Ningaloo and #GreatBarrierReef hit by ‘profoundly distressing’ simultaneous #CoralBleaching events
Scientists say widespread damage to both world heritage-listed reefs is ‘heartbreaking’ as WA reef accumulates highest amount of #heat stress on record
Ningaloo and Great Barrier Reef hit by ‘profoundly distressing’ simultaneous coral bleaching events | Great Barrier Reef | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/23/ningaloo-and-great-barrier-reef-hit-by-profoundly-distressing-simultaneous-coral-bleaching-events
Coral bleaching risk in the Pacific looking rather bad these days https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/product/5km/index_5km_baa-max-7d.php #coralbleaching
‘Catastrophic’: Great Barrier Reef hit by its most widespread coral bleaching, study finds https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/22/catastrophic-great-barrier-reef-hit-by-its-most-widespread- coral-bleaching-study-finds?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other #ClimateEmergency #CoralBleaching #GBR
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Coral reefs are one of the most sensitive ecosystems on Earth and greatly benefit humans and thousands of oceanic species. Widespread bleaching since the 1980s is driven by anthropogenic ocean warming. #ClimateChange #CoralBleaching
The #Corals That Survive #ClimateChange Will Be Unrecognizable
They have endured so much, and to endure this, they’ll have to adapt dramatically.
By Marina Koren
August 28, 2024
"Earth belonged to the corals first. And over hundreds of millions of years, they proved themselves remarkably good at adapting to each new version of the planet. As other groups of organisms dropped out of existence, corals endured so many catastrophes that their history reads like a biblical tale of resilience. Through #extinctions mass and minor, through #volcanic eruptions #and asteroid strikes, the corals survived.
"And for tiny marine animals, they managed to exert tremendous force on the planet’s landscape. Corals have raised whole islands into existence. They are the natural guardians of #coastlines; they sustain an estimated quarter of known #MarineLife. If the reefs ringing the #Maldives die, an entire nation could erode into the sea. Humans live in these places because corals exist.
"The Earth that humans evolved on, in other words, is a coral planet. Today, the animals provide #ecosystems that support the livelihoods of about 1 billion people. They are so fundamental to life as we know it that scientists wonder if one way humanity could discover alien life is by detecting the signature of fluorescent corals in the shallow waters of another planet. Corals are also, famously, being devastated by climate change. Even in a future where they survive in some form, their transformation could make our own experience of this planet profoundly different.
"The earliest corals emerged about 500 million years ago, roughly alongside plant life on land. But the modern version of coral reefs appeared a short 4 million years ago, around the time our human ancestors began to walk upright (give or take a few million years). When researchers try to rescue suffering corals, carefully cutting pieces away and transporting them to aquariums, they’re visiting underwater metropolises that are thousands of years old. Despite all that corals have been through, given how fast conditions on Earth are changing, life has likely never been quite as stressful for them as it is now, according to the coral experts Bertrand Martin-Garin and Lucien Montaggioni in their book, Corals and Reefs.
"Earlier this month, scientists reported that #Australia’s #GreatBarrierReef is sitting in water that, in one decade, has become hotter than at any other point in the past 400 years. #Caribbean coral colonies are still reeling from the havoc of last year’s historic #MarineHeatWave. Around the world, extraordinarily hot ocean temperatures have plunged corals into one of the worst #CoralBleaching events in recorded history—they’re expelling the #algae that live in their tissues and turning a ghostly white. Corals can survive bleaching, if conditions improve. But the longer they remain without that algae, the more likely they are to die.
"'These are strange days on planet Earth,' Derek Manzello, a coral-reef ecologist and the coordinator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch, once told me. The planet used to give corals hundreds of thousands of years to adjust to a new reality; #HumanActivities—the burning of #FossilFuels but also #overfishing and #pollution that have brought on #GlobalWarming—have introduced a rate of change more dramatic than anything else in the geological record. “If we wanted to kill all reef-building corals on the planet, it would be hard to imagine a collection of activities quite as pointed and effective as what we’ve arrived at,' Stuart Sandin, a marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told me."
Archived copy:
https://archive.ph/GF6tp
A readable summary of the latest findings on #CoralBleaching in the #GreatBarrierReef is also in the latest issue of @Nature
Worth a read through - if you can bear it.
