Coral Bleaching

This video from Climate XChange provides a visual depiction of how rising ocean temperatures have compromised coral reefs
This video from Climate XChange provides a visual depiction of how rising ocean temperatures have compromised coral reefs–leading corals to become stressed and the symbiotic algae they depend on to leave. The end result is coral bleaching–as described in this E article, a point at which the all-white corals are starving to death, but as the video explains, a process that is also reversible should cooler waters return. The video is a pointed reminder of the immediate impacts of climate change.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been subject to mass bleaching events as a result of warming waters. In 2006, 40% of corals in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef died following unusually high temperatures and coral bleaching.