Global Warming

Great Barrier Reef - Australia's Coral Ecosystem Dying But Not Yet Dead

The Great Barrier Reef is in serious trouble. Despite being under severe stress like most other coral structures around the world, however, the coral ecosystem spanning 1,400 miles off Australia's coast is not yet dead.

In response to reports that the vast ecosystem is dead, scientists said that the world's largest coral reef system may be dying but it is not yet dead.

Last week, food and travel writer Rowan Jacobsen wrote a tongue-in-cheek obituary for Australia's famed network of reefs on Outside Magazine that generated responses from news outlets and social media users, many of whom mourned for the supposed passing of what is considered as the largest living thing on Earth.

"The Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away in 2016 after a long illness. It was 25 million years old," Jacobsen wrote.

It is undeniable that the Great Barrier Reef is on life support. A comprehensive reef survey has showed that 93 percent of the reef network is affected by bleaching putting it at risk of extinction. Bleaching happens when corals are subjected to extreme stress such as changes in conditions like light, nutrients and temperature, which cause the corals to expel symbiotic algae from their tissue and in turn cause them to turn white.

Rising water systems primarily driven by climate change is widely attributed for the damages on the Great Barrier Reef.

Scientists, however, are worried that the over-exaggeration of the state of the reef may promote the idea that it is already past the point of recovery. Although most parts of the Great Barrier Reef have been affected by bleaching, not all have died and scientists hope that large areas of the ecosystem will recover. Large sections of it (the southern half) escaped from the 2016 bleaching, and are in reasonable shape.