Scientists have warned that a global coral reef die-off is expected to be the biggest in history, due to climate change and a very strong El Niño. This latest event began in 2014 in the western Pacific Ocean and could continue to 2017, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The coral die-off, known as coral bleaching, is caused when the oceanic temperatures become very high, due to climate change. This unusally warm climate and poor nutritional water is known as El Niño. The process can start from just one degree difference being constant for long periods of time. This causes the coral-reefs to die off because they are not capable to live in warm temperatures for an extended amount of time.
"We are currently experiencing the longest global coral bleaching event ever observed," said Mark Eakin of the NOAA, according to a press release.
This coral reef die-off is being affected on a global level. In the Caribbean and Florida Keys, coral reefs bleached in 2015, are expected to possibly die-off again this July. Coral reef bleaching is also seen in areas such as Fiji and Southeast Asia.
A new study conducted by scientists indicates that climate change is making it more difficult for ecosystems to thrive in, because of the increase in temperatures and pollution, according to The Inquisitr.
The scientists concluded this evidence by simulating 200-year-old ocean conditions in the field near Australia. The results found that the coral reefs grew 7 percent faster than they would in todays waters.
"Our work provides the first strong evidence from experiments on a natural ecosystem that ocean acidification is already slowing...growth. Ocean acidification is already taking it's toll. this is no longer a fear of the future; it is the reality of today," said study leader, Rebecca Albright of the Carnegie Institution of Science.
Mankind is expected to suffer if the coral reef die-off persists."If we were to take strong action on the emission issue and we were to take strong action on the non-climate issues such as overfishing and pollution, reefs would rebound by mid to late century," said Hoegh-Guldberg, director of the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland, Australia.
