Mark Gibbs, Australian Institute of Marine Science
Around the world, coral reefs are suffering. But scientists in high-income nations are developing new ways to build coral resilience. We have a duty to share our skills and build capacity elsewhere.
Signs protest against land clearing at Lee Point/Binybara, Darwin.
Esther Linder/AAP
The Great Barrier Reef is facing its worst summer of sustained heat stress since the mass bleaching event of 1998, but now with less time to recover amid repeated brutal conditions.
The best strategy to protecting Earth’s coral reefs is to dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions. But in the meantime, we must urgently make corals more resilient.
Tourists flock to see coral reefs in Gili Matra, near Bali, which are at growing risk from warming seas. Locals are working to restore coral, while coming up with new income sources – like fish floss.
A photo of bleached coral in Raja Ampat, West Papua.
(Shutterstock)
Severe bleaching is forecast to hit 12 Indonesian marine protected areas every year by 2030 – then spread to other areas. Here’s what locals, experts and the government say we need to do to save them.
Australian is experimenting with marine cloud brightening to cool and shade the Great Barrier Reef. Here’s how it works.
A bleaching event at a reef in Key Largo, Fla. The complex interplay of temperature and cloud cover is at the heart of cloral bleaching events.
(Liv Williamson/University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science via AP)
Understanding how both cloud cover and temperature work to promote coral bleaching provides valuable insight into how reefs will change over various climate scenarios.
Coral reefs in the waters of Tatawa Besar, a popular dive site near Komodo Island in Indonesia, photographed in 2009.
AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, Fil
Paul Hardisty, Australian Institute of Marine Science and Line K Bay, Australian Institute of Marine Science
We used to focus just on protection of vital ecosystems like the reef. But as climate change and other threats accelerate, we need to actively help nature get ready for the heat.
Elkhorn coral fragments rescued from overheating ocean nurseries sit in cooler water at Keys Marine Laboratory.
NOAA
Efforts to save the reef aren’t tackling the main cause: climate change. What we need from our next federal government is strong leadership to avert the climate crisis.
Many places have banned sunscreens with certain chemicals in an attempt to help protect coral reefs.
Westend61 via Getty Images
Researchers have long suspected that an ingredient in sunscreen called oxybenzone was harming corals, but no one knew how. A new study shows how corals turn oxybenzone into a sunlight-activated toxin.