Coral bleaching event unfolding in Coral Sea

A coral bleaching event is unfolding in the Coral Sea as authorities continue to monitor conditions in the Great Barrier Reef. Researchers are becoming increasingly concerned with the warming ocean temperatures which are driving the event. “The aerial surveys are showing us that we now have widespread – often called mass coral bleaching across the surveyed reefs,” Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Chief Scientist Dr Roger Beeden said. It is the fifth mass coral bleaching event the Great Barrier Reef has faced over the last decade. Coral bleaching occurs when corals are under thermal stress. Sea surface temperatures across much of the marine park have been above the average warmest temperature for longer than eight weeks, and forecasts show they are set to remain high through the rest of the month.