He swings the front of Nemo toward the cliff. One of its arms knocks against the rock. The fish doesn’t move. Roger swings the ROV again. This time, you see an arm break off one of the panels.
“That’s not good,” Roger says under his breath. He moves Nemo away from the cliff.
“Can it be fixed?” you ask.
“Hopefully,” Roger says as he begins to bring Nemo toward the surface. “We’ll know once we see the damage up close.”
But one thing is for sure. Today’s fishing expedition is over. You’re just grateful you weren’t the one to break such an expensive machine. You hope Nemo is repaired before your time at sea comes to an end.
THE END
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You and Dr. Davis climb into Fred. The pilot is already inside. She shakes your hand, then shows you to your seat. The three of you share a cockpit that is barely 7 feet wide.
“We collect most of our samples on the left side,” Dr. Davis says, “so the lead scientist always sits there. You’ll sit on the other side and take notes on what depth we’re at and what you see.”
In less than 20 minutes, Fred is about 1,500 feet underwater. Sunlight doesn’t reach that deep, so the submersible has its own lights. You can’t believe you’re seeing this amazing undersea world up close.
Finally, Fred reaches the bottom of the ocean. Then, it begins to slowly go back up near a rocky wall 200 feet high. You see coral growing over the edges of the rocks.
An ROV inspects coral growing out of a shipwreck. “Most of these coral are short because of the strong ocean currents down here,” Dr. Davis says. “We’re the first people to see these corals.”
The pilot brings Fred up the left side of the rocky wall. Dr. Davis directs it toward a coral to take a sample.
As the submersible inches closer, you hear Dr. Cook’s voice over the radio.
“Fred, come in,” he says. “How is it going down there?”
“Everything’s fine,” the pilot says. “We’re making our way up the left side of the wall.”
“Fred, come in. Do you hear me?” Dr. Cook says again.
“Dr. Cook, come in. Do you copy?” the pilot replies.
You wait to hear a response, but the radio is silent.
“Is something wrong with the radio?” you ask.
“It appears to be,” the pilot says. “I’m sorry, Dr. Davis. We have to follow protocol. If the ship can’t contact us, we have to end the mission.”
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Davis says to you. “It looks like this sample will be the only one we’ll get this time.”
Your first dive is over before it really began. You just hope you’ll be able to go down again before the Seahorse heads home.
THE END
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CHAPTER 4
OCEAN CLEANUP
“I’m glad you’re interested in the cleanup work,” Dr. Johnson says. “Pollution in the water is a major threat to coral reefs.”
She tells you she is planning to leave for Hawaii the next day.
“The state is doing cleanup work in Kaneohe Bay. And some scientists are doing work there with super corals.”
“I’d like you to come along with me,” Dr. Johnson says. “But there’s also an opening on another scientist’s team. They’re leaving for a cleanup mission in Singapore.”
“Fascinating!” you exclaim. “I’ve never seen coral reefs so close to a huge city.”
“It is huge,” Dr. Johnson says. “But it’s on an island and has many smaller islands around it. There are certainly plenty of coral reefs there.”
You’re curious to learn about super corals. But Singapore also sounds exciting. And it would be good to try to protect reefs in such a highly populated area.
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After spending the night in Carrie Bow Cay, you and Dr. Johnson make the long trip to Hawaii. As you travel, Dr. Johnson tells you more about the corals there.
“About 5,000 different kinds of plants and sea creatures live in Hawaii’s reefs,” she says. “Some of them aren’t found anywhere else in the world. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so important to protect the reefs here.”
You finally reach the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Kaneohe Bay is on the eastern side of the island. You head to Coconut Island, which is in the bay. It’s home to a marine research center.
At the center, Dr. Johnson introduces you to several other scientists.
“This is Sam Tanaka,” Dr. Johnson says. “He’s working on super coral reefs.”
Fish swim along coral reefs near Hawaii. “And this is Linda Cousins,” Dr. Johnson says. “She’s trying to repair reefs that have already been damaged. Both Linda and Sam could use another researcher with your talents on their team. Where would you like to work?”
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“I’m happy to have you aboard,” Linda says. “Let’s get right to work,”
She takes you outside and gives you some snorkeling equipment. In the bay, she points to a barge.
“That’s where we keep the vacuum,” she says. “Come on, I’ll show you how it works.”
Linda puts on a dive suit and scuba gear, and you put on yours. Just a few feet down, you see a reef. Linda dives in and picks up a large hose in the water. She signals to the barge, and you hear a whooshing sound. You watch as the hose begins to suck up seaweed in the water. After about 30 seconds, the hose goes off. You and Linda come up to the surface again.
