Data from a series of scientific surveys that examined the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef - the largest coral ecosystem on Earth - have finally been released, and the results aren't promising.
Of the 911 coral reefs that Australia's National Coral Bleaching Task Force surveyed by air, some bleaching was found in all of them. Furthermore, the bleaching was the worst in the northern region with virtually no reefs safe from the bleaching event.
"Between 60 and 100 percent of corals are severely bleached on 316 reefs, nearly all in the northern half of the Reef," said Terry Hughes, head of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at Australia's James Cook University.
If bleaching is severe enough and corals are exposed long enough, there is the possibility that they could die. The team revealed that based on their diving surveys of the northern reef region, there is already 50 percent coral death.
"The fact that the most severely affected regions are those that are remote and, hence otherwise in good shape, means that a lot of prime reef is being devastated," said Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science at the Smithsonian Institution. "One has to hope that these protected reefs are more resilient and better able to [recover], but it will be a lengthy process even so."
"This is, by far, the worst bleaching they've seen on the Great Barrier Reef," said Mark Eakin, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Watch. "Our climate model-based Four Month Bleaching Outlook was predicting that severe bleaching was likely for the GBR back in December. Unfortunately, we were right and much of the reef has bleached, especially in the north."
The Great Barrier Reef drives Australia's tourism industry, generating an annual income of $5 billion and harboring employment for almost 70,000 people. The country's government has recognized the dangers of climate change to the reef and the people that depend on it for work.
"Thankfully, many parts of the reef are still in excellent shape, but we can't just ignore coral bleaching and hope for a swift recovery," said Daniel Gschwind, chief executive of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council. "Short-term development policies have to be weighed up against long-term environmental damage, including impacts on the reef from climate change."
