Mar 20, 2016
Coral bleaching comes to the Great Barrier Reef as record-breaking global temperatures continue
Cooktown QLD 4895
Australia
by
,
The Conversation

A bleached Seriatopora coral. Photo: Tyrone Ridgway, CC BY-SA
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has declared severe coral bleaching underway on the reefs north of Cooktown. El Niño and climate change have driven record-breaking temperatures worldwide. Sea temperatures have also been at record-breaking levels. In the oceans, we have known for more than a decade that rapidly warming ocean temperatures present a serious threat to coral reefs