Is in trouble.

The bleaching is not due to local run off, coral reefs around the world are in trouble.

AGW, the warming of the oceans seems to be the cause.


Quote:

Two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef has now been devastated by severe coral bleaching, with the most intense damage occurring further south this year, Queensland scientists say. Key Points: Of the 2,300km of reef, 1,500km is bleached Middle third section has most intense bleaching, southern third unscathed Caused from record-breaking temperature The fastest growing coral will take a decade to recover An aerial survey of the reef's 2,300-kilometre length by the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies showed 1,500km had been bleached. Compared to its 2016 survey, where the northern third was worst off, this year the central third — Cooktown down to Townsville — recorded the most intense bleaching. The southern third is unscathed. The council's director, Terry Hughes, who undertook the aerial survey both years, said record-breaking temperatures, driven by global warming, has led to the bleaching. He said it would take the fastest growing coral in the 1,500km stretch about a decade to recover.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-10/great-barrier-reef-severe-coral-bleaching-hits-two-thirds/8429662

Of course the two idiots Hanson and Roberts dove in the southern third of the reef which was fine.  ::) ::) ::)

More info on the reef health:
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/reef-health

Wow. Things are looking up. They say the reef is bleached but they don't say it has been killed.

Looks like a dose of sanity has prevailed or permeated.

World wide:


Quote:

Global Coral Bleaching 2014-2017: Status and an Appeal for Observations In 2014, NOAA Coral Reef Watch wrote in Reef Encounter about the prospect for a 2014-15 El Niño (Eakin et al. 2014). While that El Niño never fully formed, it did help set off a multi-year global coral bleaching event -- the third ever documented. A subsequent 2015-16 strong El Niño formed, spreading and worsening the bleaching (Eakin et al. 2016), and a La Niña reared its head thereafter, further extending the event into 2017, as predicted. Multiple coral reef areas around the world experienced bleaching two or even three years in a row from 2014-2017. As of June 2017, the Third Global Coral Bleaching Event has most likely ended (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 2017) but will remain the longest, most widespread, and possibly the most damaging coral bleaching event on record. It affected more reefs than any previous global bleaching event and was worse in some locales (e.g., Great Barrier Reef, Kiribati, Jarvis Island). Heat stress during this event also caused mass bleaching in several reefs that never bleached before (e.g., northernmost Great Barrier Reef). Coral Reef Watch's Analysis of Current Thermal Conditions and Four-Month Outlook NOAA Coral Reef Watch's most recent Coral Bleaching Alert Area is below. This figure shows the regions currently experiencing high levels of heat stress that can cause coral bleaching.

https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/bleaching5km/images_current/cur_b05kmnn_max_r07d_baa_45ns.gif

https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/analyses_guidance/global_coral_bleaching_2014-17_status.php

Very pretty. It is not SST. It is not SST anomalies. What is it?

Only three replies to this topic? We all resigned to losing the Great Barrier Reef?

Jovial Monk wrote on Jul 25^th, 2017 at 8:00pm:

Is in trouble. The bleaching is not due to local run off, coral reefs around the world are in trouble. AGW, the warming of the oceans seems to be the cause. More info on the reef health: http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/reef-health

It seems to be very odd that scientists have only estimated the the water on the GBR has risen 1 full degree but have been totally unable to actually measure the water's temperature. Seems a little unscientific, considering how importance the GBR is, wouldn't you say?



The survey estimated that a 1 degree Celsius rise in temperatures had caused four bleaching events in the past 19 years.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-10/great-barrier-reef-severe-coral-bleaching-hits-two-thirds/8429662

How do you measure the temperature on such a vast stretch of water, BigOle?

I think we should spend some money: a tourism industry and our international reputation depend on it.

Now, I know you don’t think much of tourism jobs but 60K jobs is 60K jobs.

Jovial Monk wrote on Jul 26^th, 2017 at 5:31pm:

How do you measure the temperature on such a vast stretch of water, BigOle? I think we should spend some money: a tourism industry and our international reputation depend on it. Now, I know you don’t think much of tourism jobs but 60K jobs is 60K jobs.

I would have thought that the scientist are pretty smart and would be pretty keen to gather valid data instead of just fkking guessing what the fkk is going on.


I fkken doubt there would be too many f any jobs in tourism pulling $60K, bet lucky if they get $40k cleaning up after or waiting on people. Remember tourism jobs are low level jobs requiring minimal education and are paid accordingly.

Put it this way I nave never met anyone who would aspired to work in tourism, it is usually a job of last resort or something you do while going to Uni. But never your proper job.

60,000 jobs (your figure, BTW) on the GBR.

Yeah, a network of sensors would be good. Doesn’t come free tho.

Jovial Monk wrote on Jul 26^th, 2017 at 5:58pm:

60,000 jobs (your figure, BTW) on the GBR. Yeah, a network of sensors would be good. Doesn’t come free tho.

Sorry misread, thought you said $60K jobs.

Yeah it's 60 000 jobs but they are mostly poorly paid and dead end jobs that no-one would want to do if there was something better.


Low skills, low wages, low respect.


By all means save the reef, but fkkk those tourism job, not worth a snatch full of cold water.

