The Great Die-Off
A historical report on severe coral bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef, where some areas lost two-thirds of their corals.
In some areas, two-thirds of all corals are dead: researchers have documented the dramatic mass die-off on the Great Barrier Reef. Photographs show the scale of the disaster.
The disaster had already begun to emerge in spring. Researchers have now taken stock for the first time and confirmed that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef experienced its worst coral bleaching since records began that year.
In a 700-square-kilometre area in the northern part of the reef, which stretches for more than 2,300 kilometres, two-thirds of the corals had died. Some coral beds no longer had any living corals at all, scientists from James Cook University reported on Tuesday.
Read the full article at spiegel.de
Originally published in German on 8 January 2017. Read the archived original.