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The stunning underwater world that’s at risk as the Iran war drags on
Researchers say 2,000 trapped vessels carrying 21 billion liters of oil could trigger spills that harm coral reefs, sea turtles and mangroves.
- Around 2,000 vessels trapped in the Persian Gulf carry 21 billion liters of oil amid at least 16 attacks on ships since the war began, prompting scientists to increasingly worry about oil spill impacts on regional marine life.
- The Strait of Hormuz, situated between Iran to the north and Oman and the United Arab Emirates to the south, hosts the Gulf's most diverse coral cover and world's largest continuous seagrass beds.
- Martin Grosell, professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Sciences, explained that crude oil compounds target heart and respiratory function while disrupting nervous systems and sensory abilities in marine animals.
- Bartholomew documented that oil spills in UAE waters cause sea turtle mortality on nesting islands; Greenpeace researchers regularly detect slicks, including one from the Iranian vessel Shahid Bagheri still leaking near the Khuran Strait.
- The Gulf's extreme temperatures and salinity have produced arguably the toughest corals in the world, now serving as a model for understanding how marine life might survive hotter, more volatile oceans from climate change.
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By Asuka Koda, CNN. Not far from the stranded ships in the Persian Gulf lies an ecological wonder. The fiercely contested Strait of Hormuz is home to dolphins and the most diverse coral population in the region. It's an underwater world that scientists say could be threatened by the conflict surrounding it. Currently, nearly 2,000 ships trapped in the Gulf are carrying about 21 billion liters of oil. Since the war began, there have been at least…
·Panama City, United States
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Total News Sources11
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution91% Center
Bias Distribution
- 91% of the sources are Center
91% Center
C 91%
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