Current:Home > ScamsAustralia's Great Barrier Reef is hit with mass coral bleaching yet again-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Australia's Great Barrier Reef is hit with mass coral bleaching yet again
View Date:2024-12-23 18:28:41
Australia's Great Barrier Reef has been hit by widespread coral bleaching repeatedly in recent years, where marine heat waves have turned large parts of the reef a ghostly white.
Now, it looks like the fourth mass bleaching in the last seven years is unfolding.
Abnormally hot ocean temperatures, as high as 7 degrees Fahrenheit above average, have stressed the reef in recent weeks even though autumn normally means cooler conditions. Scientists with Australian government agencies say some parts of the reef are experiencing severe bleaching as a result.
Back-to-back bleaching events are expected to become more common as the climate gets hotter, but it's happening sooner than expected in Australia – a worrying sign that the vast majority of the world's coral reefs are at risk of disappearing.
"Climate change is a whole host of bad things for corals," says Emily Darling, director of coral reef conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society. "If they're getting bleached and dying off every year or two years, there's simply not enough time in between these massive bleaching events for coral reefs to have any chance at meaningful recovery."
Repeated bleaching leaves no time to recover from heat stress
When temperatures rise, corals lose their crucial roommates: the marine algae that live inside coral and produce their primary source of food. Those algae give corals their vibrant colors, but get expelled during periods of heat stress, causing the corals to bleach and turn white.
Bleached corals aren't necessarily goners, though.
"If the water temperature decreases, bleached corals can recover from this stress," said David Wachenfeld, chief scientist of Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, in an update on the reef's health.
Forecasts show ocean temperatures will likely remain above average for the next few weeks, though, increasing the risk that some corals will die off. The reef has been experiencing extreme heat since November, which was the warmest November on record for the Great Barrier Reef.
"The coral have been experiencing some pretty extreme heat stress for longer than they ever have," says Derek Manzello, coordinator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Watch.
Even corals that recover are harmed, since periods of stress can hurt their ability to reproduce. After mass bleaching in 2016 and 2017, large parts of the Great Barrier Reef lost half of their live corals. Then another bleaching event hit in 2020.
"You're essentially killing off all your super sensitive corals," says Manzello. "What's really bad about that is that the most sensitive corals are usually the ones that are most responsible for building the reef. Those are the corals that grow the fastest."
Marine species and millions of people depend on coral reefs
Reefs around the world are experiencing similar climate-related damage. A worldwide assessment found that between 2009 and 2019, 14 percent of the world's corals died.
A quarter of marine species depend on coral reefs at some point in their lives, as do millions of people who depend on reefs for food, jobs and shoreline protection from storm surges.
Scientists are racing to find ways to give corals a fighting chance, like searching for reefs that could act as refuges because they experience naturally cooler water. Others are breeding heat-resistant corals that could be used to restore reefs.
Still, if countries don't reduce fossil fuel emissions over the next decade, studies show the outlook for coral reefs is grim. Even if the world can limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, 70 to 90 percent of coral reefs are likely to die off.
"We need to really learn from these bleaching events," Darling says. "We need to change business as usual. We need to take action on climate change."
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Paraguay vs. Argentina live updates: Watch Messi play World Cup qualifying match tonight
- Supreme Court takes up case over gun ban for those under domestic violence restraining orders
- Police Treating Dakota Access Protesters ‘Like an Enemy on the Battlefield,’ Groups Say
- Fracking’s Costs Fall Disproportionately on the Poor and Minorities in South Texas
- In an AP interview, the next Los Angeles DA says he’ll go after low-level nonviolent crimes
- BMX Rider Pat Casey Dead at 29 After Accident at Motocross Park
- Supreme Court takes up case over gun ban for those under domestic violence restraining orders
- Ice Storm Aftermath: More Climate Extremes Ahead for Galveston
- Zendaya Shares When She Feels Extra Safe With Boyfriend Tom Holland
- Big Meat and Dairy Companies Have Spent Millions Lobbying Against Climate Action, a New Study Finds
Ranking
- Suspect arrested after deadly Tuskegee University homecoming shooting
- Chemours Says it Will Dramatically Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Aiming for Net Zero by 2050
- Transcript: Former Attorney General Eric Holder on Face the Nation, July 2, 2023
- Transcript: University of California president Michael Drake on Face the Nation, July 2, 2023
- Man who stole and laundered roughly $1B in bitcoin is sentenced to 5 years in prison
- Rumer Willis Recalls Breaking Her Own Water While Giving Birth to Baby Girl
- Czech Esports Star Karel “Twisten” Asenbrener Dead at 19
- In a First, California Requires Solar Panels for New Homes. Will Other States Follow?
Recommendation
-
Suspected shooter and four others are found dead in three Kansas homes, police say
-
Danny Bonaduce Speaks Out After Undergoing Brain Surgery
-
Atlanta Charts a Path to 100 Percent Renewable Electricity
-
Man recently released from Florida prison confesses to killing pregnant mother and her 6-year-old in 2002
-
Donna Kelce Includes Sweet Nod to Taylor Swift During Today Appearance With Craig Melvin
-
Big Meat and Dairy Companies Have Spent Millions Lobbying Against Climate Action, a New Study Finds
-
Keystone Pipeline Spills 383,000 Gallons of Oil into North Dakota Wetlands
-
The Ultimatum’s Xander Shares What’s Hard to Watch Back in Vanessa Relationship