WEBVTT 00:05.171 --> 00:12.712 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% Far out in the remote northwestern Pacific, islands formed by an ancient volcano rise 00:12.812 --> 00:16.216 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% out of the sea They re very, very hard to reach. 00:16.316 --> 00:22.922 align:left position:82.5%,start line:83% size:7.5% It s very remote. It s maybe 500 miles from the nearest population center so it gets 00:23.023 --> 00:27.394 align:left position:27.5%,start line:83% size:62.5% very few visitors. It was like Jurassic Park pretty much. I was 00:27.494 --> 00:37.570 align:left position:27.5%,start line:83% size:62.5% really impressed. These are the islands of Maug, an uninhabited 00:37.670 --> 00:41.908 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% paradise near the northern tip of the Mariana Islands. 00:42.008 --> 00:46.146 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% Maug is unlike any other place I ve ever been in the world -you re in the middle 00:46.246 --> 00:51.251 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% of absolutely nowhere and you come to what looks from a distance just like an island, 00:51.351 --> 00:56.156 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% and then you see that it s a big volcanic crater essentially. And you are able to sail 00:56.256 --> 01:01.761 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% inside and it all of a sudden becomes not just this big roiling Pacific but almost this 01:01.861 --> 01:08.601 align:left position:67.5%,start line:83% size:22.5% lake inside the ocean-- flat, calm, very pleasant with these big, kind of walls rising up around 01:08.701 --> 01:14.941 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% you and that just in and of itself is special and amazing. 01:15.041 --> 01:20.146 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% Maug used to be a volcano that was up above the water, but there was a large eruption 01:20.246 --> 01:25.051 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% at some point and the whole top of the volcano collapsed down and it left this ring of three 01:25.151 --> 01:30.423 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% islands around that have openings big enough to drive the ship into, and it s about a 01:30.523 --> 01:37.497 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% mile and a half across so it s a pretty good size caldera inside. 01:37.597 --> 01:45.905 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% Within this caldera are unspoiled coral reefs The coral diversity is impressive. 01:46.005 --> 01:52.946 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% There s areas where you have almost 100 percent coral coverage and just fields of 01:53.046 --> 02:02.055 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% coral, and just the most pristine reefs you could imagine. 02:02.155 --> 02:07.293 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% But what makes these waters of particular interest to scientists is what else can be 02:07.393 --> 02:16.936 align:left position:17.5%,start line:83% size:72.5% found beneath the surface. You can jump in the water, dive down 30 feet 02:17.036 --> 02:21.808 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% and feel that the ground there is actually hot and you ve got this hot water coming 02:21.908 --> 02:27.013 align:left position:25%,start line:83% size:65% out and gas bubbles. I ve heard someone say that it s like 02:27.113 --> 02:32.919 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% diving in champagne, and it absolutely is. It s not an exaggeration. It s pretty 02:33.019 --> 02:35.622 align:left position:40%,start line:83% size:50% amazing. Volcanic gases are typically dominated by 02:35.722 --> 02:40.860 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% CO2, so when we heard that there were gas bubbles coming out within the coral reef area 02:40.960 --> 02:45.465 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% something clicked and we said, hey this is an opportunity to go look at how volcanic 02:45.565 --> 02:51.838 align:left position:67.5%,start line:83% size:22.5% CO2 might be affecting the coral reef communities and use it as an analog to what s going 02:51.938 --> 02:59.913 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% on in the bigger ocean. The chemistry of seawater is changing throughout 03:00.013 --> 03:06.486 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% the world s oceans. Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, human activities have 03:06.586 --> 03:13.159 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% increased the amount of CO2 that is released into the atmosphere. The oceans naturally 03:13.259 --> 03:21.734 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% absorb a percentage of atmospheric carbon dioxide every year. As the levels of CO2 increase 03:21.834 --> 03:28.274 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% in the atmosphere, more of it is taken up by the oceans as well. 03:28.374 --> 03:34.113 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% And this causes essentially a lower pH and a more acidic condition, so this creates a 03:34.214 --> 03:39.652 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% situation where it s harder for corals, or any other organism that forms a calcium 03:39.752 --> 03:47.393 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% carbonate or hard skeleton to actually lay down those skeletons and to calcify. 