<
https://theconversation.com/devastating-coral-bleaching-will-be-more-common-start-earlier-and-last-longer-unless-we-cut-emissions-232473>
"Coral bleaching is becoming much more common as a result of increasingly
severe and frequent marine heatwaves. Four global mass bleaching events have
happened since 1998. Two of these were in the past decade.
Unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut to slow global warming, our new
research shows that, by 2080, coral bleaching will start in spring, rather than
late summer. Some events will last into autumn. The Great Barrier Reef’s
maximum annual heat stress will double by 2050 if emissions do not slow.
Marine heatwaves stress corals, which then expel the symbiotic algae living in
their tissue. These corals are left white and weakened. While not all bleached
corals die immediately, prolonged heat stress harms their health and
reproduction.
Our research used daily data on sea surface temperatures (instead of monthly
data that models typically use) and supercomputing to produce high-resolution
projections of marine heatwaves. We showed the risk of coral bleaching will be
greatest along the equator. That’s also where the most biodiverse coral reefs
are found.
Coral reefs cover only 1% of our oceans, but host at least 25% of all marine
species. More than half a billion people worldwide depend on coral reefs for
food.
So coral reefs are vital for the health of the ocean and people. They are also
among the ecosystems most at risk from climate change."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
