Parts of Great Barrier Reef dying at record rate, alarmed researchers say; “worst fears” confirmed
Parts of the Great Barrer Reef have suffered the highest coral mortality on record, Australian research showed Tuesday, with scientists fearing the rest of it has suffered a similar fate.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science said surveys of 12 reefs found up to 72 percent coral mortality, thanks to a summer of mass bleaching, two cyclones, and flooding.
In one northern section of the reef, about a third of hard coral had died, the “largest annual decline” in 39 years of government monitoring, the agency said.
Brett Monroe Garner / Getty Images
Often dubbed the world’s largest living structure, the Great Barrier Reef is a 1,400-mile expanse of tropical corals that house a stunning array of biodiversity.
World Wildlife Fund-Australia’s head of oceans, Richard Leck, said the initial surveys confirmed his “worst fears.”
“The Great Barrier Reef can bounce back but there are limits to its resilience,” he said. “It can’t get repeatedly hammered like this. We are fast approaching a tipping point.”
Leck added the area surveyed was “relatively small” and feared that when the full report was released next year “similar levels of mortality” would be observed.
He said the findings reinforced Australia’s need to commit to stronger emission reduction targets of at least 90 percent below 2005 levels by 2035 and move away from fossil fuels.
The country is one of the world’s largest gas and coal exporters and has only recently set targets to become carbon neutral.
More
More
Source: cbsnews.com