File:Coral bleaching Great Barrier Reef 2016.jpeg
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Coral as a canary, a sentinel species
Coral reefs in peril as ocean environment is transformed
Underwater heat wave devastates Great Barrier Reef / www.wsj.com
Underwater Heat Wave Devastates Great Barrier Reef
Hardest-hit area includes some of Australia’s most remote and pristine coral
- March 29, 2016
CANBERRA, Australia — An underwater heat wave is devastating huge swaths of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, marine researchers have found.
A Nightmare is Unfolding in the Great Barrier Reef -- http://gizmodo.com/a-nightmare-is-unfolding-in-the-great-barrier-reef-1767702006
Great Barrier Reef bleaching may be last wake-up call, marine scientists say
Extensive bleaching has been caused by higher ocean temperatures
To prevent further damage, governments should commit to lowering emissions, an Australian team says
"This has been the saddest research trip of my life," James Cook University professor Terry Hughes, the convener of the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce, said in a press release after the team aerially surveyed almost 2,500 miles of the northern Australia reefs.
Coral bleaching is a modern phenomenon, marine scientists say; Over the past 400 years, there's no evidence of bleaching events until the late 20th century. Changing environmental factors like rising sea temperatures can cause the coral to expel their photosynthetic algae, called zooxanthellae, making many turn stark white. Others remain vivid, but have lost the green and brown hues that signal health. Without the symbiotic algae to process sunlight into oxygen and other nutrients, the coral dies.
Sydney, Australia - The Worst Bleaching Event
"What we're seeing now is unequivocally to do with climate change," Prof Justin Martin University of Queensland told the ABC
-- http://www.reuters.com/video/2016/03/29/australias-great-barrier-reef-hit-by-sev?videoId=367910095
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