03:47.493 --> 03:54.167 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% This is known as ocean acidification. One of several effects elevated levels of CO2 03:54.267 --> 04:05.178 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% is having on the world s oceans, it is predicted to severely impact coral reefs in the future. 04:05.278 --> 04:10.883 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% We could use this local volcanic activity to study that process in an experiment that s 04:10.984 --> 04:16.456 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% sort of set up by nature for us where the volcano is putting CO2 into the water and 04:16.556 --> 04:22.028 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% affecting the chemistry and if conditions were right we could possibly use that to study 04:22.128 --> 04:37.510 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% how ocean acidification may be affecting coral growth and what the future of coral reefs 04:37.610 --> 04:51.524 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% might look like. Major funding for this program was provided 04:51.624 --> 04:57.563 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% by the Batchelor Foundation, encouraging people to preserve and protect America s underwater 04:57.664 --> 05:06.639 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% resources. And by Divers Direct/Emocean Sports inspiring the pursuit of adventure and water 05:06.739 --> 05:16.182 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% sports. And by the following In Memory of Harriet Fagan, the Do Unto Others Trust, and 05:16.282 --> 05:37.403 align:left position:12.5%,start line:83% size:77.5% the Friends of Changing Seas. Maug is part of the Commonwealth of the 05:37.503 --> 05:43.743 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% Northern Mariana Islands, a United States territory consistingof fourteen islands in 05:43.843 --> 05:49.949 align:left position:17.5%,start line:83% size:72.5% the northwestern Pacific. I just absolutely love my island home. 05:50.049 --> 05:57.290 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% Geographically we are approximately 1,500 miles east of the Philippines and Tokyo and 05:57.390 --> 06:04.230 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% little over 3,000 miles from the islands of Hawaii, and 6,000 miles plus from the Pacific 06:04.330 --> 06:10.069 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% coast of the United States. So, we re pretty far out here in the northwestern pocket of 06:10.169 --> 06:14.240 align:left position:35%,start line:83% size:55% the Pacific. It s right near the Mariana Trench, deepest 06:14.340 --> 06:20.012 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% part of the ocean in the world, and it s a very volcanically active area. 06:20.113 --> 06:25.218 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% Maug itself hasn t erupted for a while, it formed a caldera some thousands of years 06:25.318 --> 06:26.886 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% ago, and built a volcanic, a small volcanic dome in the center of that caldera, but it 06:26.986 --> 06:28.654 align:left position:82.5%,start line:83% size:7.5% hasn t erupted in historic times. It s not dead, there s still heat coming out 06:28.755 --> 06:32.525 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% and magmatic gases coming out, but it s not one of the most active volcanoes around. 06:32.625 --> 06:46.739 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% But potentially it could increase in activity again. 06:46.839 --> 06:52.712 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% In the spring of 2014 a group of twenty marine scientists from across the United States and 06:52.812 --> 06:59.318 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% its Pacific Island territories headed to Maug for a ten day research expedition organized 06:59.419 --> 07:06.826 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. 07:06.926 --> 07:11.531 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% First of all we wanted to look at the actual chemistry of the water there. 07:11.631 --> 07:16.302 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% So we took bottle samples and looked at the chemistry over a different space and we mapped 07:16.402 --> 07:21.407 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% that out and kind of created a map of this gradient of CO2. 07:21.507 --> 07:27.513 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% And the beauty of this system is that it s well contained in a relatively calm environment 07:27.613 --> 07:35.822 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% and in depths that scuba divers can investigate. The first order question was do these vents 07:35.922 --> 07:41.260 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% change the ocean pH in this area enough to affect the corals. And the answer is definitely 07:41.360 --> 07:46.799 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% yes. And then secondly, can you take advantage of a gradient in pH conditions to change from 07:46.899 --> 07:53.306 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% normal background pH to lower and lower pH as you get closer to the vents, to look at 07:53.406 --> 08:01.314 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% the corals that are living in those different pH environments and see how they are growing. 