Brazil oil spill response: Protect rhodolith beds
Marina Nasri Sissini, Flávio Augusto de Souza Berchez, Jason M. Hall‐Spencer, Natália Pirani Ghilardi-Lopes, Vanessa Freire de Carvalho, Nadine Schubert, Gabrielle Koerich, Guillermo Díaz-Pulido, João Silva, Ester Á. Serrão, Jorge Assis, Rui Santos, Sergio R. Floeter, Leonardo Rubi Rörig, J. B. Barufi, Ângelo F. Bernardino, Ronaldo B. Francini‐Filho, Alexander Turra, Laurie C. Hofmann, Julio Aguirre, Line Le Gall, Viviana Peña, Merinda Nash, Sérgio Rossi, Marcelo de Oliveira Soares, Guilherme H. Pereira‐Filho, Frederico Tapajós de Souza Tâmega, Paulo Antunes Horta
Abstract
In his News In Depth story “Mystery oil spill threatens marine sanctuary in Brazil” (8 November 2019, p. 672), H. Escobar highlights important ecosystems that have been affected by the spill. However, he did not mention the Brazilian rhodolith beds—the most extensive, abundant, and diverse biogenic carbonate habitats in the South Atlantic (1). The oil spill severely threatens these ecosystems, which comprise a staggering 2 x 1011 tons of carbonatic bank (2), stretch from 5°N to 27°S along the Brazilian coast, and cover a seabed potential area of 229,000 km2