Heat waves 'cook' corals at Great Barrier Reef

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Date

April 20, 2018

Author

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

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Classification code

PN20180420_12

Excerpt

Prolonged ocean warming events, known as marine heatwaves, take a significant toll on the complex ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef. This is according to a new study on the impacts of the 2016 marine heatwave, published in Nature. In surveying the 3,863 individual reefs that make up the system off Australia's north-east coast, scientists found that 29% of communities were affected. In some cases up to 90% of coral died, in a process known as bleaching.

Citation

Heat waves 'cook' corals at Great Barrier Reef. (2018, April 20). Panay News, p. 12.