08:01.414 --> 08:07.420 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% Maug is one of a handful of spots that offer scientists a natural laboratory to investigate 08:07.520 --> 08:13.493 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% what ocean acidification could look like by the end of our century. 08:13.593 --> 08:18.831 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% Based on these localized differences in pH levels, the team of scientists researching 08:18.931 --> 08:26.506 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% ocean acidification selected three distinct study sites. One is close to a vent site, 08:26.606 --> 08:33.446 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% where waters are very acidic and the bottom is dominated by algae. 08:33.546 --> 08:41.487 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% The CO2 conditions there are analogous to what we can expect by the end of the century. 08:41.587 --> 08:47.693 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% About 50 meters away, the scientists selected their 2nd study location. At this intermediate 08:47.793 --> 08:53.065 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% site the CO2 levels are lower than at the vent site, but higher than in most current 08:53.165 --> 08:56.969 align:left position:27.5%,start line:83% size:62.5% day ocean waters. There are some species that are more stress 08:57.069 --> 09:02.508 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% tolerant and so in the intermediate site we kind of found this community where some species 09:02.608 --> 09:07.880 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% were present, some were not. Coral cover was not as high and it was kind of just holding 09:07.980 --> 09:13.352 align:left position:45%,start line:83% size:45% on. The third site represented a coral reef with 09:13.452 --> 09:19.392 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% pH levels that are equivalent to what can be found near most reefs today. It s located 09:19.492 --> 09:26.532 align:left position:85%,start line:83% size:5% a kilometer away from the vent site. I want to say something like 60% coral. These 09:26.632 --> 09:32.371 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% beautiful massive coral colonies that were many meters apart, huge, hundreds of years 09:32.471 --> 09:38.311 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% old, all sorts of branching corals, fishes, we saw some sharks, all sorts of amazing species. 09:38.411 --> 09:47.320 align:left position:12.5%,start line:83% size:77.5% So it s very stark difference. To better understand the impact of high CO2 09:47.420 --> 09:52.725 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% levels on corals, researchers collected core samples from the same species of coral at 09:52.825 --> 09:57.396 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% each study site. We took small cores, from these large colonies 09:57.496 --> 10:01.567 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% and we immediately sealed them up underwater so that nothing, you know, gets into those 10:01.667 --> 10:05.504 align:left position:42.5%,start line:83% size:47.5% holes. This process does not permanently harm the 10:05.605 --> 10:12.712 align:left position:40%,start line:83% size:50% corals. Once back in the lab in Miami, Florida, these 10:12.812 --> 10:19.685 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% cores are analyzed using a cat scanner. So what a cat scanner does, and this is exactly 10:19.785 --> 10:24.123 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% the same as you would get in a doctor s office, is it takes a whole bunch of x-ray 10:24.223 --> 10:28.894 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% images and lines them up in a way that you create a three dimensional structure. And 10:28.995 --> 10:36.702 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% so this view that we see here is both the top down of this coral core as well as the 10:36.802 --> 10:42.174 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% sides, and then a 3D model here. You can see that we can manipulate it all around like 10:42.274 --> 10:47.680 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% this. Um, and so, if you for instance move right here this actually will allow us to 10:47.780 --> 10:52.752 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% scroll through and you can see year after year how each of these little coral polyps 10:52.852 --> 10:58.090 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% grows up and down and if you look carefully you can see these changes in brightness, which 10:58.190 --> 11:02.962 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% are equivalent to changes in density. And these are the yearly rings, the yearly density 11:03.062 --> 11:09.935 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% rings, that we actually use to measure coral calcification and coral growth, just like 11:10.036 --> 11:15.074 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% tree rings on a tree. So you can see all these yearly bands and then we re able to graph 11:15.174 --> 11:22.982 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% this out and look at these changes in density from year to year then measure yearly calcification. 