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Analysis: A Third of Great Barrier Reef Coral Died in Catastrophic 2016 Heat Event
Gazette Day reports [gazetteday.com]
In the year 2016, there was a heatwave that affected many parts of the world. The extreme temperatures were especially felt in and around the continent of Australia. As a result of the heatwave, the waters around the Great Barrier Reef warmed considerably. Scientists were worried that with the oceans already warming due to global climate change, the additional heat stress might cause considerable damage to the Great Barrier Reef.
After the heatwave [nature.com] subsided, a team of scientists conducted tests to find out how the heatwave damaged the reef. Extensive aerial surveys were conducted. These surveys concluded that a great deal of the reef had bleaching that had killed off many parts of the reef.
In addition to these aerial surveys, underwater surveys were conducted right after the heatwave, and eight months after the initial survey was completed. The results of the combined surveys were released this week.
The surveys found that 90 percent of the corals in the reef suffered at least some type of bleaching. The worst damage was on the northernmost third of the reef. In this section, much of the damage was caused by the initial rise in temperature.
The other damage occurred later. The coral reefs depend on a symbiotic relationship with a certain type of algae. Over the course of a few months after the heating event, the algae separated from the reef causing additional reef death.
During the heating event in 2016, one-third of the coral reefs in the world were bleached and damaged in some way. The reefs do have the ability to come back from this [heat-induced damage] as long as the damaging events are not too frequent.
Scientists find the large die off of reefs alarming for two reasons. First of all, the oceans are getting warmer all the time. If the temperature rises too much, it may kill off the coral reefs entirely. Also, scientists are noticing that after this last reef die off, the reefs are restoring themselves in a different way. The species that make up the reef are different. Scientists as of yet do not know how this will affect ocean life as a whole.
In order to keep the reefs from having permanent damage, scientists believe that more most be done to combat global climate change. If the planet continues to warm, the reefs won't be the only thing in the ocean [which will be] affected.
