Latest news with #MarkEakin
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Coral Reefs Are Bleaching More Than Ever Right Now
Last week, the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), a global partnership and forum of 100-plus governments, NGOs, and other entities working toward the preservation of the world's coral reefs and their associated ecosystems, announced that it has recorded the worst coral bleaching event on record, with 84% of the world's reefs showing effects. Coral bleaching is a broad term conceived back in 1998 after the phenomenon was first widely noticed—or at least seriously and widely recognized—that essentially describes critically stressed corals, which turn white due to inhospitable changes in temperature and pH level, among other things. The fourth global bleaching event on record since 1998, the current crisis, first announced in 2023, has just seriously outdone the previous event from 2014-2017 and affected about two-thirds of the world's reefs. This current crisis is blamed on the average of ocean temperatures away from the poles, which has seen back-to-back record highs just at or above the 2.7-degree Fahrenheit (1.5-degree-Celsius) 'warming limit' above 'pre-industrial,' or average global ocean temperatures between 1850 and 1900 A.D., as called for by the 2015 Paris World Meteorological Organization (WMO) averaged figures from six international data sets for a composite temperature rise of nearly 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1.55 Celsius). This six-piece data set included various government and non-governmental bodies including the NOAA and NASA in the U.S., The E.U.'s Copernicus team, Japan, the U.K., and the privately funded Berkeley Earth, founded by a climate-change skeptic, which calculated the highest of those numbers: 2.9 degrees Fahrenheit (or 1.6 Celsius). 'We're seeing forecasts that temperatures are going to continue to stay high,' Mark Eakin, corresponding secretary for the International Coral Reef Society and retired chief of NOAA's Coral Reef Watch program, told the Associated Press. 'We just may never see the heat stress that causes bleaching dropping below the threshold that triggers a global event, so this may be the last one… We're looking at something that's completely changing the face of our planet and the ability of our oceans to sustain lives and livelihoods,' Eakin added. What's a lowly surf rat left to do in the here and now? Reef-safe sunscreens, alternative surfboard construction, and manual and/or analog paddling of said surfboards may be about the best most of us can offer our great giver, the sea. 'The best way to protect coral reefs,' Eakin puts forth, 'is to address the route cause of climate change, and that means reducing the emissions—the human emissions—that are mostly from the burning of fossil fuels. Everything else is looking like a Band-Aid rather than a solution.' Here's where that thorny, convoluted little term oft-hawked by libertarians and neoliberals, 'better capitalism,' could come into play. Love or hate the ocean and its temperature-dependent multitude of critters, and reject climate change, chaos, crisis, and/or warming all you like. By all means, fellow ocean-goers, continue to vote with those John Wayne dollars as always, but it's up to the nerds whose direction is at the discretion of the energy geezers and geezettes to sort out both us and our beloved reefs, whose wondrous associated peaks, slabs, peelers, and tubes none of us can deny.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Global Coral Bleaching Event Is 'Biggest To Date,' Affecting 84% Of All Reefs, New Report Finds
The impacts of warming global temperatures are having a catastrophic effect on the planet's coral reefs, a new report has concluded. Released Wednesday, the findings from the International Coral Reef Initiative revealed that 84% of the world's coral reefs have been impacted by a bleaching event that started in 2023 and remains ongoing. During that time, global temperatures have soared to the highest levels ever recorded, and that heat is being absorbed by our oceans, warming the corals to dangerous levels. (MORE: Stunning Discovery In Sunken WWII Aircraft Carrier) Scientists say it's upending a key piece of the underwater ecosystem that's home to 25% of all marine species, according to the Associated Press. And recent bleaching events have been so severe that more levels had to be added to the alert scale managed by NOAA's Coral Reef Watch. - "The ongoing global coral bleaching event is the biggest to date." -NOAA - "We may never see the heat stress that causes bleaching dropping below the threshold that triggers a global event. We're looking at something that's completely changing the face of our planet and the ability of our oceans to sustain lives and livelihoods." -Mark Eakin, corresponding secretary for the International Coral Reef Society - "Mass bleaching has frequently coincided with episodes of El Niño, a global climate pattern that usually increases temperatures. That was the case in 1998, 2016 and again last year, which was the warmest year on record." -The Washington Post In addition to providing life for numerous sea creatures, coral reefs also play an important role in keeping us safer from extreme weather. Their presence can lessen the impact of storms along coastlines – including the Florida coast during hurricane season – and they can also reduce the amount of erosion that occurs along the shore. (MORE: These US Cities Have The Cleanest Air) Ecologists say these are all reasons why the corals simply must be protected from death by overheating, and although their conservation efforts are helping in some areas, the experts say slowing global warming is the only way to prevent a catastrophic loss before the end of the century. "The ancestors of today's corals survived the impact of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs on land and a lot of creatures in the sea," Joerg Wiedenmann, a marine biologist who leads the Coral Reef Laboratory at the University of Southampton in England, told the Washington Post. "So, if we manage to decrease ocean warming, there is always a chance for corals to recover."
