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Here is my Wiki article Amazon Reef It was rated as high to edit. My partners sandbox is GoonSquad

History(new) 

In the 1970’s there was a biologist named Rodrigo Moura who had done a study on fishing on the continental shelf and he wanted to know where these reefs where located at When Moura found the fish he caught around the Amazon Reef and in mouth of the Amazon River, he indicated that there must be biodiversity underneath The fish Moura found was indicated to be a coral reef fish Then a few decades later a group of students from the University of Georgia located his article and noticed that no GPS coordinates where on it, so they used the sound waves and sea floor samples to locate the reef When the scientists found the reef, they had to dredge the bottom to detect if reef was located there or not. The Amazon Reef finding had been about a three-year process before it was officially announced it was discovered Now the Amazon River is home to about 20 percent of the worlds fresh water supply The Amazon Reef is at the mouth of the largest river in the world and every single day about one fifth of the worlds water flows in to the ocean from the amazon river where the Amazon Reef is located . Also, the Amazon Reef happens to be less biologically diverse compared to other reefs of its kind  

Discoveries(Existing)

In the waters of the Amazon Reef holds the area for some of the murkiest and muddiest water around the world The Amazonian plume was mostly kept away from the sun making the water the way it is. They stated that the amazon reefs biology depends on certain locations. In the southern most area of the reef, it only contains the plume three months out of the whole year, while northern area is covered by sponges and carnivorous sea life that makes it covered from the sunlight so, it is shielded by the plume six or more months out of the year.  

They also state how this kind of reef is a split between the Brazilian reef and the Caribbean reef, this is from the sea life they discovered. The water also has conditions of being physicochemical. Many new species of sea life are being found

At the southernmost part of the reef where the most sun is located that is the area that the creatures use the light to make their food

Environmental Threats(Existing)     

Where the Amazon River flows into the Atlantic Ocean is the location of the Amazon Reef. The Amazon Reef was discovered in 2016. Now that it has been located oil drilling and oil exploration is quickly becoming a large threat to the Amazon Reef. There is approximately 9,500 square miles that is home to sponges and other sea life that would be at danger from the oil dill or even a major oil spill. Since most of the light that is trying to get to the reef is blocked due to the thick mud and sand  There are many endangered species of sea turtles living around the drilling area.  Also, reefs are not able to live through a major oil spill The Amazon Reef is in the mouth of the Brazilian waters where oil companies like Total and BP look to drill. Previously, between 2006 and 2016, over 80 blocks have been sold to have oil drilled out of them in the Amazon River mouth Even more so now that both of these companies are aware of this prime area they want to begin there drilling in and around the area The Total Oil Company owns about a block of the reef which estimates out to just about eight kilometers of the reef itself and they are fighting to get more.

Now, the BP and Total oil drilling companies currently have five Deepwater licenses so they can explore for potential drilling in the mouth of the Amazon River where the reef is located. The area in the mouth of the Amazon where the reef is located could hold up to about 14 billion barrels of oil Both BP and Total are waiting to be granted their permits to start the drilling as of 2016

The drilling these companies do creates a large threat to the ecosystem of both the reef and the Amazon River.

Climate Change effects(New)  

Coral Bleaching is another climate change effect that is on the horizon for the Amazon Reef.  The areas with warm waters can cause the coral bleaching Coral bleaching occurs when the water gets too warm in areas and causes the coral to get rid of the algae on the reef. Thus causing the coral to go white and die off. Also,coral bleaching to come in to affect when the waters get to cold for the reef to handle. The Great Barrier Reef in 2016 and 2017 experienced its second year of coal bleaching.Approximatly 90% of the Great Barrier Reef, located off the coast of Australia, has issues with coral bleaching states The coral bleaching that is endangering the Amazon Reef has a large impact of the climate change

 Coral Growth(New)

File:Calcium Carbonate Stalactite (026).jpg

This image is of Calcium Carbonate taken by Tjflex2 on flicker, January 7, 2008.

           Since the discovery in 2016 of the reef in the mouth of the Amazon River, there is an unusual sight about the reef that is growing beneath the murky waters, but it is healthier than most reefs Most reefs around the world can only grow in the salt water but this reef happens to be surviving in murky, muddy water The Amazon River located in the mouth of the river happens to be the largest fresh water supply area in the world. It is so unlikely that a colorful, living reef would be surviving deep under the water  Since the Amazon River lets out an abundance amount of fresh water it tends to keep the surface water fresh. Also in the deeper depths of the waters it is just salty enough for the coral to grow from calcium carbonate   In certain times of the year the corals grow more than other areas, in August until January the corals bloom with color, unlike in the other months its full the muddy waters and it makes the growth of the reef slow down 

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