11:23.082 --> 11:28.287 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% When we analyzed the cores from Maug we found that distance in between each of these high 11:28.387 --> 11:33.793 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% density yearly bands was less in the high CO2 conditions and this means that nearer 11:33.893 --> 11:38.030 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% to the vents the corals were growing less every year, which is one of the things that 11:38.130 --> 11:44.937 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% is predicted to occur with ocean acidification. So we re really trying to figure out how 11:45.037 --> 11:52.111 align:left position:62.5%,start line:83% size:27.5% ocean acidification actually slows down calcification. So it s not just that corals are putting 11:52.211 --> 12:07.159 align:left position:67.5%,start line:83% size:22.5% skeleton down slower, it s actually fundamentally changing the skeleton that they put down. 12:07.259 --> 12:12.164 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% While in the field, the scientists wanted to study how much coral fragments would grow 12:12.264 --> 12:18.070 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% over a three-month period in varying levels of acidity. 12:18.170 --> 12:24.110 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% They were collecting branching corals from one spot and putting them on discs and transplanting 12:24.210 --> 12:29.882 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% them to move into an area where the pH was a little bit lowered in two test sites, one 12:29.982 --> 12:36.388 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% that was significantly impacted and one that was just moderately impacted. 12:36.489 --> 12:40.760 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% So with field experiments not everything works, and actually what we found was in the period 12:40.860 --> 12:45.998 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% from when we first went to when we returned there was incredibly warm summer conditions 12:46.098 --> 12:53.305 align:left position:87.5%,start line:83% size:2.5% and caused a mass bleaching event. Increased water temperatures are another threat 12:53.405 --> 12:59.945 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% global climate change poses to coral reefs. When water temperatures rise above normal, 13:00.045 --> 13:06.852 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% corals lose their symbiotic algae, making the corals look white or bleached. Corals 13:06.952 --> 13:12.391 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% depend on these algae for nourishment, and if temperatures are elevated for too long, 13:12.491 --> 13:17.163 align:left position:25%,start line:83% size:65% the corals will die. And this actually affected a lot of our experiment 13:17.263 --> 13:24.203 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% as well. Corals are dying and it s a bad situation so, the experiment was messed up. 13:24.303 --> 13:29.608 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% But while this experiment didn t pan out as planned, the researchers did get some great 13:29.708 --> 13:37.550 align:left position:27.5%,start line:83% size:62.5% data from another. It was kind of a side experiment, like, Oh! 13:37.650 --> 13:41.921 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% Let s put these down and see what happens. And what saw was pretty amazing. 13:42.021 --> 13:47.359 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% So this may not look at all like the same material that a coral skeleton is made up 13:47.459 --> 13:52.431 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% of, but this is actually just very pure calcium carbonate, just like a coral skeleton. And 13:52.531 --> 13:59.471 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% we put these out at the high CO2, mid CO2 and control sites for about 3 months. On the 13:59.572 --> 14:06.312 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% screen here, this is actually a sample from the high CO2 site, and you see that all of 14:06.412 --> 14:12.451 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% these little tiny, holes and tunnels that are bored into the actual calcium carbonate 14:12.551 --> 14:19.191 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% and these are called micro-boring algae -these are microscopic and are actually inside the 14:19.291 --> 14:24.129 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% coral skeleton. In the intermediate site, you can see there s 14:24.230 --> 14:28.934 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% less and in the control site there s even less. So, we found that there were really 14:29.034 --> 14:33.939 align:left position:87.5%,start line:83% size:2.5% stark differences in the samples. You can kind of think of it like a forest 14:34.039 --> 14:39.678 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% where trees are essentially analogous to corals in that they re forming this kind of complex 14:39.778 --> 14:44.817 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% structure and in a forest fungi essentially break down these trees and kind of cause it 14:44.917 --> 14:50.823 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% to rot and decompose and break away. On coral reefs there are similar organisms. 