Bleaching Seems To Have Affected The Great Barrier Reef Even Worse

Coral bleaching may have had an even worse than believed effect on the Great Barrier Reef.

For the past two years, coral reef bleaching has been affecting the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. As scientists have been trying to combat its effects, a new survey claims that the damage inflicted may be even worse than initially believed.

Coral Bleaching and its Worse Than Believed Effects

According to the National Ocean Service, bleaching occurs when the coral turns white due to stress caused by environmental conditions. The Great Barrier Reef is now experiencing its second consecutive year of such a phenomenon, caused by the warming waters.

Now, scientists are claiming that the affected areas are beyond repair. Biologist Terry Hughes, director of the Arc Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Queensland Australia, stated that over 55% of the coral reef was bleached in 2016.

He also said that, when combined with 2017, two-thirds of the Northern parts of the Great Barrier Reef have already been bleached. Other areas around the world are also suffering from bleaching but were not included in this percentage.

Terry Hughes argues that greenhouse gas emissions are to blame for the dying reefs. He also mentioned that the window to limiting greenhouse gas emissions is getting smaller. That if we want to act on it, now is the time to do so.

While reducing greenhouse emission levels may not restore the worse affected corals, it may potentially help save the remaining ones. Also, it could possibly contribute to the disappearance of the primary cause.

Presently, a biologist is cross breeding coral to try and make them withstand the warmer temperatures. This could help increase their adaptability. In turn, it may contribute to reducing mass bleaching levels, possibly even prevent them.

A study published last year in the journal Nature also analyzed the effects and various consequences of the first of the two consecutive periods of bleaching.

Image Source: Wikimedia

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Nancy Young

When I was younger I used to spend almost all of my free time playing computer games. My mom and dad would go mental over this. “You’re never going to do anything with your life if you are going to play games all day” they used to say. What was even more unusual was the fact that I played more games than most of the guys in my friend group. Looking back, I have to admit that I probably played a bit too much, but I also learned a lot of great things. When I turned 20 I decided that it was high-time to make some money of my own, but the only jobs I could get were that of waitress or cashier. How exciting. After several excruciating months of serving tables I had a great idea: since I love gaming so much, why don’t I write about it? That’s when I started doing small writing projects on Elance. Eventually, I got an offer for a part-time job. During that time I learned all about content marketing strategies and how search engines work. I started writing about various topics such as technology, health and lifestyle and discovered that I was actually good at it. On November 24, 2014, I became part of the ArgyllFreePress team.