The world is on the verge of a fourth mass coral bleaching event which could see wide swathes of tropical reefs die, including parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Marine biologists are on high alert following months of record-breaking ocean heat fuelled by climate crisis and the El Niño climate pattern. “It’s looking like the entirety of the Southern Hemisphere is probably going to bleach this year,” said ecologist Derek Manzello, the coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch. This unit of NOAA serves as the global monitoring authority on coral bleaching risk. … Continue reading Rising Ocean Temps Set Stage for Catastrophic Coral Bleaching Worldwide