Express Tribune
24-04-2025
- Science
- Express Tribune
Coral bleaching reaches unprecedented scale, hitting 84% of reefs worldwide
Listen to article A record-breaking coral bleaching event is now affecting 84% of the world's reefs, according to the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), marking the most extensive marine bleaching crisis in recorded history. The global event, the fourth since 1998, began in 2023 and has already eclipsed the 2014–2017 bleaching period, which damaged around two-thirds of coral reefs worldwide. The ongoing event has been fuelled by ocean warming driven by climate change. 'We may never see the heat stress levels dip below the threshold for global bleaching again,' said Mark Eakin, corresponding secretary for the International Coral Reef Society and former chief of coral monitoring at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Eakin warned the crisis is fundamentally altering the planet's ecosystems and the ocean's ability to support human life. Corals, which consider as rainforest of the sea, support around 25% marine species, are critical for biodiversity, food security, tourism and coastline protection. Algae are the reason of coral bright colours and it also nurish the coral. Due to high temperature algae release toxic compounds which is ejected by coral. Afterthat only weak white skeleton left behind and heightened the risk of coral death. The average sea surface temperature in last year reached a record 20.87°C in non-polar regions, contributing to the mass bleaching. NOAA's Coral Reef Watch has even had to expand its alert system to reflect the increasing intensity of the crisis. Conservation efforts are underway in some areas. Projects in Florida and the Seychelles are attempting to rescue, regenerate and reintroduce coral to their natural habitats. A Dutch lab has been growing coral in captivity to help restore damaged reefs in future scenarios. Still, scientists insist that without aggressive cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, such efforts may only offer temporary relief. 'The best way to protect coral reefs is to address the root cause of climate change. And that means reducing the human emissions that are mostly from burning of fossil fuels … everything else is looking more like a Band-Aid rather than a solution,' Eakin said. Melanie McField, co-chair of the Caribbean Steering Committee for the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, echoed that urgency: 'Inaction is the kiss of death for coral reefs.' Their update comes as US President Donald Trump, in his second term, continues to dismantle clean energy policies in favour of fossil fuel expansion — a move Eakin says could further endanger global marine ecosystems.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Most of world's colourful corals go white in record-breaking bleaching
The world's rainbow reefs have gone ghostly white in seas around the globe. The "most intense global coral bleaching event ever" has so far struck 84 per cent of the world's reefs and is ongoing, the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) — a global partnership between nations and non-governmental and international organizations focused on sustainable management of coral reefs — reported on Wednesday. The new figure is far worse than previous events that hit 21 to 68 per cent of reefs. But scientists say the reefs and the corals are not all dead yet and could still bounce back if people take the right steps, including conservation and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Corals are small marine animals that live in colonies with colourful symbiotic algae that give them their rainbow hues and supply them with most of their food. But when the water gets too warm for too long, the algae release toxic compounds, and the corals expel them, leaving behind a white skeleton — causing "bleaching." The current global bleaching event, the fourth since 1998, started in January 2023, hitting different parts of the world at different times over the past two years, amid record-breaking ocean temperatures. It was officially declared a global coral bleaching event in April 2024. Last year, the Earth's hottest on record, the oceans also broke a record, hitting an average annual sea surface temperature of 20.87 C away from the poles. WATCH | Coral reefs experiencing mass bleaching event: No end in sight? The fact that it's ongoing two years later takes the world's reefs "into uncharted waters," Britta Schaffelke, a researcher with the Australian Institute of Marine Science and co-ordinator of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, said in a statement accompanying ICRI's news release. "In the past, many coral reefs around the world were able to recover from severe events like bleaching or storms," she said. But the length of this bleaching event and the fact that it is getting longer by the day worries coral scientists. Mark Eakin, corresponding secretary of the International Coral Reef Society and retired chief of the Coral Reef Watch program of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said it's an open question when — and even if — the current bleaching will end. "We may never see the heat stress that causes bleaching dropping below the threshold that triggers a global event," he told The Associated Press. WATCH | Coral reefs in Florida are hurting, but this may be the way to save them: Valeria Pizarro, a researcher with the non-profit Perry Institute for Marine Science who studies corals in the Caribbean, said bleaching used to sometimes happen at the end of summer, when the waters are at their warmest. But the current event started in her region in July, and temperatures are already 30 C to 32 C, when they're usually 28 C at this time of year. It has also damaged even very common species, she said, adding, "That is shocking." Nicola Smith, an assistant professor of biology at Montreal's Concordia University who also studies coral reefs in the Caribbean, noted that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has projected that coral reefs will decline 70 to 90 per cent if the global temperature warms to 1.5 C above pre-industrial temperatures. "We're seeing it play out before our eyes," she said. "This is what it's going to look like, not just in summer during bleaching, but year-round." Smith said the loss of coral reefs could harm many fish and other marine