ISSE - Scientist III - Joanie Kleypas

ISSE - Scientist III - Joanie Kleypas: "Joanie Kleypas's Home Page
(Last updated: Nov 2008)
Institute for the Study of Society and Environment
National Center for Atmospheric Research
PO Box 3000
Boulder, Colorado USA 80307
Tel: 303.497.8111
Fax: 303.497.8125
www.isse.ucar.edu/staff/kleypas/
kleypas@ucar.edu"

Joanie Kleypas is a marine ecologist/geologist that focuses on how coral reefs and other marine ecosystems are affected by changes in the Earth's atmosphere and climate. Global warming, for example, is causing tropical ocean temperatures to increase faster than corals can adapt, resulting in high rates of coral bleaching. This is one of the major causes of the present, rapid degradation of coral reef ecosystems. Ocean acidification is another major threat to coral reefs, because as the oceans absorb much of the CO2 released to the atmosphere by fossil fuel burning and deforestation, seawater pH declines and reduces the ability of corals and many other organisms to build their skeletons and shells.

Joanie strives to conduct research that 1) better informs policy makers on what the marine ecological consequences of various atmospheric levels of CO2 will be (and thus help set CO2 emission targets), and 2) guides efforts to conserve coral reefs and other marine ecoystems during the high-CO2 window that is inevitable over the next few decades.