Coral reefs have exceptional levels of biodiversity and provide important social and ecological services, including food, coastal protection, recreation, tourism, and cultural connections. However, local stressors and climate change are causing a sharp decline in coral reefs and the more than 230 international agreements with coral reef provisions have failed …
Deep below the waves, coral species are less likely to be affected by bleaching. This fact has given scientists a glimmer of hope that deeper waters could act as refuges for reef systems undergoing mass bleaching. A United Nations report released on Tuesday night is urging further research into mid-depth …
The 2016 Australian election is the last opportunity to save the Great Barrier Reef, the authors of a new scientific paper have warned. The government needs to commit to $1bn a year for 10 years to reduce water pollution, which would give the reef a chance to survive the impacts …
Communities with more fish species are more productive and more resilient to rising temperatures and temperature swings, says a study. The accelerating loss and rearrangement of species all over the globe due to climate change have troubled scientists and the public for decades. But the question of whether biodiversity offers …
Southern Hemisphere carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have risen above the 400ppm limit, and this has made scientists worried. The 400ppm level is a significant marker for rising greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming and ocean acidification. An important atmospheric monitoring station in north-west Tasmania confirmed the status that …
The report reveals the influence of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef, and provides strong scientific evidence that future bleaching events are likely to become more frequent and severe. The report found that rising global ocean temperatures, driven by climate change, has been the cause of an extremely severe …
The report reveals the influence of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef, and provides strong scientific evidence that future bleaching events are likely to become more frequent and severe. The report found that rising global ocean temperatures, driven by climate change, has been the cause of an extremely severe …
Fish biomass is a primary driver of coral reef ecosystem services and has high sensitivity to human disturbances, particularly fishing. Estimates of fish biomass, their spatial distribution, and recovery potential are important for evaluating reef status and crucial for setting management targets. Here we modeled fish biomass estimates across all …
The Great Barrier Reef is currently under siege from coal and climate change. The report was announced by scientists who revealed that 93 percent of the world heritage is presently experiencing severe coral bleaching. The latest event, which is caused by the warming of the ocean, is referred to as …
MIAMI — The large-scale dredging of Miami’s port to accommodate the newest generation of freighters, an undertaking that prompted a long-running battle with environmentalists, caused widespread damage to a portion of the area’s fragile and already distressed coral reef, according to a new report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric …
A recent study showed almost 93% of the reef was suffering from bleaching. Greens’ leader, Richard di Natale, announced a seven-point plan to tax mining and invest the money in revitalising the reef and in clean energy projects and jobs. Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, announced a seven-point plan that …
The hot water temperature that drove the devastating bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef this year was made 175 times more likely by human-caused climate change, and could be normal in just 18 years, according to preliminary findings by leading climate and coral reef scientists. The scientists said they took …
While currently more than half of the world’s coral reefs are potentially threatened by humans, scientists just made an incredible discovery: a coral reef the size of Delaware flourishing near the mouth of the murky and Amazon River in Brazil. Coral reefs don’t typically thrive in murky waters, which makes …
Scientists from the United States and Brazil discovered a massive coral reef in the muddy waters at the mouth of the Amazon River. The new coral reef stretches for about 600 miles. It ranges from about 30 to 120 m deep and extends from French Guiana to Brazil's Maranhao state …
As one of the most prolific and widespread reef builders, the staghorn coral Acropora holds a disproportionately large role in how coral reefs will respond to accelerating anthropogenic change. We show that although Acropora has a diverse history extended over the past 50 million years, it was not a dominant …
Large rivers create major gaps in reef distribution along tropical shelves. The Amazon River represents 20% of the global riverine discharge to the ocean, generating up to a 1.3 × 106–km2 plume, and extensive muddy bottoms in the equatorial margin of South America. As a result, a wide area of …
Robust appraisals of climate impacts at different levels of global-mean temperature increase are vital to guide assessments of dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The 2015 Paris Agreement includes a two-headed temperature goal: “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 ◦C above pre-industrial levels …
Robust appraisals of climate impacts at different levels of global-mean temperature increase are vital to guide assessments of dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The 2015 Paris Agreement includes a two-headed temperature goal: "holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels …
Corals in the Great Barrier Reef currently have a protective mechanism against bleaching. However, a study has found the mechanism is vulnerable to failure as the ocean permanently warms due to climate change. This could lead to mass coral bleaching within 40 years, experts have warned. Corals have a symbiotic …
The giant coral bleaching event that is devastating wide swathes of the Great Barrier Reef has extended all the way south to Sydney Harbour, researchers say. The harbour's surface temperature reached 26 degrees at times during a prolonged marine heatwave in recent months that had also set records for parts …
Scientists from around the world will contribute to a major UN report on how global temperatures can be held to a rise of 1.5C and what the impact might be on sea level rises, the bleaching of corals and biodiversity. The special report, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change …