creatures. A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projected that if the world warms 1.5 C, there will be a 70 to 90 per cent decline in coral reefs. (CBC) "They provide literally thousands of other species with habitat as well as food, as well as shelter and sites for reproduction." The ICRI said not only does a third of marine life rely on coral reefs, but also a billion people — both directly and indirectly — for things like food, tourism and protection from storms. It estimates they contribute $10 trillion to the global economy. Not dead yet Still, the ICRI thinks corals can still survive this century if people take conservation measures and cut greenhouse gas emissions to slow ocean warming. And other scientists say despite the grim news, corals can often withstand and bounce back from bleaching. Melanie McField, founder and director of the Florida-based non-profit Healthy Reefs for Healthy People, said even without their food-supplying symbiotic algae, corals starve to death very slowly. "It ... takes months usually," she said. "They're kind of hanging on. Part of it is alive, it's partly dead." And even if the coral dies, other reef organisms such as sponges and crusty, pink coralline algae live on. WATCH | Our oceans are warming. What does that mean for the ecosystem?: "The Australians call it living dead. So you've still got a reef, you've still got some fish around," McField said. "Everything is kind of brown and grey." But the reef is vulnerable at that point, as sponges, worms and other creatures eat into the coral that is no longer rebuilding itself. "And then when that hurricane comes, it turns into rubble," McField said. She said that can be scary for people living on coasts protected by the coral reefs: "It's life and security." WATCH | Reef Rescue: Coral Atlas: The ICRI estimates that to save coral reefs and the people who rely on them, spending on solutions needs to increase sevenfold. Things that could help include selective breeding, coral restoration, reducing pollution and stopping overfishing. McField said that so far, a lot of those strategies are "very small little efforts at this time" and more of them are needed. Tiny fish hover over bleached corals in Ningaloo, Western Australia, in a February 2025 photo. Sponges and other marine creatures may still remain, and the corals may not be dead yet. (Daniel Nicholson/Ocean Image Bank) But keeping the global temperature as little above 1.5 C as possible is "necessary to give these coral conservation measures a chance to work," the ICRI said. McField agrees. "You can have all these efforts at 1.5 or 1.6 or 1.7, but probably not 2.... Don't go above that [or] I'm not sure we're going to be able to save them."
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Business Standard
23-04-2025
- Science
- Business Standard
84 per cent of world's coral reefs hit by worst bleaching event on record
Harmful bleaching of the world's coral has grown to include 84 per cent of the ocean's reefs in the most intense event of its kind in recorded history, the International Coral Reef Initiative announced Wednesday. It's the fourth global bleaching event since 1998, and has now surpassed bleaching from 2014-17 that hit some two-thirds of reefs, said the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), a mix of more than 100 governments, non-governmental organisations and others. And it's not clear when the current crisis, which began in 2023 and is blamed on warming oceans, will end. We may never see the heat stress that causes bleaching dropping below the threshold that triggers a global event, said Mark Eakin, executive secretary for the International Coral Reef Society and retired coral monitoring chief for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). We're looking at something that's completely changing the face of our planet and the ability of our oceans to sustain lives and livelihoods, Eakin said. Last year was Earth's hottest year on record, and much of that is going into oceans. The average annual sea surface temperature of oceans away from the poles was a record 20.87 degrees Celsius. That's deadly to corals, which are key to seafood production, tourism and protecting coastlines from erosion and storms. Coral reefs are sometimes dubbed rainforests of the sea because they support high levels of biodiversity approximately 25 per cent of all marine species can be found in, on and around coral reefs. Coral get their bright colours from the colourful algae that live inside them and are a food source for the corals. Prolonged warmth causes the algae to release toxic compounds, and the coral eject them. A stark white skeleton is left behind, and the weakened coral is at heightened risk of dying. The bleaching event has been so severe that NOAA's Coral Reef Watch programme has had to add levels to its bleaching alert scale to account for the growing risk of coral death. Efforts are underway to conserve and restore coral. One Dutch lab has worked with coral fragments, including some taken from off the coast of the Seychelles, to propagate them in a zoo so that they might be used someday to repopulate wild coral reefs if needed. Other projects, including one off Florida, have worked to rescue corals endangered by high heat and nurse them back to health before returning them to the ocean. But scientists say it's essential to reduce emissions from the greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, that warm the planet. The best way to protect coral reefs is to address the root cause of climate change. And that means reducing the human emissions that are mostly from burning of fossil fuels everything else is looking more like a Band-Aid rather than a solution, Eakin said. I think people really need to recognise what they're doing inaction is the kiss of death for coral reefs, said Melanie McField, co-chair of the Caribbean Steering Committee for the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, a network of scientists that monitors reefs throughout the world. The group's update comes as President Donald Trump has moved aggressively in his second term to boost fossil fuels and roll back clean energy programmes, which he says is necessary for economic growth. We've got a government right now that is working very hard to destroy all of these ecosystems ... removing these protections is going to have devastating consequences, Eakin said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
