GBR: Mass Bleaching Underway For 2nd Straight Year; 22% Of Reef Died In 2016, In 2017?
A mass bleaching event is taking its toll on the Great Barrier Reef for an unprecedented second year in a row, a Queensland government agency has confirmed.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has declared widespread damage from an underwater heatwave after a single day of aerial surveys between Cairns and Townsville on Thursday.
The authoritys David Wachenfeld told the ABC the survey findings regrettably gave the agency enough evidence to declare another mass bleaching event, following the worst to date in 2016 which killed off 22% of coral.
A repeat of mass bleaching compounds fears for the survival of already-stressed coral, whose recovery since 2016 has been challenged by stubbornly high sea surface temperatures, including through winter. The scale of bleaching will be confirmed through further surveys by the agency and reef scientists but it is likely to take at least six months before the death rate of coral is known.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/10/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-worsens-as-scientists-fear-heatwaves-impact