“All that seaweed hurts the reefs,” Linda says. “It blocks the sunlight the corals need to live.”
“But don’t all reefs have some seaweed around them?” you ask.
“This seaweed is different,” Linda explains. “It’s not native to our waters. It was brought here to harvest a chemical inside it. But the seaweed grew too fast, and the local fish can’t eat enough of it to protect the reefs.”
“So, you use the vacuum to help clean up the reefs?” you ask.
“Yes, but that’s just the first step,” Linda says.
She leads you into a small building near the shore. Inside are tanks filled with sea creatures.
“Sea urchins?” you ask, puzzled.
“That’s right,” Linda says. “We raise them in a lab on another part of the island, then release them around the reefs. They eat the seaweed, so it doesn’t grow back.”
You head back out to the water. Linda carries a whole tray of the urchins. You swim out to the reef and watch her put some of the urchins on the coral. She motions for you to do the same thing. Soon, the two of you are spreading out the urchins. When you’re done, you head back to shore.
Linda tells you the marine research center has plenty more urchins to place at sea. You’ll be able to keep protecting Hawaii’s reefs for at least another week.
THE END
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“I’ll take you to see the super coral now,” Sam tells you.
You follow Sam to a small boat. Inside, you see scuba gear. Sam tells you to put on a diving suit. Then, he heads the boat out into the bay.
“Decades ago, people here put their waste into the bay,” Sam explains. “They stopped about 40 years ago. But by then, almost all of the coral reefs were destroyed by the pollution.”
“That’s terrible,” you say.
“But there is some good news,” Sam continues. “Over time, some
of the reefs came back to life. And what’s amazing is the water here is warmer and more acidic than in other spots. Scientists didn’t think the corals could live in these conditions. That’s why they’re called super corals.”
Scientists in Florida have grown pillar coral in tanks. Many of them have died of disease in the wild. Your mission here is to learn how super corals can survive in the harsh conditions. One day, these corals could be moved and used to build new reefs in other warm or acidic waters.
After going about 500 yards, Sam stops the boat.
“We’re close to the patch reefs. There are two in this area. We can head left or right. What do you think?”
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The boat quickly reaches the patch reef. You strap on your oxygen tank and fins and put on your mask. You follow Sam into the water.
The reef is not too deep. Soon you see the colorful corals. But there are some white spots too. Even super coral can experience bleaching and die. You watch Sam cut off samples from both the healthy and dying coral to study them back at the marine center.
It’s exciting to see so many kinds of coral up close. As you swim, you notice all the fish that live in there. But after a few minutes, you begin to feel dizzy. Sam sees you stop swimming and comes over to you. He pulls out a dive slate to write a message to you.
“Are you ok?” it says.
You shake your head no.
Sam hands you the slate and you write, “Dizzy.”
Sam points to the surface. You know he wants you go back up right away. With Sam right beside you, you return to the surface. You take off your mask and suck in big gulps of air.
“I bet the mask wasn’t on properly,” Sam said. “You’re lucky we hadn’t gone too deep.”
“I know,” you say, still gasping for fresh air.
You’re already starting to feel better. You can’t wait for another chance to explore the super coral reefs—with your mask properly secured.
THE END
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The boat quickly reaches the patch reef to the right. You strap on your oxygen tank and fins and put on your mask securely.
“Go ahead,” Sam tells you, pointing to the water. He still has to finish putting on his diving gear.
You jump in. You don’t have to go too far before you see the reef. It’s beautiful. Fish of all kinds swim all around it. In another minute, you see Sam. But instead of coming down to the reef, he’s motioning for you to come toward him. You swim over and follow him as he goes back to the boat. When you reach the surface, you take off your mask. You hear loud sirens blaring on the shore.
Fish swim near a colorful tropical reef. “What’s that noise?” you ask.
“That’s why I came to get you out,” Sam said. “It’s a tsunami warning.”
“A tsunami!” you exclaim. You know how powerful one can be.
Sam tells you that the warning means there’s been an earthquake somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, which can cause a tsunami.
“It’s hard to know if one will actually hit Hawaii,” he says. “But we should get back to Oahu and find some high ground.”
You’re glad Sam heard the warning before he came into the water. You hate to think that you could have been out there during a tsunami.
When you get back to Oahu, you learn the warning was a false alarm. You breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to getting back out there to help save the super corals.
THE END
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Dr. Johnson introduces you to a scientist named Dr. Tai Ming.
“Dr. Ming has been studying our work here at Carrie Bow Cay,” Dr. Johnson says. “But he’s going home to Singapore tomorrow.”
