Disastrous Coral bleaching event

[NShirke]

It is not unknown to world wide coral bleaching event, and global warming. I was shocked to hear ~29% of Great Barrier Reef was bleaching just in 2016. So, If I do my math right, we won't have GBR at the end of 2021 if this event stays as is. I know we help each other to keep this hobby alive, I hope we can help the environment too.

You can watch the documentary here -

 

[zalick]

It's very sad. The GBR has been hammered in the last 10 years or so. The southern reef has been spared so far.... I hope to plan a dive trip there soon before it's gone...

 

[Acroporaguy]

Depressing documentary. Heartbreaking.

 

[NShirke]

Are we helpless? Just giving an analogy of aquarium; by keeping our parameter stable, we're able to regrow entire colony with just one polyp of a coral in our aquarium. Are we at a point, where these events are irreversible or do we have time?

 

[zalick]

Are we helpless? Just giving an analogy of aquarium; by keeping our parameter stable, we're able to regrow entire colony with just one polyp of a coral in our aquarium. Are we at a point, where these events are irreversible or do we have time?

I think we are past the point of no return for the reefs as we currently know them. However, coral has been around for around 250m years and our current reefs around 5,000-10,000 years old. Ultimately coral reefs will survive, in some form, and likely outlive humans. IMO

 

[Jeeperz]

I partially blame tourists. I'm sure most have seen the news over the years of cruise ships dumping their waste along the gbr. If not look it up. It's sad and disgusting. Plus the water runoff containing pesticides/herbicides right into the ocean. You would think Australia would be more proactive in prevention but the almighty $$$ still reigns supreme.

 

[Clownfish_Boy]

You would think Australia would be more proactive in prevention but the almighty $$$ still reigns supreme.

You said it !

 

[jorwill]

I partially blame tourists. I'm sure most have seen the news over the years of cruise ships dumping their waste along the gbr. If not look it up. It's sad and disgusting. Plus the water runoff containing pesticides/herbicides right into the ocean. You would think Australia would be more proactive in prevention but the almighty $$$ still reigns supreme.

The $$$ always will too sadly.

 

[blasterman]

What makes no sense to me is other coral reefs are thriving. We have one atmosphere and a globally connected ocean. While there are regional environmental conditions I still think we are missing something with this.

 

[Ardeus]

Corals will be fine. They survived previous mass extinctions and they will survive the current one.

It won't be a pretty story though. If you are 60 or less, you'll be here to witness the end of what's left of reefs.

They have gone through this before:

Reef-building coral exhibiting 'disaster traits' akin to the last major extinction event

A new study shows that stony corals, which provide food and shelter for almost a quarter of all ocean species, are preparing for a major extinction event. Researchers identified an increased prevalence of 5 traits associated with previous extinction-survival responses among corals.

www.sciencedaily.com

Non photosynthetic corals in the deep will survive and colonize the shallows once the conditions are right again.

So, there's hope, just not in the short term. In the short term this is what we'll see (produced in Australia)


A bit more of "comedy" (that's my preferred approach to the subject, because otherwise it's just too much). The data was all correct at the time though. Now it's much worse,

 

[Alexopora]

What makes no sense to me is other coral reefs are thriving. We have one atmosphere and a globally connected ocean. While there are regional environmental conditions I still think we are missing something with this.

I don’t think thats how our Earth works. Just because all of the oceans are connected doesn’t mean the water conditions will be exactly the same. We have to take into consideration geography, climate, temperature, and human activities. And i don’t think “other coral reefs are thriving” is accurate. Perhaps reefs in the Red Sea are more resilient but we can’t say the same for reefs in the Carribean.