How big is the world's largest coral? Bigger than a blue whale, lives for 300 years | Environmental News

Hello everyone, this is the 22nd issue of the Environmental Trumpet column. In this issue, we have collected the following environmental research and news worth reading:

1) New discovery! The world's largest coral

2) Bio-based plastics are environmentally friendly? Earthworms suffer

3) Bumblebees hibernate in areas contaminated by pesticides

4) Let’s “print” a piece of clothing

New discovery! The world's largest coral

Near the Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, researchers noticed a giant shipwreck that looked like a shipwreck . When they dived underwater, they were surprised to find that it was actually a huge coral colony!

Even from high above, this coral is still clearly visible | Steve Spence, National Geographic Pristine Seas

The coral is 34 meters wide, 32 meters long and 5.5 meters high, even larger than a whale. Researchers believe that this coral has been growing on Earth for about 300 years and may be home to billions of coral polyps. Generally speaking, coral grows into a spherical shape, like an ice cream ball. However, this coral is so big that it looks more like a melted ice cream - flat and spread out on the seabed.

Researchers measure the size of a newly discovered coral | Manu San Félix, National Geographic Pristine Seas

In fact, it is not too surprising to find coral near the Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands has more than 490 coral species and is very rich in coral resources. So why has this huge coral not been discovered for so long? This may be related to where the coral grows. The newly discovered coral is located more than ten meters below the sea surface . If you don't dive underwater and observe carefully, it is easy to mistake it for a big rock.

Corals and other organisms live together to create a colorful landscape | Manu San Félix, National Geographic Pristine Seas

Thanks to the depth of the water, the health of this coral surprised the researchers. As global warming continues to intensify, many coral reefs growing in shallow waters have suffered large-scale bleaching. Because this coral is located in deeper waters, it has not been affected by the warming of the sea water.

However, the overall situation of corals is still not optimistic. Recently, at the 29th Climate Change Conference (COP29), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species released a new assessment result, showing that about 44% of the world's reef-building coral species are facing the risk of extinction.

Bio-based plastics are environmentally friendly? Earthworms suffer

Faced with the increasing plastic pollution, people are beginning to consider bio-based plastics as an alternative to fossil fuel plastics. Bio-based plastics are plastics made from renewable biomass, including but not limited to corn, straw, seaweed, etc. During the production process, bio-based plastics reduce or eliminate the use of fossil fuels, resulting in less carbon emissions. However, bio-based plastics cannot be equated with environmental protection, at least for earthworms.

Recently, an article published in Environmental Science & Technology found that the use of bio-based materials may pose greater health risks to earthworms .

In 2022, more than 320,000 tons of bio-based and biodegradable fibers were produced worldwide | Pixabay

Nowadays, some textiles use bio-based plastics. These textiles will produce a large number of tiny fibers discharged into the environment during the use and washing process. In the experiment, the researchers tested the effects of traditional polyester fibers and two bio-based fibers ( viscose and lyocell ) on earthworms. Viscose fibers are made of cotton linters and are widely used in the production of clothing, gauze bandages, wall materials, etc.; Lyocell fibers are also called "Tencel", which are made of bamboo, wood, etc., and are widely used in suits, shirts and bedding.

Behind the seemingly environmentally friendly environment, there are earthworms carrying the load | Lloyd Russell/University of Plymouth

The researchers placed earthworms in high-concentration environments of different fibers and found that within 72 hours, the earthworms in the bio-based fiber environment had a higher mortality rate. Under the influence of traditional polyester fibers, the mortality rate of earthworms was only 30%, while under the influence of bio-based fibers - lyocell fibers and viscose fibers, the mortality rates of earthworms were as high as 60% and 80% respectively . In addition, the experiment also found that bio-based fibers may also cause earthworms to grow slowly and have reduced reproductive capacity.

Bumblebees hibernate in areas contaminated by pesticides

A true warrior dares to face problematic land (wrong). The queen of a bumblebee hibernates underground during the winter and will not come out until the temperature rises in the spring of the following year. Recently, an article published in Science of the Total Environment revealed an "eye-opening" discovery: the queen of a bumblebee prefers to hibernate in soil contaminated by pesticides .

