Australia Says Majority of the Great Barrier Reef Is Bleached

Australia Says Majority of , the Great Barrier Reef Is Bleached.
NPR reports over 90% of Australia's
Great Barrier Reef surveyed in
2022 was bleached.
A direct result of global warming, this is the
first time researchers have found bleaching to occur
in the coral reef during a La Niña weather pattern.
which generally brings
cooler temperatures
to the Pacific Ocean.
Per NPR, bleaching events in the
previous six years have caused
extensive damage to at least two-thirds
of the once remarkable coral reef.
Bleaching in coral reefs occurs
as a heat stress response.
Experts are hopeful that much
of the coral will recover from such
bleaching events over time.
The early indications
are that the mortality won't be very high. , David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority, via NPR.
We are hoping that we will see most of the coral that is bleached recover... , David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority, via NPR.
...and we will end up with an event rather more like 2020 when, yes, there was mass bleaching, but there was low mortality. , David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority, via NPR.
Officials say the bleaching events of
2016 and 2017 caused "quite high
levels of coral mortality.".
Last December was the hottest on record
for the Great Barrier Reef since 1900