A subterranean ark

this ominous distinction. Elkhorn used to be the dominant species in shallow waters of the Caribbean, with a distribution range from Biscayne National Park, Florida, to the coast of Venezuela. Researchers believe that its abundance has been reduced by over 95% since 1980. Staghorn is the fastest-growing Western Atlantic coral and used to be found throughout the Caribbean. Its population has declined by an estimated 98% since 1980. Based on his research, Rollino thinks that he knows the culprits. " In the Caribbean, the decline of these species is the result of global warming, increased sedimentation, degraded water quality, disease, increased storm activity and tourism damage, " he says. While some of these causes might look like natural ones, they may eventually turn out to be just symptoms of the general disruption caused by human activities. For example, meteorologists have often denied that the increased frequency of tropical storms might be caused by global warming, but support for a connection between the two has been growing in recent years. Two recent papers suggest that the increase in surface temperatures makes tropical storms more destructive. Considering current political and economic trends, the chances of significantly slowing the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide and the consequent global warming look increasingly challenging, as does the ability to avert the ecological and environmental disasters that climate change might trigger. So what might best be done under these circumstances to help to save the coral reefs and the fragile ecosystems dependent upon them? " We must try to eliminate or minimise non-climate stressors in order to give corals maximum time to acclimatise and adapt to rising temperatures, " says Roger Mitchell, chief scientist at Earthwatch Europe. " To help to find solutions, Earthwatch is supporting coral reef research projects around the world. " Michael Gross is a science writer based at Oxford. He can be contacted via his web page at An ambitious project to create a natural freezer to safeguard future food supplies began last month with the launch of a subterranean repository in Norway for seeds from the world's most important plants. The new Svalbard International Seed Vault will serve as a store for crucial seeds in the event of a global catastrophe, said Norway's agriculture minister, Terje Rijs-Johansen. Carved into the permafrost and rock of the remote Svalbard peninsular, it will eventually house three million seed samples from every country in the …