Main Menu

SPC to Air Documentary About Death of World’s Coral Reefs

Coral | Coral Reef | Environement

Chasing Coral, about the death of the world’s coral reefs, is the result of 500-plus hours of underwater filming, combined with footage offered by volunteers from 30 countries.

SEMINOLE – A free showing of Chasing Coral, a documentary film that records the decline of the world’s coral reefs in time-lapse photography, will be presented by St. Petersburg College on Oct. 19.

Sponsored by SPC’s Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions in partnership with the Suncoast Sea Level Rise Collaborative, the screening will be from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. in the Digitorium at the Seminole campus, 9200 113th St. N. Advance registration is requested at solutions.spcollege.edu.

After the 90-minute film screening, a team of SPC Natural Science faculty will discuss the causes for and implications of the reefs’ rapid “bleaching,” or death. Facilitating the discussion will be Dr. Maura Scanlon, assistant professor of Biology and Environmental Science, and Christopher Nichol, professor of Biology, Marine and Earth Science.

Coral reefs, the dazzling ecosystem that serves as the nursery for all life in the oceans, are dying at an unprecedented rate because of warming oceans. To document the loss of this valuable marine resource, a team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a three-year ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.

The project was directed by Jeff Orlowski, who also directed Chasing Ice, the documentary that provided irrefutable, visual proof of the melting ice caps. Chasing Coral taps into the collective will and wisdom of an ad man, a self-proclaimed coral nerd, top-notch camera designers, and renowned marine biologists as they invent the first time-lapse camera to record bleaching events as they happen.

The documentary is the result of 500-plus hours of underwater filming, combined with footage offered by volunteers from 30 countries, as well as support from more than 500 people from various locations around the world.

For information about the Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions, go to solutions.spcollege.edu.

St. Petersburg College | Chasing Coral | Environment | Climate Change | Events | Tampabay News | TB Reporter

#StPetersburgCollege #ChasingCoral #Environment #ClimateChange #Events #TampabayNews #TBReporter