Some deeper areas of the Great Barrier Reef are insulated from harmful heatwaves – but that protection will be lost if global warming continues, according to new research.
Some deeper areas of the Great Barrier Reef are insulated from harmful heatwaves – but that protection will be lost if global warming continues, according to new research.
High surface temperatures have caused mass “bleaching” of the Great Barrier Reef in five of the last eight years, with the latest happening now.
Climate change projections for coral reefs are usually based on sea surface temperatures, but this overlooks the fact that deeper water does not necessarily experience the same warming as that at the surface.
The new study – led by the universities of Exeter and Queensland – examined how changing temperatures will affect mesophotic corals (depth 30-50 metres).
Read more at University of Exeter
Image: Mesophotic corals on the Great Barrier Reef. Credit Prof Peter Mumby via University of Exeter
