USGS Release: Coral Reefs are Critical for Risk Reduction & Adaptation (5/13/2014 12:00:00 PM)

ARLINGTON, Va — Stronger storms, rising seas, and flooding are placing hundreds of millions people at risk around the world, and big part of the solution to decrease those risks is just off shore. A new study finds that coral reefs reduce the wave energy that would otherwise impact coastlines by 97 percent.



“Coral reefs serve as an effective first line of defense to incoming waves, storms and rising seas,” said Dr. Michael Beck, lead marine scientist of The Nature Conservancy and a co-author of the study, “200 million people across more than 80 nations are at risk if coral reefs are not protected and restored.”



USGS Release: Coral Reefs are Critical for Risk Reduction & Adaptation (5/13/2014 12:00:00 PM)