<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/22/bleaching-fears-along-1000km-stretch-of-the-great-barrier-reef>
"Scientists are reporting corals are bleaching white and dying from rising
ocean temperatures across a more than 1,000km stretch of the Great Barrier
Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of
Marine Science were preparing on Thursday to carry out surveys from a
helicopter across the southern section of the reef.
Guardian Australia heard reports of bleaching at Lizard Island in the north
and at Heron Island in the south – a distance of more than 1,100km (740 miles)
along the Queensland coast.
The reef has been through six previous mass bleaching events caused by global
heating where rising ocean heat has turned corals white across large sections
of the reef. The latest event, in 2022, was the first to occur in a usually
cooler La Niña year.
The authority has not declared a mass bleaching event for 2024 and said it
would wait for further monitoring and the helicopter survey before deciding if
reef-wide surveys were needed.
Global heating is the biggest threat to the world’s coral reefs, including the
health of the world’s biggest coral reef system.
Corals lose the algae that give them their colour and much of their nutrients
if water temperatures climb too high. In extreme cases, bleaching can kill
corals.
Scientists say corals that survive bleaching and regain their colour tend to be
more susceptible to disease and do not reproduce as well."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