14:50.923 --> 14:55.761 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% As the oceans get more acidic, it s easier for these organisms to break down the coral 14:55.861 --> 15:02.401 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% skeletons. And this is kind of a double whammy because you have a situation where you have 15:02.501 --> 15:08.274 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% faster erosion and slower coral growth, and so you have kind of a situation where these 15:08.374 --> 15:13.679 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% reef frameworks are not able to expand and are also getting eaten away, and it s essentially 15:13.779 --> 15:24.857 align:left position:67.5%,start line:83% size:22.5% a very bad situation for these amazing ecosystems and habitats. 15:24.957 --> 15:30.396 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% Another team of NOAA scientists analyzed the hot water and gases emitted by the hydrothermal 15:30.496 --> 15:47.646 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% vents. Dr. David Butterfield has spent his career studying how deep sea volcanoes work 15:47.746 --> 15:52.017 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% More than 70% of the volcanic activity on the planet takes place underneath the sea 15:52.117 --> 15:59.191 align:left position:65%,start line:83% size:25% surface and that has an effect on ocean circulation, ocean chemistry, and so we need to study these 15:59.291 --> 16:05.064 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% things just to know how the earth works. We measured the composition of the gas bubbles 16:05.164 --> 16:10.669 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% that are coming out in the system, we found they were about 60% CO2, which is much higher 16:10.769 --> 16:16.742 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% than what you find in air, less than 1%, and the balance of the gas was mostly nitrogen 16:16.842 --> 16:20.379 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% and some trace gases that come out of the magma chamber. 16:20.479 --> 16:24.650 align:left position:82.5%,start line:83% size:7.5% And then there s the warm water that s coming out of the ground it comes out and 16:24.750 --> 16:31.523 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% sort of mixes up into the seawater above it this warm water carries that low pH signal 16:31.623 --> 16:35.828 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% with it. The gas bubbles are rising up through the water and basically coming right out the 16:35.928 --> 16:41.300 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% surface but the lower pH water that s coming up through the seafloor, that s where that 16:41.400 --> 16:47.773 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% acidified signal is coming from. The warm waters coming up from the vents also 16:47.873 --> 16:52.845 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% contain trace elements that dissolved out of the volcanic rock. 16:52.945 --> 16:58.917 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% They re loaded with iron and they also have other metals that potentially might be toxic. 16:59.018 --> 17:03.489 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% We found that there was very high arsenic in the warm fluids that were coming out of 17:03.589 --> 17:09.895 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% the sea floor there, and that s actually a relatively common thing for shallow hydrothermal 17:09.995 --> 17:15.667 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% systems. So you know we have questioned is the arsenic affecting the growth of the corals 17:15.768 --> 17:20.172 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% and there s very little experimentation that s been done that can answer that question 17:20.272 --> 17:24.543 align:left position:40%,start line:83% size:50% so far. The iron makes the water cloudy because it 17:24.643 --> 17:30.849 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% is forming these particles that absorb light, so the corals there get less light. 17:30.949 --> 17:38.190 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% You have to isolate what is actually affecting those corals. Is it just the pH? Is it the 17:38.290 --> 17:43.896 align:left position:65%,start line:83% size:25% metals that are coming out? Increase in temperature, maybe. And so you have to look carefully at 17:43.996 --> 17:48.233 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% all those things to know what effect you re actually measuring. 17:48.333 --> 17:55.774 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% It s very difficult to completely eliminate the possibility of other factors. Um, we specifically 17:55.874 --> 18:03.282 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% designed our study areas to not be in the area of very, very high, rapid activity so 18:03.382 --> 18:07.686 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% that they were removed and they were more natural. We looked at gas composition and 18:07.786 --> 18:13.358 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% a whole bunch of different things to try to eliminate those factors. 18:13.459 --> 18:19.231 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% Maug is part of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, signed into law by President 18:19.331 --> 18:27.706 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% Bush in 2009. The monument protects roughly 95-thousand square miles of land and sea, 18:27.806 --> 18:34.146 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% including the famous Mariana Trench, the deepest point in the oceans. 