The Great Barrier Reef, home of many coral reefs, is now 50 percent dead, scientists stated. The global warming has affected the waters in the ocean and has warmed it up to the point that coral reefs cannot adopt.
Most parts of The Great Barrier Reef are examined, unlike in the first report. A large part of the Great Barrier Reef, mostly the northern part, has been dead, according to the scientists who researched and checked on it. They have been killed because of the overheated seawater. The southern part, which survived last year's mass bleaching, is now being affected by the overheating of the seawater. This occurrence is hinting that the Great Barrier Reef might be in more danger than last year, reported The New York Times.
"We didn't expect to see this level of destruction to The Great Barrier Reef for another 30 years," said Terry P. Hughes, director of a government-funded center for coral reef studies at James Cook University in Australia and the lead author of a paper on the reef that is being published Thursday as the cover article of the journal Nature. He added that two-thirds of the coral reefs in the north, which he saw dying, are completely dead now.
This event is definitely because of climate change, scientists stated. It is also not just Australia's problem because it is happening in every seas and ocean of the world. "This one won't be as bad as 2016, but it could be more comparable to 1998 or 2002," said Terry Hughes, the lead author of the new study and director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia. It is likely to be the third or second most severe mass bleaching that happened, said National Post.
Bleaching of corals like in The Great Barrier Reef in Australia happens when the corals change their colors. It is likely being pushed by the water temperature. The colors of the corals are very important to them because that is where they get their life and energy from. Once it's gone, so is the coral's life.
