Scientists hold out hope for Sponges solving sea level
change.
by Tony Hopkins Cousteau
Staff Writer for Federation of Alternative Research Theories
Staff Writer for Federation of Alternative Research Theories
While many scientists are alarmed at the recent discovery of a mutant
variety of large sponge, other scientists are hailing the discovery as a
dramatic life-line to civilization in the fight against climate change and
rising sea levels. Dr's. Hannibal Lectorus and Karen Parmagiano, writing in their
highly
regarded NOAA study say their optimism has come from various locations
across the Atlantic Ocean which have discovered large areas of 200 to 300 sq.
km with sea level drops of 4 to 17 meters, resulting from proliferation of mutant porifera
or more commonly referred to as sponge.
Reports first surfaced from The Nautical Institute which had records of
many sea vessels in 1997, reporting sudden drops of 4 to 17 meters in normally
calm seas and then a sudden equal rise, or swell, hours later. Most mariners had
assumed these were simply high-pressure depressions
in the oceans surface until observers began to notice the symmetrical size
of the depressions, as though the ship was sailing into a huge bowl in the
ocean's surface. Since studies began in 1999, nearly 4,350 of these
depression sea pool pockets have been discovered, mapped and studied in the
Atlantic Ocean alone. Each colony pool is increasing in dimensions by a factor
of 12 per year and if not contained, would cover the Atlantic ocean floor in 58
years. Funding has been held up by for the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA studies indicate these areas,
that began to be reported with ever increasing frequency, discovered on the sea
floor bed, are actually a large clustering of sponges, that were swollen in size
of up to 22 meters each, in diameter per sponge. The new variety of sponges
appear to be related to the Calcareous
variety, in biology except they give off a naturally secreted chemical that
appears to ward off their natural predators. Given their evolved defense
capabilities the sponges have been left to grow to mega-abnormal volumes.
Scientists who have hooked the mutant sponges and brought to the surface, have
found, although the 1-year-old sponges absorb a moderate volume of 22 liters of
sea water, that a increase in life span of one year produces very alarming
results. 12 months later, one 2-year-old sponge is capable of soaking up
nearly 4,200 liters of sea water sponge, explaining the lower sea levels near
and around their breeding grounds. Scientists have yet to discover the
maximum size one sponge is capable of growing, but Dr. Lectorus estimated their
life cycle could see them grow to the size of a soccer field in 10 years before
they begin to die and loose absorption. Given their need for large areas to
grow, they have found the ability to grow on top, and below, each other and
survive in layers up to 1 km thick. "Their impact of the sea level change
seems to drop significantly" Dr. Lumsden said, "with the thickness of the colony
on the sea floor, with the thicker colonies tending to squeeze out the
absorption capacity of the sponges on the bottom of the colony."
Initially, these depressions posed no large threat to ships or boats of any
size. The National Maritime Institute had
simply altered official shipping lanes to avoid the sudden jolt of the boat
seeming to drop into a water hole. In the past three years however, with the
discovery of the most recent 2,340 sponge colony water holes, Captain Eddie Fitzgerald of the NMI, says that "there simply cannot be anymore lane
changes". Commercial shipping carriers have been warned and have procedures
now to know when they are entering the craters and when they are coming up out
of the craters. Most of the trans-oceanic cruise ships, Captain Fitzgerald says, have
simply altered their speeds and voyages to encounter the sink and rise during
nighttime hours while guests are sleeping and simply feel the drop or rise as a
ocean swell.
The sponge itself is known to be the most primitive of life forms.
Although, they are multi-cellular, they do not normally have any organs,
muscles, or nerves. These new monster mutant varieties though have found to
have grown asexual reproductive organs and also lip-like openings, and small
appendages of different numbers and locations on their bodies. Some have what
appear to be eyes and others have been found to be capable of a rudimentary form
of communication by squeezing themselves dry and then reabsorbing quickly. This
is also alarming to the scientists studying the creatures because of fear that
in their abnormal growth they are also evolving into a higher life-form capable
of planned regeneration, colonization, or domination. Already having no
natural sea borne predator themselves, marine biologists worry that the mutant
itself might begin to turn into a predator of many, already threatened sea life
species. Oscar Novrastat, the director of NOAA, said before a congressional
study group that this would just be an "unintended, but necessary consequence"
and "damn the fish, we've got to save the shoreline".
Some scientists familiar with climate change, and the risk of rising sea
levels flooding many shoreline cities, have proposed transplanting small
colonies of these mutant sponges in long areas along the eastern and western
shorelines of North America as a natural barrier to sea level rises. It has
been estimated that a single colony of only 10 meters in diameter can increase
exponentially in size in a short time, and with multiple colonies spaced at
intervals of 400 meters and located approximately 2 km off the shoreline, could
produce a continuous sponge barrier for the entire North American coastline in
as few as 12 years, and subsequently lower the sea level by 4 to 6 meters.
As of today, the only reservation is in not knowing exactly how to contain the
sponge expansion in a 2-dimension direction, north and south, without them also
expanding east and west.
written by Tony Hopkins Cousteau,
Oceanodecoder and Worlds' Foremost Expert
Oceanodecoder and Worlds' Foremost Expert
related article: British Petroleum is reported to be
studying how to genetically alter these mutant sponges to be oil-absorbent, to
be able to transport an entire colony to any oil well blowout to assist in quick
clean ups.
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