11/7/2015

World'sOceansFacingBiggestCoralDieoffinHistory,ScientistsWarn|TheWaterNetwork|byAquaSPE

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Academic
Ashantha Goonetilleke (/member-8CG/ashanthagoonetilleke-PDj0x7eSbAhpwty2smsU6w/home) 4 days ago

World's Oceans Facing Biggest Coral

Die-off in History, Scientists Warn

Scientists
have confirmed
the third-ever
global
bleaching of
coral
reefs is
under way and
warned it could
see the biggest
coral dieoff
in history
Since 2014, a
massive
underwater
heatwave,
driven by
climate
change,
has
caused corals
to lose their
brilliance and
die in every
ocean. By the
end of this
year 38% of the
worlds
reefs will have
been
affected.
About 5% will
have died
forever.
But with
a very strong
El Ni
odriving
record global
temperatures
and
a huge
patch of hot
water, known
as
the Blob,
hanging
obstinately in
the north-

western Pacific,
things look
far worse again
for 2016.
For coral
scientists such
as Dr Mark
Eakin, the
coordinator of
the US
National
Oceanic and
Atmospheric
Administration
Coral Reef
Watch
programme,
this is the
cataclysm that
has been feared
since the first
global
bleaching
occurred in
1998.
The
fact that
2016s
bleaching will
be added on top
of the
bleaching
that
has occurred
since June 2014
makes me really
worried about
what the
cumulative
impact may be.
It very well
may be the
worst
period of
coral bleaching
weve
seen, he
told the
Guardian.
The only two
previous such
global events
were in 1998
and 2010,
when
every major
ocean basin
experienced
bleaching.
Professor Ove
Hoegh-Guldberg,
director of the
Global Change
Institute at
the University
of Queensland,
Australia, said
the ocean
was
now primed for
the
worst coral
bleaching event
in history
.
The
development of
conditions in
the Pacific
looks exactly
like what
happened in
1997. And of
course
following 1997
we had this
extremely warm
year, with
damage
occurring in 50
countries at
least
and 16%
of corals dying
by the end of
it, he
said.
Many of us
think
this will
exceed the
damage that was
done in 1998.

After
widespread
devastation was
confirmed in
the Caribbean
this
month, a
worldwide
consortium of
coral
scientists
joined on
Thursday
to sombrely
announce the
third-ever
global
bleaching event
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11/7/2015

World'sOceansFacingBiggestCoralDieoffinHistory,ScientistsWarn|TheWaterNetwork|byAquaSPE

and

warn
of a

tenuous future
for the
precious
habitat unless
sharp cuts were
made
to carbon
emissions.
Since the
early 1980s the
world has lost
roughly half of
its coral reefs.
Hoegh-Guldberg
said the
current event
was directly in
line with
predictions he
made in 1999
that continued
global
temperature
rise
would lead
to the complete
loss of coral
reefs by the
middle of this
century.

Its
certainly on
that road to a
point about
2030 when every
year is a
bleaching year
So
unfortunately I
got it right,
he said.
Hoegh-
Guldberg said
he had
personally
observed the
first signs of
bleaching
on
Australia
s Great Barrier
Reefin
the past
fortnight,
months before
the warm season
begins. He said
the warming
pattern
indicated
bleaching this
summer would
likely affect
50% of the reef,
leaving 5-10%
of corals dead.
Eakin said
seeing
bleaching on
the reef
at
this time of
year was
disturbing
.
We are
going to have
to double our
efforts to
reduce the
other
threats
to the reef,
said
Hoegh-Guldberg
of the icon
that Unesco has
considered
listing as
World Heritage
in Danger, due
to the threats
of a
mooted
coal port
expansion,
agricultural
run-off and
climate change.
It
s like a
hospital
patient. If
youve
got a chronic
disease then
you are
more
sensitive to a
lot of other
things and if
you want a
recovery then
you need to
take all those
other stresses
off.
Source: Environmental Research
(http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/62920)

World's oceans facing biggest coral die-off in history, scientists

warn - environmentalresearchweb
(http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/62920)
A third global bleaching of coral reefs is underway following a massive and persistent underwater heatwave
(from <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/08/worlds-oceans-facing-biggest-coraldie-off-in-history-scientists-warn"><cite>the Guardian</cite></a>)
Tags:

Water
Environment
Environmental Health
Climate Change

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