Languages

coral reef

English

Climate change: recent, rapid ocean warming alarms scientists - 2023

sun over the oceabn

A recent, rapid heating of the world's oceans has alarmed scientists concerned that it will add to global warming.

This month, the global sea surface hit a new record high temperature. It has never warmed this much, this quickly.

Scientists don't fully understand why this has happened.

But they worry that, combined with other weather events, the world's temperature could reach a concerning new level by the end of next year.

Experts believe that a strong El Niño weather event - a weather system that heats the ocean - will also set in over the next months.

Coral Reef Habitat

Coral reefs are rock-like structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. They are also called ‘rainforests of the sea’ as they provide shelter to a large number of marine organisms. Besides corals, sea anemones, starfish, octopus, sea urchins, and a variety of fish are found in coral reefs. Examples of coral reefs are the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and those of the Andaman and Nicobar islands in India.

Massive coral bleaching killing Australia's Great Barrier Reef - 2016

Fish swim amid bleached coral near Lizard Island, Australia, Great Barrier Reef
Fish swim amid bleached coral near Lizard Island, Australia, Great Barrier Reef
Coral - 4 stages of coral healthy, bleached, algal growth voer bleached dead coral
Coral - 4 stages of coral - healthy, bleached, algal growth voer bleached dead coral
Close-up of four staes of coral bleaching dying coral great barrier reef australia
Close-up of four staes of coral bleaching dying coral great barrier reef australia
heavy algal overgrowth over bleached dying coral - Great Barrier Reef Australia
heavy algal overgrowth over bleached dying coral - Great Barrier Reef Australia

The massive bleaching hitting the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia is likely that country's "biggest ever environmental disaster," says Dr. Justin Marshall, who has studied the reef for three decades. Fish swim amid bleached coral near Lizard Island, Australia, Great Barrier Reef Only 7 percent of the reef has escaped bleaching, according to researchers at the ARC Center of Excellence. Marshall, a professor at the University of Queensland, says the destructive phenomenon is happening in an area the size of Scotland. "Before this mass bleaching started, we already were at the point of losing 50% of the coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef. This, I think, will probably take another 50% off what was left," Marshall says. Over the course of the last six months, Marshall and his colleagues with the citizen science project Coral Watch have documented the degradation of reef structures near Lizard Island, one of the worst-hit areas. They photographed the same formations of coral multiple times, showing clearly the pace of the destruction.

Caribbean coral reefs becoming extinct

healthy-coral-bermuda_0.jpg Reef in Bermuda. Healthy coral reefs have declined by about 50% in the past 40 years Many of the Caribbean's coral reefs could vanish in the next 20 years, according to a report published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Data from more than 35,000 surveys suggests that habitats have declined by more than 50% since the 1970s. The report's authors believe that over-fishing and disease is mainly to blame. They say the trend could continue if nothing is done, but with protection the reefs could bounce back. Carl Gustaf Lundin, director of IUCN's Global Marine and Polar Programme, said the findings were alarming. "The reefs support a number of different countries and populations," he said. "Tourism is one of the biggest industries, and the health of the reef is essential to the well-being of many of the people living there. And of course they are immensely beautiful and wonderful places as well." coral-overgrown-with-algae-jamaica-2013_0.jpg Reef overrun with algae The reefs are becoming over-run with algae, which suffocates the coral. The report, which was also authored by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, looked at data collected between 1970 and 2012 from 90 reef habitats and is the most comprehensive assessment of corals in this region.

Oceans health declining quickly

Corals are likely to suffer as a result of the changes to our oceans The health of the world’s oceans is deteriorating even faster than had previously been thought, a report says. A review from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), warns that the oceans are facing multiple threats. They are being heated by climate change, turned slowly less alkaline by absorbing CO2, and suffering from overfishing and pollution. The report warns that dead zones formed by fertiliser run-off are a problem. It says conditions are ripe for the sort of mass extinction event that has afflicted the oceans in the past. It says: “We have been taking the ocean for granted. It has been shielding us from the worst effects of accelerating climate change by absorbing excess CO2 from the atmosphere. “Whilst terrestrial temperature increases may be experiencing a pause, the ocean continues to warm regardless. For the most part, however, the public and policymakers are failing to recognise - or choosing to ignore - the severity of the situation.” It says the cocktail of threats facing the ocean is more powerful than the individual problems themselves. Coral reefs, for instance, are suffering from the higher temperatures and the effects of acidification whilst also being weakened by bad fishing practices, pollution, siltation and toxic algal blooms. IPSO, funded by charitable foundations, is publishing a set of five papers based on workshops in 2011 and 2012 in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN’s) World Commission on Protected Areas.

Endangered Coral Reefs in steep decline

Are we losing all of our coral reefs?