Coral Reefs Suffer Fourth Global Bleaching Event
Cantin at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences. Cantin noted that marine heatwaves were registering some 2.5 C (4.5 F) above the normal summertime maximum.Recent aerial surveys have shown "very high" or "extreme" levels of bleaching in nearly half of surveyed reefs in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park area.That makes this the fifth bleaching event in the Great Barrier Reef in just nine years - far more frequent than the twice per decade that scientists expected by the 2030s.Indian Ocean reefs off Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya and the Seychelles have also suffered bleaching, though
CSIRO Deploys World-First Sensors in Great Barrier Reef
Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has installed specialized sensors on Darumbal Sea Country in the Southern Great Barrier Reef to help monitor and forecast sediment run-off, which impacts the UNESCO World Heritage site’s marine ecosystem.The reef is one of seven test sites for CSIRO’s AquaWatch Australia Mission, which is creating a world-first ‘weather service’ for water quality using a combination of specialized sensors and satellite data.Dr Alex Held, CSIRO’s AquaWatch Mission Lead, said the project has the potential to support planning decisions in
Accelerated Evolution and Automated Aquaculture Could Help Coral Weather the Heat
Coral on the Great Barrier Reef has regrown strongly after the big losses of 2016 and 2017, when water temperatures were significantly above the long-term average. While this is good news, it’s largely luck. The reef experienced mass bleaching in 2020 and 2022, but temperatures cooled just in time to prevent extensive coral deaths.But the reef’s luck may be about to run out. Hotter El Niño conditions are returning to the Pacific, driving warmer ocean temperatures. The past few months have seen global temperature records smashed. Already, reefs in Florida, the Caribbean and parts of
The Barrier Reef is Still in Hot Water
Today [August 1] is a good day to be Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. UNESCO, the United Nations body expected to vote on whether to list the Great Barrier Reef as “in danger”, instead deferred the decision for another year. This, an insider told French newspaper Le Monde, was largely due to the change in approach between the former Coalition government and Labor.“It’s a bit like night and day,” the insider said – which was promptly included in Plibersek’s media release.So, it’s a good day for the government. But is it a good day for the reef? No.
CSIRO Aims to Create a 'Weather Service' for Water Quality
at which we can solve some of the nation’s greatest challenges," he said.Working with a range of implementation partners, AquaWatch will extend from rivers to coasts, with the ability to monitor bays, coastal wetlands, aquaculture farming, mangrove forests and coral reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef.SmartSat CRC Chief Executive Officer, Andy Koronios, said that space technology will be a key aspect of AquaWatch and essential to developing an accurate understanding of Australia’s water systems."As the AquaWatch foundational partner, SmartSat’s collaboration with CSIRO has
How AI Can Help Protect the Oceans
of the heat trapped by the trillion tonnes of greenhouse gases we’ve put in the atmosphere.And we’ve found AI can usefully identify specific environmental conditions under which reefs will survive as the oceans heat up. Our research suggests hundreds of reefs among the thousands in the Great Barrier Reef may be home to corals which have higher heat tolerance than normal. Now we know this, we can protect these reefs – and turn to them for potential use to restore dying reefs elsewhere.This idea of “super reefs” isn’t new. Other researchers have focused on protecting 50
As Nations Pledge to Create Ocean Preserves, How Do Those Promises Add Up?
there, and only 5% of it is currently protected. Deliberations over two proposed protected areas there, in the East Antarctic and the Weddell Sea, have continued for years.In many protected areas, damaging activities are permitted. For example, the Habitat Protection Zones of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park allow multiple types of fishing.I served on an international team that published a broad framework for planning and assessing marine protected areas in 2021. Our key message was that effectively conserving ocean habitats and marine life will require working together with local communitie
Great Barrier Reef Hit By Bleaching as UNESCO Weighs 'In Danger' Listing
The Great Barrier Reef has been hit by bleaching due to heat stress, the Australian agency that manages the reef said on Friday, ahead of a visit by United Nations officials reviewing whether the reef should be listed as being "in danger".Australia last year dodged an "in danger" listing for the reef, a World Heritage site, for a second time, after heavy lobbying by Canberra led UNESCO to postpone a decision to this year. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said in a weekly update most of the marine park had been hit by "significant heat stress" over the
Schmidt Ocean Institute Donates Research Vessel to Italian Science Agency
on 81 expeditions hosting 1,056 international scientists. The vessel has sailed a distance more than 12 times around the world and mapped over 1.3 million square kilometers of ocean floor. Expeditions on the vessel have led to numerous discoveries including a 500 meter tall coral reef in the Great Barrier Reef, stunning “gardens” of deep-sea corals off South Western Australia, and the collection of rare footage of the elusive glass octopus.“After a decade of remarkable discoveries and scientific research with Schmidt Ocean Institute, we can imagine no better home for Falkor than
February 2024
