Three quarters of the Great Barrier Reef has been hit in a widespread coral bleaching sparked by a marine heatwave , with aerial survey results revealing a major bleaching event is unfolding all the way along the 2300 kilometre ecosystem.
Bleaching on the Reef was first detected a month ago, but aerial surveys conducted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority – released on Friday night – show that 75 per cent of 1001 reefs inspected contain bleached corals, which means the organisms are struggling to survive. Aerial surveys are conducted by sight from planes at 500 feet, giving the visibility of corals down to about five metres below the sea surface.The more bleached corals, the higher the risk of deaths. But bleaching is not always fatal and corals can recover if the water cools down quickly enough.
Australia’s climate has already warmed by an average of 1.47 degrees over the past century, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. A report by the Australian Academy of Science said if the world warmed by 2 degrees, only 1 per cent of corals would survive.
Great Barrier Reef Coral Bleaching Marine Heatwave Global Bleaching Event Environmental Threat
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