Great Barrier Reef suffering widespread mass bleaching (again) as oceans heat up
Global News
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority reported the bleaching is "widespread" across the reef, with some areas experiencing severe effects.
Just two years after the last recorded mass bleaching event, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is suffering widespread bleaching due to high ocean temperatures, reported a government agency on Friday.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), the organization responsible for the management of the world’s largest reef ecosystem, reported the bleaching detected is “widespread but variable, across multiple regions, ranging in impact from minor to severe.”
According to the U.S. National Ocean Service, coral bleaching occurs when corals (which are living creatures) experience stress due to environmental factors like temperature, light level or changes in nutrient availability. Bleached coral is not dead, but is under greater stress and subject to higher mortality rates.
“The past week has brought cooler temperatures to the Reef bringing an end to the heatwave conditions of late February and early March,” wrote GBRMPA.
“Despite this, sea surface temperatures remain above average across most of the Marine Park and are expected to remain so until the end of March.”
GBRMPA wrote the bleaching is “consistent with the patterns of heat stress experienced on the Reef this summer.”
“Weather patterns over the next few weeks will be critical in determining the overall extent and severity of coral bleaching across the Marine Park,” said the authority.
The GBRMPA is conducting aerial surveys of the marine park in the Far Northern Great Barrier Reef (including Torres Strait), to the north of the city of Townsville and offshore from the town of Bowen.
