By Sandra Carpenter (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #9) on Friday, June 20, 2008 - 1:36 pm: |
In the May 2008 issue of ScubaDiving is an article about sunscreen ingredients that awaken dormant viruses and kill the symbiotic algae that live in coral polyps. Without the algae, the coral bleaches and dies. The oil in sunscreens also floats on the surface of the water long enough to affect the flow of oxygen.
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By BonnieC (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 8:04 pm: |
My husband and I have been coming to Bonaire for almost 20 years and we try to be as careful as we can to keep the island and the marine park as unspoiled as possible. I never thought about sunscreen until I read the article.
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By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #313) on Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 9:35 pm: |
I've attached the research article that the many "sunscreen on divers kills coral" comments are based on. You need not read all the chemistry to discover that (1) the study actually put sunscreen directly on the coral, that (2) it is speculation that the effects have any significance compared to known major problems like sewage and physical damage, and (3) a diver covered in neoprene releases almost no sunscreen to the water. If divers want to protect the reef, they would probably do much better to just watch their fins rather than change their sunscreen. When you read the professional web sites (like coral-list) you discover that this paper is not highly thought of.
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By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #314) on Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 9:54 pm: |
Below is a link to the research article that the many "sunscreen on divers kills coral" comments are based on. You need not read all the chemistry to discover that (1) the study put coral pieces in bags of seawater mixed with sunscreen, and then incubated the bags (not the same dynamic environment as the ocean!); that (2) it is unlikely speculation that the effects have any significance compared to known major problems like sewage and physical damage, and (3) a diver covered in neoprene releases almost no sunscreen to the water. If divers want to protect the reef, they would probably do much better to just watch their fins rather than change their sunscreen. When you read the professional web sites (like coral-list) you discover that this paper is not highly thought of.
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By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #315) on Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 9:56 pm: |
Ignore my post #313; bad attachment, incomplete text. Sorry.
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By Babala (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #9) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 12:39 pm: |
Better yet, forget the sunscreen and wear lightweight skins. Total protection from the sun and no chemicals / ever.
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