Most Great Barrier Reef coral studied this year was bleached

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian government scientists say 91% of the Great Barrier Reef coral surveyed this year (2022) was bleached in the fourth mass event in seven years. Coral becomes bleached in warmer-than-usual waters, and scientists worry about potentially lasting damage to the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority says this year’s bleaching is the first during a La Niña weather pattern, which is associated with cooler Pacific Ocean temperatures. The authority’s chief scientist David Wachenfeld says early indications are that mortality rates this year from the bleaching aren’t very high and scientists hope that most of the coral bleached this year will recover.