Coral Reefs Dying

It is certainly true that the more coral reefs nowadays are dying. This is because of a combination of global warming and human impacts. Coral reefs located off Australia are made up of thousands of independent islands. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), only 20 percent of the ocean floor could be discovered today. Coral Reefs, a structure clearly visible in NASA's satellite photographs taken from space, is the world's richest biodiversity ecosystem. Due to these features, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981. The Greater Barrier Reef, the largest of the reefs found in the Coral Sea, is the largest coral reef in the world with an area of ​​344,400 km² spanning 2,600 km wide, stretching along Australia's northeast coastline. It is estimated that it formed around 18,000 years ago at the end of the ice age. It was first discovered by Portuguese sailors, but its exact discovery was in 1770 when Captain James Cook's ship landed on reefs. As the largest ecosystem in our world, which hosts 4000 reef species, 2000 fish species, 4000 mollusks and countless invertebrates, it has a great importance in the food chain.

One main cause of Coral Reefs dying is Global Warming that threatens coral reef ecosystem. Ocean temperatures increase day by day,which creates physiological stress on corals and causes coral bleaching. Another important factor of this damage is human impacts such as coral mining, water pollution and overfishing . The corals on many, including large tracts of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, are now dead and will take years to recover. It is the longest global event on record. Many research groups that observe and record the reefs predict that if no precautions are taken, coral reefs will disappear within 100 years.

NOAA- Coral Bleaching Infographic