What’s happening in the Great Barrier Reef?

The latest survey of the Great Barrier Reef shockingly found more than 90% of the corals this year were bleached due to abnormal ocean temperatures. According to a report that was quietly published by Australian government scientists, this was the sixth mass bleaching event on record.

What is meant by the bleaching of coral reefs? Coral bleaching occurs as a heat stress response from rising ocean temperatures, which drives algae away from coral reefs, causing reefs to lose their vibrant colours. While bleaching can naturally occur, this is the first time the Great Barrier Reef experienced extreme coral bleaching during La Niña, an oceanic phenomenon that is associated with cooler Pacific Ocean temperatures, highlighting worsening global warming. When a coral bleaches, it is not dead. Corals can survive a bleaching event, but they are under more stress and their mortality is at risk.

That being said, the latest research survey tracing hard coral across 87 reefs along the coast of Queensland over August 2021 to May 2022, found that there was some reef growth! The survey found that coral cover reached 36 percent in the northern third of the reef and 33 percent in the central third, up from 27 percent and 26 percent, respectively, from the prior year. In contrast to the upper stretches of the Great Barrier Reef, the southern third saw coral cover…