Mass coral bleaching now affecting half of Australia's Great Barrier Reef

We've all seen pictures of the Great Barrier Reef, and probably some video as well.
One of the marvels of our earth, to be sure.
And due to several factors, the reef is now in danger. This article discusses bleaching, which happens when the waters are too warm for too longer, and El Nino is to blame.
www.theguardian.com...


www.theguardian.com...

Corals bleach when they experience temperatures above their normal summer maximum for a month or two. The situation is made worse if there are few clouds, and a high level of UV radiation blasts the coral.

The Great Barrier Reef aerial survey began last month, and has now covered 911 individual reefs along the 2,300km structure from helicopters and planes.

Prof Terry Hughes, from James Cook University and head of the National Coral Bleaching taskforce, said only 68 of those reefs escaped bleaching entirely.

“We’ve never seen anything like this scale of bleaching before. In the northern Great Barrier Reef, it’s like 10 cyclones have come ashore all at once,” said Hughes.

more info:
en.wikipedia.org...
www.ft.com... [danger from coal mining]
video.nationalgeographic.com... [video]
www.gbrmpa.gov.au...
reefbuilders.com... [reefs can recover]

Can we tug some icebergs down there?

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Is the coral dead when it's bleached or is just a colour deformation ?

I'm curious what happened to the reefs during the Minoan and roman warming periods?

Having a hard time finding info on it.

a reply to: Discotech

When coral bleaches it is not dead but if the conditions that cause the bleaching continue the Coral will die.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I was ready to outraged that someone was dumping bleach on the Great Barrier Reef. So it is a natural product of warm temperatures?

Okay, I give up...what is the big deal?

a reply to: Metallicus

Less habitat for fish and animals equals less food for other fish and animals and so on and so forth

a reply to: neomaximus10

Why doesn't the warmer water increase biodiversity?

originally posted by: neomaximus10
a reply to: Metallicus

Less habitat for fish and animals equals less food for other fish and animals and so on and so forth

We are talking about a color change.

That doesn't equate to less habitat for animals.

a reply to: Metallicus

The big deal is that at some point the coral cannot heal and the habitat/ecosystem is disrupted/destroyed.
It's not a good thing for the health of the ocean.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Well, it isn't like these temperature changes are anything we can change. El Nino is a common occurrence and I am sure the Earth has been through worse change through it's billions of years.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Let's hope something happens that allows the reefs to recover before it's too late for them.

As you know, they are foundational for ecosystems so when the reefs die, dependent species die which affects others higher up the food chain. Something like a quarter of all known marine life is reliant on the corals and this rapid decline screws the chances of natural selection accommodating the changes. There's too much change, too soon.

a reply to: Kandinsky

If the reef fails then that IS natural selection. Animals that can't adapt are always dying off. It will probably be humans one day.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
a reply to: Metallicus

The big deal is that at some point the coral cannot heal and the habitat/ecosystem is disrupted/destroyed.
It's not a good thing for the health of the ocean.

I thought warmer water increased bio diversiry?

What happened to the reef during the Minoan and roman warming periods.

y problem with global warming.

We are not seeing an increase in bio diversity and we are experiencing a population decline both indicative of the onset of cooling not warming not to mention the known phenomenon in human culture changes such as the dark ages and the mini ice age

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Kandinsky

If the reef fails then that IS natural selection. Animals that can't adapt are always dying off. It will probably be humans one day.

The general consensus within science is we're living through a time where more species are endangered or extinct. Some are calling it the sixth mass extinction.

Personally, it worries me and I'm concerned that we're making the environment of Earth unsuitable for future generations of people. As far as we know, this is the only planet with life on it for light years. It's not about this generation or whoever is in power now, it's about the environment in a hundred years or more. Sure, species die off and that's natural.

We're here for the blink of an eye and a few sacrifices shouldn't matter in the greater scheme of things.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Did a thread on this a few weeks back:

'Worst Bleaching Ever' Observed on the Great Barrier Reef

But the more attention it gets, the better. (Be nice though if some people took 5 minutes to learn what coral bleaching actually is before filling ATS with ever more empty cyberfluff, "so it changes colour...who cares").

a reply to: Kandinsky

We're here for the blink of an eye and a few sacrifices shouldn't matter in the greater scheme of things.

I fully support your right to make sacrifices.

I just don't want them forced on me.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Ocean Acidification.

If climate change isn't a concern, which it should be, this should at least ruffle some feathers.

My uncle is head of a geology department at a major university and showed me his studies of ocean acidification from a decade ago. The results are concerning

Ocean Acidification and Bleaching


CO2 readily absorbs into the oceans. If the pH changes too much, you get coral bleaching as well as other nasty environmental caused issues to ocean wild life.

Imagine putting your favorite salt water fish in carbonated salt water.

a reply to: OneGoal

Don't the phytoplankton eat up the c02 to produce our oxygen rich environment?

Where can I read about c02 being absorbed by the ocean?