Bumblebees hibernate in the soil! | University of Guelph

In the experiment, the researchers prepared many soil boxes filled with clean soil or soil contaminated by pesticides. They first let the queen bumblebees fly freely in the wild, and then return to the experimental site after mating to choose the soil box they like for hibernation.

After counting the location choices of bumblebees, researchers found that bumblebees have a clear preference for soil contaminated by pesticides . When faced with soils of different degrees of pollution, the "heartbeat value" of bumblebees is also different. When the soil pollution level is low, the queen bee is still likely to choose clean soil, but the frequency is 1.3 to 2.4 times lower than the frequency of choosing pesticide-contaminated soil; when the soil pollution level is high, the queen bee directly avoids clean soil and chooses pesticide-contaminated soil to hibernate...

Researchers prepare soil boxes to observe bumblebees' choices | University of Guelph

Fortunately, although the queen bumblebees all chose to live in the soil contaminated with pesticides, most of the bumblebees in it eventually survived . As for why bumblebees are fond of "problematic soil", researchers are also at a loss. One possibility is that pesticides change the properties of the soil, such as killing fungi and nematodes in the soil - these organisms may kill hibernating bumblebees, so pesticide-contaminated soil is more attractive to bumblebees. Another possibility is that bumblebees have developed a taste for pesticides because they have been exposed to an environment contaminated by pesticides. However, the real reason needs further research.

Let’s “print” a piece of clothing

British startup Alchemie Technology has launched a new fabric dyeing process. Simply put, clothes can be dyed with the right color through printing, just like printing paper.

In the past, fabric dyeing was a very polluting process. Since the clothes need to be heated and soaked in the dyeing tank, a lot of water and energy are consumed during the process. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), about 20% of the world's wastewater comes from fabric dyeing and treatment , and the fashion industry's carbon emissions have accounted for 10% of the world's total emissions.

In response to this, the British company is committed to changing the way of thinking about dyeing. In the past, people tried to make every corner of the clothes soaked with water, but now they want every drop of water to soak as much area as possible .

New dyeing machine Endeavour | Alchemie Technology

The dyeing machine Endeavour developed by Alchemie Technology is equipped with thousands of dye nozzles. When the fabric is fed into the machine, the nozzles will spray a large number of droplets to contact the fabric and attach the dye to the fabric. The fabric will then be sent into the vacuum environment created by the machine to allow the droplets to fully penetrate the fabric.

Currently, developers have tried using dyeing machines to dye cotton and polyester fabrics. This process can save 95% of water resources and 75% to 85% of energy .

Mount Fuji welcomes its first snowfall

In the last issue of Environmental News, we mentioned that Japan's Mount Fuji still has no snow cap. On November 7, the Kofu Local Meteorological Observatory in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan officially confirmed that Mount Fuji has welcomed the "first snow" of 2024. This is also the latest "first snow" to appear on Mount Fuji in 130 years .

November 6 image shows signs of first snow on Mount Fuji | AFP

References

[1]https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/world-largest-coral-colony-discovery

[2]https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/coral-older-than-newton-is-world-s-largest/https://scitechdaily.com/eco-friendly-fibers-may-pose-a-greater-threat-to-the-planet-than-plastics-concerning-study-reveals/

[3]https://scitechdaily.com/toxic-slumber-the-alarming-hibernation-habits-of-bumblebee-queens/

[4]https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c870j92p82wo

[5]https://spectrum.ieee.org/alchemie-technology

[6]https://www.npr.org/2024/11/06/g-s1-33092/robert-f-kennedy-jr-trump-fluoride

[7]https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/11/04/fluoride-drinking-water-science-rfk-jr-trump/

[8]https://phys.org/news/2024-11-mount-fuji-absence.html

[9]https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgw14gqenqo

Author: Xiao Xiaoze

Edited by: Yellowtail Pollock

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)