Tag: Great Barrier Reef

Australia declares ‘mass bleaching’ at Great Barrier Reef

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is suffering a “mass bleaching event” as coral comes under heat stress from warmer seas, reef authorities said Friday. An aerial survey showed coral bleaching at multiple reefs, “confirming a mass bleaching event, the fourth since 2016,” said a report by the Reef Authority, which manages the world’s largest coral reef system. Coral suffered despite the cooling effect of the La Nina weather phenomenon which is currently […]

UN weighs listing Great Barrier Reef as ‘in danger’

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – The United Nations began a monitoring mission on the Great Barrier Reef Monday, assessing whether the World Heritage site is being protected from climate change as it suffers further widespread bleaching. Higher-than-average temperatures have again caused severe bleaching in parts of the reef, authorities confirmed last week, dashing hopes a cooler La Nina summer could spare corals from another season of heat damage. UNESCO’s mission will assess whether the Australian government […]

Australia pumps cash into Great Barrier Reef protection

SYDNEY, Austalia (AFP) – Australia unveiled a billion-dollar package to protect the climate-ravaged Great Barrier Reef on Friday, hoping to prevent the vast network of corals from being removed from UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Conservative prime minister Scott Morrison announced the Aus$1 billion (US$700 million) nine-year plan, months after narrowly avoiding the reef being placed on UNESCO’s “in danger” list. “We are backing the health of the reef and the economic future of tourism operators, […]

Great Barrier Reef suffers worst-ever coral bleaching: scientists

BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has suffered its most widespread coral bleaching on record, scientists said Tuesday in a dire warning about the threat posed by climate change to the world’s largest living organism. James Cook University professor Terry Hughes said a comprehensive survey last month found record sea temperatures had caused the third mass bleaching of the 2,300-kilometre (1,400-mile) reef system in just five years. Bleaching occurs when healthy corals become […]

Surviving bleached Barrier Reef coral ‘more resilient to heat’

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Corals on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef that survived bleaching from rising sea temperatures were more resistant to another bout of hot conditions the following year, scientists said Tuesday, a “silver lining” for the embattled ecosystem. The 2,300-kilometer (1,400-mile) long UNESCO World Heritage-listed reef off Australia’s northeastern coast was hit by back-to-back bleaching in 2016 and 2017. Bleaching occurs when abnormal environmental conditions, such as warmer sea temperatures, cause corals to expel […]

Surviving bleached Barrier Reef coral ‘more resilient to heat’

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Corals on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef that survived bleaching from rising sea temperatures were more resistant to another bout of hot conditions the following year, scientists said Tuesday, a “silver lining” for the embattled ecosystem. The 2,300-kilometre (1,400-mile) long UNESCO World Heritage-listed reef off Australia’s northeastern coast was hit by back-to-back bleaching in 2016 and 2017. Bleaching occurs when abnormal environmental conditions, such as warmer sea temperatures, cause corals to expel […]

Biggest coral reseeding project launches on Great Barrier Reef

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Scientists have launched the largest-ever attempt to regenerate coral on the endangered Great Barrier Reef by harvesting millions of the creatures’ eggs and sperm during their annual spawning. The researchers said Wednesday they plan to grow coral larvae from the harvested eggs and return these to areas of the reef which have been badly damaged by climate-related coral bleaching. “This is the first time that the entire process of large scale […]

Great Barrier Reef on sixth life in 30,000 years: study

(AFP) — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, under severe stress in a warmer, more acidic ocean, has returned from near-extinction five times in the past 30,000 years, researchers said Monday. And while this suggests the reef may be more resilient than once thought, it has likely never faced an onslaught quite as severe as today, they added. “I have grave concerns about the ability of the reef in its current form to survive the pace of […]

Australia pledges half a billion to restore Great Barrier Reef

by Martin Parry Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia pledged half a billion dollars to restore and protect the Great Barrier Reef Sunday in what it said would be a game-changer for the embattled natural wonder, but conservationists were not convinced. The World Heritage-listed site, which attracts millions of tourists, is reeling from significant bouts of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change. It is also under threat from […]

Australia offers cash for Great Barrier Reef rescue ideas

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia is calling on the world’s top scientific minds to help save the Great Barrier Reef, offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund research into protecting the world’s largest living structure. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed reef is reeling from significant coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change. The 2,300-kilometre (1,400-mile) site is also under pressure from farming runoff, development and predatory crown-of-thorns starfish, with experts warning […]

Scientists discover resilient ‘heart’ of Great Barrier Reef

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is in peril from climate change and widespread bleaching, but scientists said Tuesday a small portion may be resilient enough to keep much of the rest alive. About three percent of the World Heritage site — home to the planet’s largest collection of coral reefs with 3,800 in all — has so far emerged relatively unscathed from a host of threats, from warming waters to pollution […]