“Yes, and I’d love you to help with our cleanup efforts there,” Dr. Ming says.
The next morning, you and Dr. Ming begin the long trip to Singapore. On your flight, he tells you more about the work his team is doing.
Workers clean garbage and plastic off of a beach. “Other scientists and I started this cleanup effort,” Dr. Ming says. “We know how garbage in the water can affect the reefs and other sea life.”
“What have you found that can hurt the reefs?” you ask.
“More than half of what we collect is plastic,” Dr. Ming says.
“In one year, we removed about 1,500 pounds of plastic in just one small area,” Dr. Ming continues. “Of course, we find other things too. We’ve even found a washing machine!”
Soon after you land in Singapore. Dr. Ming takes you out to his research center. He tells you that his main work is trying to start new coral reef colonies.
“How do you do that?” you ask.
“We take small pieces of reef and then grow them in our lab,” he says. “When they form small colonies, we bring them back into the water. We attach them to cement sea walls around one of the islands nearby. That way, we don’t lose reefs in the area. We’ve had great success building new reefs this way. I’ll show you.”
You follow Dr. Ming to a dock. “We have some colonies to transplant today,” Dr. Ming says. “You can help.”
Inside a boat, there is scuba gear. You both put on the gear as the boat’s pilot heads out in the water. Soon the pilot pulls up by a sea wall on a small island. Dr. Ming dives in, carrying a small pail filled with corals. You dive in after him. You watch him use a special cement to attach one coral after another to the sea wall. Then, he hands you the pail.
“Give it a try?” Dr. Ming asks. “Take these, and I’ll go get more on the boat.”
You take the pail and cement. Then you carefully put some of the cement on the sea wall, just as Dr. Ming had done. You place a small coral colony on the wall.
This is incredible, you think. You’re actually building a new coral reef!
As you work, you spot something moving in the water near your feet. You shine down your flashlight, but you don’t see anything. A few seconds later you feel something in the water. You shine your light again.
A diver clears debris from a coral reef off the coast of China. This time, you see something about 5 feet long. When you spot the fin on its back, you know what it is—a shark!
You take a deep breath. You know sharks don’t usually attack unless they feel threatened. You could ignore it and hope it goes away. But maybe to be safe, you should go back up to the surface.
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With your flashlight, you clearly see the shark’s fin. You notice it has a black tip. You try to breathe slowly, but your heart is racing. The shark swims around the edge of the sea wall. You don’t know if it would attack you if you move, but you don’t want to take the chance. You stay completely still.
A blacktip reef shark swims near a reef. Finally, after a few seconds, the shark swims away. Your legs start shaking as you watch Dr. Ming return to the water and head toward you. When he reaches you, he can tell you’re upset.
“What happened?” he asks. “Are you all right?”
You can only spit out, “Shark!”
“You saw a shark?” he asked.
“It swam right by me!” you say.
“Was part of its fin black?” Dr. Ming asks. You nod.
“That’s a blacktip reef shark,” he says “We have lots of them around here. They’re mostly harmless.”
Dr. Ming seems to think nothing of being so close to sharks, but you’re still shaking. When Dr. Ming asks if you’d like to go back to the boat, you quickly say yes. Maybe you can help transplant more of the corals tom
orrow.
THE END
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You begin to slowly swim away from the sea wall. You could go faster, but you don’t want to let go of the pail with the corals inside. The shark notices you and comes closer. It begins to circle around you. You swing the pail to try to keep it away. But instead of scaring off the shark, it swims closer.
“Go away!” you scream, as you breach the surface of the water. But with your scuba gear on, you doubt it even heard you.
In a flash, the shark moves toward the pail. Before you can move, you feel the shark bite your arm. Your diving suit helps protect you, but you let go of the pail. The shark swims off after it. Just then you see Dr. Ming return.
“I saw what happened,” he says. “That was a blacktip reef shark. They usually don’t bother people. They rarely bite.”
“I know,” you say, as you show Dr. Ming the teeth marks on your arm. “I guess I just made it mad when I swung my pail.”
A diver swims near two Caribbean reef sharks. “Most likely,” Dr. Ming says. “Let’s get you back to shore. We should have a doctor take a look at that bite.”
You go with Dr. Ming back to the boat. There, you check your arm. The bite isn’t bad. You’re glad you weren’t seriously hurt. But the coral you were collecting are gone. You wish you had stayed calm around the shark.
THE END
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CHAPTER 5
PROTECTING CORAL REEFS
Can You Protect the Coral Reefs? Page 3