為什么防曬霜對珊瑚礁有害

為什么防曬霜對珊瑚礁有害

The sunscreen we slather on to protect ourselves from the sun's harmful rays is doing incredible damage to the world's coral reefs.

我們涂上厚厚的防曬霜來保護自己免受太陽有害射線的傷害，這對世界珊瑚礁造成了難以置信的破壞。

According to the National Park Service, 4,000 to 6,000 tons of sunscreen enter reef areas annually. But beachgoers aren't the only ones spreading these harmful chemicals. Kids on playgrounds and runners all come home and wash off the same chemicals, and those chemicals can also end up being swept out to sea.

根據(jù)國家公園管理局的數(shù)據(jù)，每年有4000到6000噸防曬霜進入珊瑚礁區(qū)域。但海灘游客并不是唯一傳播這些有害化學物質(zhì)的人。操場上的孩子和跑步者回家后都會洗掉同樣的化學物質(zhì)，這些化學物質(zhì)最終也會被沖到海里。

This bleached coral could be the result of contact with oxybenzone, a common ingredient in sunscreen. But there's optimism that sunscreens containing titanium oxide or zinc oxide aren't as damaging to reefs. (Photo: Ethan Daniels/Shutterstock)

In some locations, including the Florida Keys, the coral couldn't reproduce because it didn't have sperm or eggs. The researchers dubbed them "zombie corals," saying they were essentially walking dead and would eventually die out.

在包括佛羅里達群島在內(nèi)的一些地方，由于沒有精子和卵子，珊瑚無法繁殖。研究人員稱它們?yōu)?ldquo;僵尸珊瑚”，稱它們實際上是行尸走肉，最終會滅絕。

However, two samples from the St. Croix area had complete reproductive ability. "Basically the places with the heaviest tourism had the most severe damage," said Fauth, who was also an investigator in the 2015 coral/sunscreen study and released another related study at the symposium. There, researchers found that oxybenzone is common in Hawaii, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands where concentrations peak during high tide.

然而，圣克羅伊地區(qū)的兩個樣本具有完全的生殖能力。“基本上，旅游最頻繁的地方受到的破壞最嚴重，”福斯說，他也是2015年珊瑚/防曬霜研究的一名研究員，并在研討會上發(fā)表了另一項相關(guān)研究。在那里，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，氧苯酮在夏威夷、佛羅里達和美屬維爾京群島很常見，這些地方的濃度在漲潮時達到峰值。

"It's almost counterintuitive," said Fauth. "We think that aerosol sunscreen is to blame." That's because when you spray sunscreen, a lot of it lands on the sand or in the water. When the high tide comes in it collects all that overspray and pulls it out to sea.

“這幾乎違反直覺，”福斯說。“我們認為氣溶膠防曬霜是罪魁禍首。”這是因為當你噴灑防曬霜時，很多防曬霜會落在沙灘上或水中。當漲潮時，它會收集所有的過量的浪花并把它們拖到海里。

Locations that experience a lot of tourism tend to have the most coral reef damage. (Photo: Jolanta Wojcicka/Shutterstock)

The studies show that coral reefs are in more danger than we thought.

研究表明，珊瑚礁比我們想象的更危險。