18:34.246 --> 18:40.252 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% These protections, as well as Maug s remoteness, mean its coral reefs are less impacted by 18:40.352 --> 18:46.158 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% the stressors other reefs encounter in more populated areas. 18:46.258 --> 18:52.531 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% The other impacts such as fishing, such as nutrient runoff, things that are influencing 18:52.631 --> 18:57.269 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% reef systems all over the world were not as big of a deal there, yet we still saw this 18:57.369 --> 19:02.841 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% shift, this complete ecosystem loss due to CO2. 19:02.941 --> 19:07.980 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% Ecosystems are so complex. We have a hard time understanding how everything kind of 19:08.080 --> 19:13.652 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% works its way out and how it will manifest in the end. What we have found is that the 19:13.752 --> 19:22.194 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% accumulation of all of these multiple stressors absolutely can cause more rapid, more catastrophic 19:22.294 --> 19:35.374 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% degradation then when simply one stressor is present. 19:35.474 --> 19:41.046 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% Another tool that helps scientists understand and quantify Maug s ecosystems are detailed 19:41.146 --> 19:47.719 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% maps of the study sites - created by combining high resolution images into large scale photo 19:47.819 --> 19:52.624 align:left position:40%,start line:83% size:50% mosaics. What this entails is establishing a 100 square 19:52.724 --> 19:57.930 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% meter plot and then taking about 3,000 images within that plot that are then stitched into 19:58.030 --> 20:04.169 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% one large landscape image which allows us to look at the spatial patterning and the 20:04.269 --> 20:09.141 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% spatial arrangement of all of the organisms that are in that image. 20:09.241 --> 20:15.981 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% To create these photo mosaics, the divers stake out a 10 meter by 10 meter area. 20:16.081 --> 20:22.054 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% We set a series of corner markers and floats that allow us to see the plot and then we 20:22.154 --> 20:26.291 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% have a frame that holds two high resolution cameras one set to 18 millimeters the other 20:26.391 --> 20:31.563 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% set to 55 millimeters. And we swim repeated passes across this plot. The camera s set 20:31.663 --> 20:35.667 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% to interval timer so both cameras taking a picture every second, and the idea is for 20:35.767 --> 20:41.907 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% the swimmer to swim every square centimeter of that plot. You do it in a reverse lawnmower 20:42.007 --> 20:46.178 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% pattern so you go up and down and then side to side trying to do about 20 passes per plot, 20:46.278 --> 20:51.850 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% a minimum of 10 passes per plot so that there s a high degree of overlap between images, both 20:51.950 --> 20:55.954 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% in the passes, and you re swimming pretty slow it s just a little flutter kick 20:56.054 --> 21:02.461 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% so that each image has about 90 percent overlap. While one diver is taking pictures, a second 21:02.561 --> 21:09.468 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% diver is taking very exact measurements. This will ensure that all the images are to scale 21:09.568 --> 21:14.806 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% as they are stitched together into one very high resolution image. 21:14.906 --> 21:18.477 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% If you zoom all the way out it s the view that a scuba diver or a snorkeler would have 21:18.577 --> 21:23.482 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% when they splashed off the boat on the surface looking straight down. But as you zoom in, 21:23.582 --> 21:27.986 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% it would be the same resolution as you would see with your own eye going all the way down 21:28.086 --> 21:32.758 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% to the polyp structure of the individual corals. And what we re able to do is create a map 21:32.858 --> 21:36.561 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% that has the distribution of all those organisms on there and then we go through and classify 21:36.662 --> 21:40.932 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% them down to the species level if we can. And what we re able to do from that is then 21:41.033 --> 21:45.871 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% extract all that data so that each species will come off as an individual layer and it 21:45.971 --> 21:50.609 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% allows us to create a whole lot of metrics such as size distributions. We can do nearest 21:50.709 --> 21:55.781 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% neighbor analyses. We can do a lot of techniques that have typically been confined to the terrestrial 21:55.881 --> 22:05.457 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% realm because they ve been able to have these large satellite-derived images. 