Coral Catastrophe: Ocean’s Greatest Bleaching Mystery May Take a Year to Solve, Say Scientists

Scientists have warned it will take at least a year, or possibly longer, to fully understand the scale of the world's worst-ever coral bleaching, which has already affected 84% of the world's reefs. The record-breaking disaster, powered by record-sea temperatures in the past two years, has bleached formerly brightly colored coral communities ghostly white in more than 80 countries and territories.

 

The International Coral Reef Initiative has verified that this is the most severe bleaching on record, more extreme than past world events in intensity and scope. Scientists indicate that the enormous range of the bleaching- extending across the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans-takes significant time and data gathering to conduct extensive scientific analysis and estimates of recovery.

 

Coral bleaching occurs when heat-stressed corals expel the symbiotic algae that provide them with color and energy, turning the reefs white and compromised. When the heat persists, the majority of corals die, threatening the livelihoods of millions of individuals who depend on healthy reefs for food, tourism, and coastal defense.

 

Marine scientists note that the repeated occurrence of mass bleaching events, along with the short time between them, is becoming increasingly difficult for reefs to recover from. As the sea temperatures are expected to remain high, scientists caution that the full ecological and economic implications might not be visible for years.

 

Source: Down To Earth