#Indonesia and US seal $35 mln #CoralReef debt swap https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/indonesia-us-seal-35-mln-coral-reef-debt-swap-2024-07-08/
"The US has agreed to forgive $35 million of Indonesian debt in return for the country restoring, preserving #CoralReefs in the world's most biodiverse patch of #ocean... it is expected to fund at least 15 years of #conservation work in two key areas of what is known as the #CoralTriangle... a habitat for over three quarters of all #coral species"
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors, one of the world's leading dive training organizations, says conservation certifications jumped over 6% globally from 2021 to 2023 as coral bleaching is seen worldwide. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2024/06/27/divers-coral-conservation/ #environment #oceans #coral #thailand #environment #coralbleaching #globalwarming
Rainy season is coming soon, hopefully in time to save the #corals 
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#PuertoPrincesa city #PALAWAN, #Philippines — The #TubbatahaReefs Natural Park (TRNP) is suffering from #CoralBleaching due to prolonged heat brought by the #ElNiño phenomenon, a report from the Tubbataha Management Office said. #ClimateChange #BurningPlanet
Coral bleaching hits Tubbataha due to #ExtremeHeat
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1947490/coral-bleaching-hits-tubbataha-due-to-extreme-heat#ixzz8c3Gv9z00
The Widest-Ever Global Coral Crisis Will Hit Within Weeks, Scientists Say [remote sensing]
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https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/climate/coral-reefs-bleaching.html <-- shared media article
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https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-confirms-4th-global-coral-bleaching-event <-- NOAA technical announcement
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https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/ <-- NOAA Coral Reef Watch home page
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #earthobservation #global #satellite #coralreefwatch #coral #coralreef #coralbleaching #bleaching #temperatures #climatechange #algae #ecosystems #monitoring #fish #fisheries #foodsecurity #economicbenefits #marine #coast #coastal #model #modeling
@NOAA
Scientists say that coral reefs are currently undergoing a global bleaching event, with more than 54% of the world’s coral reef areas in the territorial waters of over 50 countries experiencing heat stress. According to one scientist, the percentage of areas dealing with bleaching-level heat stress “has been increasing by roughly 1% per week.”
by Elizabeth Claire Alberts
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/global-coral-beaching-now-underway-looks-set-to-be-largest-on-record/
This report from the ABC today on the ongoing coral bleaching event will bring tears to your eyes. Growing up in Far North Queensland makes it impossible not to have a deep love for the reef, it is genuinely heartbreaking to see pictures of reefs glowing white.
Coral bleaching: Fourth global mass stress episode underway - US scientists
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68814016
"Scientists in the US, Australia, Kenya and Brazil told BBC News about feeling dismay and even anger as they watched the coral they love threatened or killed by warm oceans.
The first warning signs were in the Caribbean last year when bathers found the water off the coast of Florida was as warm as a hot tub."
Global heating pushes coral reefs towards worst planet-wide mass bleaching on record | Climate crisis | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/15/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-global-heating
Lord Howe island faces ‘major’ coral bleaching as ocean temperatures continue to break records | Australia news | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/06/lord-howe-island-coral-bleaching-moving-south-fears-ocean-temperatures
The race to save Florida’s coral reef from hot ocean waters - Enlarge / Elkhorn coral fragments rescued from overheating ocean nurser... - https://arstechnica.com/?p=1959857 #coralbleaching #climatechange #oceanwarming #floridakeys #syndication #science
#Florida’s Record-Breaking Sea Temperatures Affecting #Coral
Story by Catrin Einhorn and Jason Gulley, July 31, 2023
"With #climateChange ravaging Florida’s beloved reef, people who’ve devoted their careers to restoring coral in the sea are now racing to get it out of the water, to tanks on land. They’re pushing through feelings of grief and fear over the future to save what genetic material and young corals they can. But in the background, an existential question looms: How can they restore reefs if the ocean is getting too hot for coral to live there?
"While marine #heatwaves occur naturally, the eye-popping sea temperatures recorded off the Keys this month (one reading hit 101 degrees Fahrenheit, or just over 38 Celsius) have been made worse by global warming, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The world’s oceans have absorbed 90% of the additional heat unleashed by people burning fossil fuels and razing forests. Currently, about 44% of the #global #ocean is in a #heatwave.
"The mass coral bleaching happening throughout the Keys is the most severe in the state’s history, Derek Manzello, the coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program, said. Surveys over the next few months are needed to understand how much coral has died.
"'I fear for the worst,' he said."
It was already bad when the water was well over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but...over 100?
This is Not Good. In fact, this is Very Bad.
Scientists say Florida Keys coral reefs are already bleaching as water temperatures hit record highs
#News #GlobalWarming #climatechange #weather #ClimateEmergency #coralbleaching #AureFreePress
https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-florida-keys-coral-reefs.html
Greg Cocks 
