Scientists Report New Coral Bleaching Event on Great Barrier Reef
2022-05-15
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1Australian scientists say 91 percent of coral studied in the Great Barrier Reef this year suffered bleaching damage.
2Coral gets bleached when ocean temperatures reach unusually warm levels.
3The damage to the Great Barrier Reef represents the fourth mass bleaching event to happen in the past seven years, the scientists said.
4Bleaching in 2016, 2017 and 2020 was blamed for damaging two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef's coral.
5The Great Barrier Reef covers about 344,000 square kilometers of area off Australia's northeast coast.
6It contains about 3,000 reefs, natural structures made by different kinds of coral.
7The reef also includes more than 900 islands.
8The latest bleaching event is described in a yearly report recently released by the Australian government's Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority.
9Coral bleaching can be caused by the effects of climate change.
10But the scientists said the most recent event was the reef's first bleaching to happen during a La Niña weather period.
11A La Niña event happens when ocean surface waters cool along the Pacific coast of the South American tropics.
12This takes place every two to seven years.
13Coral suffers bleaching as a reaction to heat stress.
14But scientists hope that most of the coral will recover from the current event, said David Wachenfeld.
15He is the chief scientist at the country's Marine Authority, which oversees the reef's ecosystem.
16Wachenfeld told The Associated Press that early signs so far suggest "the mortality won't be very high."
17He compared the latest event to the one that happened in 2020.
18That event produced mass bleaching, but there was low mortality, meaning the coral largely did not die.
19The bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 led to "quite high levels of coral mortality," Wachenfeld said.
20Simon Bradshaw is a researcher at Australia's Climate Council environmental group.
21He told the AP the latest report demonstrates that the reef's survival depends on deep cuts in worldwide carbon emissions over the next 10 years.
22"This is heartbreaking. This is deeply troubling," Bradshaw said.
23"It shows that our Barrier Reef really is in very serious trouble."
24I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Australian scientists say 91 percent of coral studied in the Great Barrier Reef this year suffered bleaching damage. 2Coral gets bleached when ocean temperatures reach unusually warm levels. 3The damage to the Great Barrier Reef represents the fourth mass bleaching event to happen in the past seven years, the scientists said. Bleaching in 2016, 2017 and 2020 was blamed for damaging two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef's coral. 4The Great Barrier Reef covers about 344,000 square kilometers of area off Australia's northeast coast. It contains about 3,000 reefs, natural structures made by different kinds of coral. The reef also includes more than 900 islands. 5The latest bleaching event is described in a yearly report recently released by the Australian government's Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority. 6Coral bleaching can be caused by the effects of climate change. But the scientists said the most recent event was the reef's first bleaching to happen during a La Niña weather period. A La Niña event happens when ocean surface waters cool along the Pacific coast of the South American tropics. This takes place every two to seven years. 7Coral suffers bleaching as a reaction to heat stress. But scientists hope that most of the coral will recover from the current event, said David Wachenfeld. He is the chief scientist at the country's Marine Authority, which oversees the reef's ecosystem. Wachenfeld told The Associated Press that early signs so far suggest "the mortality won't be very high." 8He compared the latest event to the one that happened in 2020. That event produced mass bleaching, but there was low mortality, meaning the coral largely did not die. The bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 led to "quite high levels of coral mortality," Wachenfeld said. 9Simon Bradshaw is a researcher at Australia's Climate Council environmental group. He told the AP the latest report demonstrates that the reef's survival depends on deep cuts in worldwide carbon emissions over the next 10 years. 10"This is heartbreaking. This is deeply troubling," Bradshaw said. "It shows that our Barrier Reef really is in very serious trouble." 11I'm Bryan Lynn. 12The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 13We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 14___________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16coral - n. a hard, usually pink or white substance produced by a type of very small sea animal 17bleaching - n. a process, usually caused by warm ocean temperatures, in which corals lose algae and turn white 18tropics - n. (pl.) parts of the world that are near the equator and, therefore, are usually warm 19stress - n. physical forces that affect something 20ecosystem - n. everything that exists in a particular environment 21emission - n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source 22heartbreaking - adj. causing extreme worry and sadness