Coral reefs support diverse ecosystems and have a symbiotic relationship with Earth's spheres. They help the biosphere by providing habitat, the hydrosphere by filtering water, the geosphere by protecting coastlines from erosion, and the atmosphere by producing oxygen through photosynthesis. However, coral reefs are threatened by global warming, pollution, and tourism. Protecting coral reefs is important for maintaining balance within Earth's interconnected systems.

1. Coral Reefs
Christopher Walker
2/8/13
Earth Space Science V11
Oceans 05: Ocean Interactions

2. Introduction: Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are known as the "rainforests of the
oceans.“ because they consist of a collection
of the most diverse biological communities in
the world.
Coral reefs are made up of sessile creatures that
don’t move. Corals live in warmer waters near
the equator in groups called polyps. The reefs
provide organisms with shelter, and nutrition and
attract millions of tourists with their natural
beauty.
Coral reefs have a symbiotic relationship with the
Earth’s spheres. They support the Biosphere by
providing organisms with nutrition and shelter.
They help the Hydrosphere by keeping the water
sanitary and healthy. They help the Geosphere by
protecting shores from being badly eroded or
damaged. Coral Reefs help the Atmosphere by A coral reef
filtering carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen.

3. Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere is made up of all the water on
Earth, which is distributed by the water cycle.
Coral reefs play an important part in the
hydrosphere by staying healthy and thriving.
Coral gets its nutrition from symbiotic algae,
plankton, and other substances dissolved in the
water. They are absorbed from the water,
helping to filter it.
Coral reefs need specific warm temperatures to
thrive. If the water temperatures change, it will
kill off the coral. If they die, It will change the
chemistry of the ocean, which in turn, will also
affect the hydrosphere, and, ultimately the
biosphere. Location of coral reefs in
Earth’s hydrosphere

4. Geosphere
The geosphere is made up of
Earth’s layers, crust, and
rocks. Coral reefs play a
significant role in the
geosphere because they
serve as a barrier for large
waves or storm waves. This
can prevent beaches from
getting damaged or badly
eroded. When coral reefs
are threatened, the Beach Erosion
geosphere is threatened by
beach erosion.

5. Cryosphere
Earth’s cryosphere consists of all
the ice on Earth. When the ice
melts, it becomes part of the
hydrosphere. Global warming
melts more and more ice each
summer.
Since the hydrosphere is affected
by coral reefs and vice versa, it Icebergs are part of Earths
may cause changes in the water cryosphere.
temperature and chemistry and
cause damage or kill the coral
reefs.

6. Biosphere
Earth’s biosphere is made up of all living
organisms on Earth.
Coral reefs are very beneficial to the biosphere
because they provide habitats for many
organisms such as fish, sponges, oysters,
clams, crabs, sea turtles, etc.
Coral reefs provide the organisms with food and
shelter.
The delicate balance between species in a coral
community can be upset by natural events
such as decaying spawn, which can kill them.
Humans can also upset this balance by
pollution, causing algae blooms that can kill Many different sea
other aquatic plants. creatures interacting with
coral reefs

7. Atmosphere
Earth’s atmosphere consists of all the gases on Earth.
Coral reefs are benificial to Earth’s atmosphere because
they help to create oxygen. Coral reefs have a symbiotic
relationship with Zooxanthellae algae. The algae, like
any plant, pulls carbon dioxide from the air and pushes
oxygen into the air through photosynthesis. The carbon
that is extracted from the air sits on the ocean floor as
limestone produced by coral polyps. The algae and the
polyps use oxygen for respiration, thereby releasing
carbon dioxide into the ocean and the atmosphere;
however, they remove more carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere than they add.
Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes
increased carbon dioxide in sea water, producing The Biological Pump
carbonic acid, thereby dissolving the limestone that
coral reefs need.
• Wind blown continental dust from the atmosphere can
settle on the ocean floor, stimulating the “biological
pump.” The Biological Pump enhances the ocean’s
ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

8. Protecting our Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are sensitive to changes in
temperature, salinity, and chemistry so
their existence is easily threatened. The
greatest threat to coral reefs is global
warming. Global warming heats up the
water temperatures, which could lead to
bleaching of the coral, which will
eventually destroy it. When coral dies, it
can be harmful to the hydrosphere
because it will alter the chemistry of the
water negatively.
Other threats to the reefs that are caused by
humans include water pollution and
tourism. Educated divers respect
delicate coral reefs
There are many things we can do to protect
the reefs such as careful vessel
management to avoid hitting the reef,
reducing nearby outfalls and runoff, and
educating tourists to be careful and to
respect this delicate resource.

9. Conclusion
In conclusion, the existence of coral reefs is very
important to Earth’s spheres. They support the
Biosphere by providing organisms with nutrition
and shelter, Coral reefs help the hydrosphere by
keeping the water sanitary and healthy. They
help the geosphere by protecting shores from
being badly eroded or damaged. Coral reefs help
the atmosphere by filtering carbon dioxide and
emitting oxygen.
As you can see, coral reefs profoundly affect all of Earth’s different
Earth’s spheres in some way. If one sphere is spheres
affected by something either positively or
negatively, all spheres will become affected. In
order to maintain balance here on Earth, it is vital
that we protect our coral reefs.

10. Resources
• http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/index.c
fm
• http://www.globalissues.org/article/173
/coral-
reefs#CoralReefsEcosystemsofEnvironm
entalandHumanValue
• http://www.noaa.gov/
• http://www.coralscience.org/main/artic
les/nutrition-6/how-corals-feed