Our
primary
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reason for
this study is to address one
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of the old
chestnuts in coral reef
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science,"
says Hatcher. He explains
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that one of
the ways in which atolls
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form is
the result of a change in sea
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level.
Atolls begin as fringing reefs
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surrounding a
volcanic island
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(Darwin
1842). Through the process
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of global
warming, glacial melting
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and/or
island subsidence, the level
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of the sea
gradually rises relative to
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the seabed
and water begins to
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overtake
the island. Since most reef-
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building
corals cannot grow easily at
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depths of
more than 150 feet (45 m)
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below the
ocean’s surface, they will
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begin
constructing their protective
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calcium
carbonate encasements on
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top of one
another at a rate fast enough
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to keep up
with the sea level rise.
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