“a snatch full of cold water” ah, reminded me of my former bil, dead now poor prick (deserved a Victoria Cross for remaining with my sister as long as he did.)

He had an unlimited supply of them: Merry Syphilis and a Happy Gonorrhea was one.

Not all the jobs will be entry level jobs—and they are still jobs, useful for uni students to earn money over the summer break.

Jovial Monk wrote on Jul 26^th, 2017 at 6:22pm:

“a snatch full of cold water” ah, reminded me of my former bil, dead now poor prick (deserved a Victoria Cross for remaining with my sister as long as he did.) He had an unlimited supply of them: Merry Syphilis and a Happy Gonorrhea was one. Not all the jobs will be entry level jobs—and they are still jobs, useful for uni students to earn money over the summer break.

Was he in the ADF?

oh dear....

what don't you understand about the Earth being a dynamic system Monk?

What don't you understand about the Earth's climate forever changing?

It's land mass forever changing gee you should know something about that at least eh BSc Geology.

What don't you understand about extinctions?

What don't you understand about adaptation?  BSc Zoology?

I'm sorry I can't hear you?

You do realise the world has been hotter and colder....  right?

You do realise that the last Ice Age lasted for a great many years right?


Quote:

The last glacial period, popularly known as the Ice Age, was the most recent glacial period, which occurred from c. 110,000 – c. 11,700 years ago. This most recent glacial period is part of a larger pattern of glacial and interglacial periods known as the Quaternary glaciation (c. 2,588,000 years ago to present). From this point of view, scientists consider this "ice age" to be merely the latest glaciation event in a much larger ice age, one that dates back over two million years and is still ongoing.

Do you accept that there were Woolly Mammoths?  Sabre Toothed Tigers?  Triceratops? Stegosaurus?  Dodos?
The list goes on and on and on...  the Earth is not static.

Oh dear he's gone away.  Whatever shall we do?

http://joannenova.com.au/2017/07/prof-peter-ridd-the-great-barrier-reef-recovers-our-science-institutions-are-failing-us-science-needs-to-be-checked/


Quote:

All the corals on the Great Barrier Reef live and grow much faster in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Thailand where the water is much hotter than it is on the reef and the corals just juggle these symbionts.   4:20 Corals have a little thermometer built in them, when you take a core of them from many years ago we know what the temperature of the water was back when Captain Cook sailed up the coast, it was actually about the same temperature then. It was colder 100 years ago, but it has recovered from that. The temperatures on the reef are not even significantly warmer than average on a hundred year timescale. Corals that bleach in one year will be less susceptible to bleaching in following years.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/reef-whistleblower-censured-by-james-cook-university/news-story/c7aa0e0ac1c1dec1b065273d2e968f6d


Quote:

When marine scientist Peter Ridd suspected something was wrong with photographs being used to highlight the rapid decline of the Great Barrier Reef, he did what good scientists are supposed to do: he sent a team to check the facts. After attempting to blow the whistle on what he found — healthy corals — Professor Ridd was censured by James Cook University and threatened with the sack. After a formal investigation, Professor Ridd — a renowned campaigner for quality assurance over coral research from JCU’s Marine Geophysics Laboratory — was found guilty of “failing to act in a collegial way and in the academic spirit of the institution”.

Quote:

A GBRMPA spokesman said last night “the historical photos serve to demonstrate the vulnerability of nearshore coral reefs, rather than a specific cause for their decline.

Quote:

University of Western Australia marine biologist Carlos Duarte argued in BioScience last year that bias contributed to “perpetuating the perception of ocean calamities in the absence of robust evidence”. A paper published this year claimed scientific journals had exaggerated bad news on ocean acidification and played down the doubts. Former GBRMPA chairman Ian McPhail accused activists of “exaggerating the impact of coral bleaching for political and financial gain”. Dr McPhail told The Weekend Australian it “seems that there is a group of researchers who begin with the premise that all is disaster”.

Interview here...http://www.heraldsun.com.au/blogs/andrew-bolt/ridd-on-reef-dont-trust-alarmists/news-story/da65fb7bac61af3677e171dafe072a1f

Grendel wrote on Jul 27^th, 2017 at 7:17pm:

oh dear.... what don't you understand about the Earth being a dynamic system Monk? What don't you understand about the Earth's climate forever changing? It's land mass forever changing gee you should know something about that at least eh BSc Geology. What don't you understand about extinctions? What don't you understand about adaptation?  BSc Zoology? I'm sorry I can't hear you? You do realise the world has been hotter and colder....  right? You do realise that the last Ice Age lasted for a great many years right? Quote: The last glacial period, popularly known as the Ice Age, was the most recent glacial period, which occurred from c. 110,000 – c. 11,700 years ago. This most recent glacial period is part of a larger pattern of glacial and interglacial periods known as the Quaternary glaciation (c. 2,588,000 years ago to present). From this point of view, scientists consider this "ice age" to be merely the latest glaciation event in a much larger ice age, one that dates back over two million years and is still ongoing. Do you accept that there were Woolly Mammoths?  Sabre Toothed Tigers?  Triceratops? Stegosaurus?  Dodos? The list goes on and on and on...  the Earth is not static.

Grendel thinks he's a con-artist?

How many times a day does grendels wife laugh at him every time she leaves a room?