Survey Finds Catastrophic Coral Die-Off on Great Barrier Reef

Coral researchers said a fourth bleaching episode was unfolding at the Great Barrier Reef, warning climate change has positioned the natural wonder in a position of “life and death”.

Aerial and underwater surveys across the reef in 2016 returned evidence of extensive coral deaths triggered by record rising sea temperatures. Scientists from the Arc Centre of Excellence, who published their findings in Nature on March 16, said the alarming results signalled climate change can no longer be thought of as isolated events, but a crisis which threatens all coral reefs globally.

“Climate change is not some distant threat to the Great Barrier Reef, it’s actually been happening for 18 years,” said Professor Terry Hughes, the director of ARC.

“Tragically we’re now looking at a fourth event unfolding in 2017.”

In 2016 there was the largest die-off of corals ever recorded at the Great Barrier Reef, where 700 square kilometres of reefs lost 67 per cent of its coral over a nine-month period. The newly released footage shows researchers returning to the regions between November 2016 and March 2017 to find a potential fourth bleaching episode in the central reef, but Hughes did not believe it will be as catastrophic as last year. The footage between 2.10-2.40 shows bleaching at Orpheus Island in March 2017.

While ARC said actions such improving water quality and protecting marine life could help with long-term recovery, it would make no offer no protection against heat waves. Credit: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies via Storyful