Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea “dying” at deeper ocean depths than expected: scientists

Coral bleaching is now occurring in deeper waters, according to Luiz Rocha, Curator of Ichthyology, Californian Academy of Sciences, who recently completed diving at mesophotic levels in the Coral Sea and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. In an interview on Friday, Rocha said he and his team found that the bottom layers of the ocean are "also warming" despite being colder, and causing some coral to bleach.

“I think it's worth investing everything we can in keeping corals alive,” Rocha said. “If the bleaching continues the way it is… 50 years from now, we might be facing extinction."

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is already the world's largest and best-managed marine reserve. Despite its extensive protection, the reef is "dying" due to uncontrollable factors.

The Great Barrier Reef lost nearly a third of its corals during the last global mass coral bleaching event from 2014 to 2017. This year appears to be following a similar trend, with reports of extensive coral bleaching across the Caribbean and the entirety of the Great Barrier Reef.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/8692900/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-climate-change/

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