Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is suffering another mass bleaching event, the reef’s managers confirmed last Friday. This is the result of soaring ocean temperatures caused by the global climate crisis and amplified by El Niño.
Great Barrier Reef Mass Coral Bleaching
This is the seventh mass bleaching event to hit the vast, ecologically important but fragile site and the fifth in only eight years.
Aerial surveys conducted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and Australian Institute of Marine Science spanned two-thirds of the marine park and confirmed “a widespread, often called mass, coral bleaching event is unfolding across the Great Barrier Reef.”
Reef managers noted that the ongoing bleaching event aligns with reports of coral reefs worldwide experiencing similar incidents over the past 12 months.
The Great Barrier Reef, covering 133,000 square miles, is the world’s largest coral reef, home to over 1,500 fish species and 411 hard coral varieties, contributing significantly to the Australian economy and standing as a premier natural wonder for global tourists.
The Great Barrier Reef experienced severe mass bleaching events in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2022.
Coral bleaching is significant because when these corals perish, reef regeneration is a rare occurrence. With minimal surviving corals, reproduction becomes challenging, leading to the degradation of entire reef ecosystems crucial for both people and wildlife.
News sources: Maritime Executive and CNN