22:05.557 --> 22:11.797 align:left position:65%,start line:83% size:25% Over the course of the ten-day research expedition, scientists worked hard to better understand 22:11.897 --> 22:18.070 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% this shallow hydrothermal vent system and gain insight into the impacts climate change 22:18.170 --> 22:26.178 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% will have on coral reefs in the future. This is such a unique experience to have all 22:26.278 --> 22:31.717 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% these different collaborators come together on board the ship. The team that we assembled 22:31.817 --> 22:37.089 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% for this expedition was a diverse group from many different institutions. 22:37.189 --> 22:45.630 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% We had chemists, geochemists, volcanologists. We had coral experts, biologists, coral ecologists, 22:45.731 --> 22:51.436 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% people who study algae, photographers who could make maps of the sea floor and just 22:51.536 --> 22:56.541 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% a really diverse group of people to put it all together. 22:56.641 --> 23:03.048 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% We had local partners doing diving to actually analyze the species composition. I don t 23:03.148 --> 23:07.786 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% know the species of algae and the species of coral in that area and these guys are experts 23:07.886 --> 23:14.659 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% and were able to identify everything to a very fine taxonomic level. It was amazing 23:14.760 --> 23:18.463 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% an amazing field team and really pulling this all together was really, really important 23:18.563 --> 23:41.987 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% for actually describing it and telling the story that is Maug. 23:42.087 --> 23:46.892 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% A lot of the local people should communicate their knowledge about the archipelago. This 23:46.992 --> 23:54.800 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% is my first trip up here so as a Chamorro, it s like I ve fulfilled a dream kind 23:54.900 --> 24:00.539 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% of thing. I made it up the whole chain. I ve been able to see all the islands. So it s 24:00.639 --> 24:07.045 align:left position:15%,start line:83% size:75% something important for me. I think we re in a period where we really 24:07.145 --> 24:14.486 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% have to do something now about the global increase in CO2. It may be too late to prevent 24:14.586 --> 24:21.526 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% major effects, but even so we need to figure out a way to slow it down or possibly remove 24:21.626 --> 24:30.969 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% CO2 from the atmosphere somehow. We re giving up a lot of our resources just 24:31.069 --> 24:36.608 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% for the money when it s not all about that. What about, what about your kids, what about 24:36.708 --> 24:41.880 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% your kid s kids. You know I want my son to experience what I experienced. I want his 24:41.980 --> 24:48.887 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% son to experience that too. It s about what you, what you leave behind for your next generation. 24:48.987 --> 24:55.927 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% So they always teach us to respect our elders and make your ancestors proud. 24:56.027 --> 25:01.933 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% Our ancestors -they had such a connection with environment. Something got lost along 25:02.033 --> 25:09.441 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% the way and thank goodness that we have a number of individuals that have such foresight. 25:09.541 --> 25:15.981 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% I think that s the ancestor speaking through us that this is important now. Now is the 25:16.081 --> 25:56.187 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% time to act to protect what you have left. Major funding for this program was provided 25:56.288 --> 26:02.193 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20% by the Batchelor Foundation, encouraging people to preserve and protect America s underwater 26:02.294 --> 26:12.370 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% resources. And by Divers Direct/Emocean Sports inspiring the pursuit of adventure and water 26:12.470 --> 26:20.879 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% sports. And by the following In Memory of Harriet Fagan, the Do Unto Others Trust, and 26:20.979 --> 26:24.979 align:left position:12.5%,start line:89% size:77.5% the Friends of Changing Seas.