91% Of GBR Corals Surveyed Affected By Bleaching; 6th Mass Event Since 1998, 4th Since 2016

[hatrack]

Coral bleaching affected 91% of reefs surveyed along the Great Barrier Reef this year, according to a report by government scientists that confirms the natural landmark has suffered its sixth mass bleaching event on record.

The Reef snapshot: summer 2021-22, quietly published by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on Tuesday night after weeks of delay, said above-average water temperatures in late summer had caused coral bleaching throughout the 2,300km reef system, but particularly in the central region between Cape Tribulation and the Whitsundays.

“The surveys confirm a mass bleaching event, with coral bleaching observed at multiple reefs in all regions,” a statement accompanying the report said. “This is the fourth mass bleaching event since 2016 and the sixth to occur on the Great Barrier Reef since 1998.” It was the first mass bleaching event recorded during a cooler La Niña year.

Scientists from the marine park authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science surveyed 719 shallow water reefs between the Torres Strait and the Capricorn Bunker Group at the southern end of the reef system, mostly using helicopters. They found 654 reefs showed some bleaching.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/10/devastating-90-of-reefs-surveyed-on-great-barrier-reef-affected-by-coral-bleaching-in-2022

[lapfog_1]

1. I told my diving students 25 years ago to go see the GBR

because in their lifetime it would be gone.

Didn't think it would also be in my lifetime.

[OnlinePoker]

2. And it's not likely to have much long-term effect.

...Compared to 2016 and 2017, a smaller percentage of reefs experienced heat stress with Degree Heating Week values above 8 °C-weeks in 2022...

It is important to note that bleached coral is stressed but still alive. As water temperatures cool, bleached corals may regain their colour and survive this stress event, as happened in 2020 when there was very low coral mortality associated with a mass bleaching event.

https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/the-reef/reef-health

(See the Synopsis of the 2022 mass bleaching event tab)