SYDNEY (Reuters) - Warm seas around Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have killed two-thirds of a 700-km (435 miles) stretch of coral in the past nine months, the worst die-off ever recorded on the World Heritage site, scientists who surveyed the reef said on Tuesday.

Their finding of the die-off in the reef’s north is a major blow for tourism at reef which, according to a 2013 Deloitte Access Economics report, attracts about A$5.2 billion ($3.9 billion) in spending each year.

“The coral is essentially cooked,” professor Andrew Baird, a researcher at James Cook University who was part of the reef surveys, told Reuters by telephone from Townsville in Australia’s tropical north.

He said the die-off was “almost certainly” the largest ever recorded anywhere because of the size of the Barrier Reef, which at 348,000 sq km (134,400 sq miles) is the biggest coral reef in the world.

Bleaching occurs when the water is too warm, forcing coral to expel living algae and causing it to calcify and turn white. Mildly bleached coral can recover if the temperature drops and the survey found this occurred in southern parts of the reef, where coral mortality was much lower.

While bleaching occurs naturally, scientists are concerned that rising sea temperatures caused by global warming magnifies the damage, leaving sensitive underwater ecosystems unable to recover.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee stopped short of placing the Great Barrier Reef on an “in danger” list last May but asked the Australian government for an update on its progress in safeguarding the reef.

Australia will lodge that update on Friday, said a spokesman for Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg. In June, during an election campaign, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promised A$1 billion in spending to protect the reef.

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Climate scientists argue that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps heat radiating from earth, creating global warming. Australia is one of the largest carbon emitters per capita because of its reliance on coal-fired power plants for electricity.

“Climate change is killing the Great Barrier Reef,” said environmentalist Charlie Wood, director of 350.org, an anti-fossil fuels movement.

“The continued mining and burning of coal, oil and gas is irreparably damaging the climate. If we want our kids to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef for generations to come, we must act now to keep fossil fuels in the ground,” Wood said in an emailed statement.</s>In just nine months, bleaching caused by warmer water has killed around 67% of the coral in a previously pristine part of the reef, one of the natural wonders of the world.

"We've seen three bleaching events (in the reef) and each time it can be explained by where the warm water was," the report's author, ARC Center of Excellent for Coral Reef Studies Director Terry Hughes, told CNN.

"In the north, the summer temperatures got up to two degrees above the normal maximum and that caused severe bleaching," he said.

Extensive aerial surveys and teams of divers were used to map the bleaching, which covered a length of 700 kilometers.

Hughes said it could take up to 15 years for coral to grow back to previous levels. Threats to the reef have become so severe that in recent years UNESCO has suggested it could be placed on list of World Heritage sites "in danger." A spokesman for Australia's Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said a report on the status of the Great Barrier Reef to UNESCO was due by Friday, local time. A decision on whether or not the reef will be declared "in danger" is expected within the next year, the spokesman added. Two major coral bleaching events in the Great Barrier Reef took place in 1998 and 2002, but Hughes said this year's had been the most devastating. "It's quite sobering, we've now seen three of these events, each one was more severe than the last and these have occurred with less than one degree of global warming," he said. "Two degrees of global warming will mean these events are more severe." Dramatic coral bleaching, seen in Australia's Great Barrier Reef from March 2016. Some of the bleaching of reefs in the northern section has been described as "extreme." Bleaching occurs when the marine algae that live inside corals die. Of the reefs surveyed in the northern third of the Great Barrier Reef, 81% are characterized as "severely bleached." "At some reefs, the final death toll is likely to exceed 90%," Andrew Baird, of the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, says. A photo taken on September 22, 2014, shows bleached coral on the Reef, a key Australian tourist attraction. Tourism on the Great Barrier Reef generates an annual income of A$5 billion ($3.9 billion) and employs nearly 70,000 people. Of the reefs surveyed in the northern third of the Reef, 81% are characterized as "severely bleached." Driven by ocean temperatures that have been 1-2 degrees Celsius (1.8-3.6° F) above average, the bleaching event has left large sections of coral drained of all color and fighting for survival. The Reef has suffered two mass bleaching events, in 1998 and 2002, but the extent of the bleaching in these years was less severe than in 2016. Although the coral is expected to regrow, Hughes said a fourth or fifth major bleaching event in the next 15 years could damage the reef even further. "It's too unpredictable for anyone to be sure when the next event will occur," he said. RELATED: The Great Barrier Reef is not actually dead Researcher Grace Frank completing bleaching surveys in November along the less-damaged southern Great Barrier Reef. Northern reef used to be 'pristine' While the northern parts of the reef were damaged severely by the bleaching event, others survived almost entirely intact. The Great Barrier Reef's southern third only suffered about 1% bleaching on average, the report said, mostly due to the arrival of Cyclone Winston in February this year. "It brought temperatures in the bottom half of the reef down and saved it from what would have been a reef-wide bleaching event," Hughes said. Hughes said the northern sections had previously been among the most pristine in the entire Great Barrier Reef, remaining untouched while the southern regions saw their coral drop by half in the past 30 years. "It's hard to get to, so it's the part where there are more sharks, more crocodiles, more turtles, more coral. Unfortunately the 67 per cent loss we've detected means that pristine northern part is now in a worse condition than the lower part," he said.</s>In just nine months, bleaching caused by warmer water has killed around 67% of the coral in a previously pristine part of the reef, one of the natural wonders of the world.

"We've seen three bleaching events (in the reef) and each time it can be explained by where the warm water was," the report's author, ARC Center of Excellent for Coral Reef Studies Director Terry Hughes, told CNN.

"In the north, the summer temperatures got up to two degrees above the normal maximum and that caused severe bleaching," he said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS - Coral across Australia's Great Barrier Reef has suffered its most devastating die-off on record, a new report says.</s>SYDNEY: A mass bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef this year killed more corals than ever before, scientists said Tuesday, sounding the alarm over the delicate ecosystem.

The 2,300-kilometer (1,400-mile) long reef — the world’s biggest — suffered its most severe bleaching in recorded history, due to warming sea temperatures during March and April, with the northern third bearing the brunt.

Follow-up underwater surveys, backing earlier aerial studies, have revealed a 700-kilometre stretch of reefs in the less-accessible north lost two-thirds of shallow-water corals in the past eight to nine months.

“Most of the losses in 2016 have occurred in the northern, most-pristine part of the Great Barrier Reef,” said Terry Hughes, head of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University.

“This region escaped with minor damage in two earlier bleaching events in 1998 and 2002, but this time around it has been badly affected.”

Further south over the vast central and southern regions, including major tourist areas around Cairns and the Whitsunday Islands, there was a much lower toll.

Bleaching occurs when abnormal environmental conditions, such as warmer sea temperatures, cause corals to expel tiny photosynthetic algae, draining them of their colour.

Algae are vital to the coral, which uses the organic products of photosynthesis to help it grow.

The loss of algae makes the host vulnerable to disease and means it will eventually die.

However, coral can recover if the water temperature drops and the algae are able to recolonize them.

Environmentalists blame the burning of fossil fuels for global warming and repeated calls Tuesday for Australia to abandon coal mining to help prevent further bleaching disasters.

“This is the devastating price we are paying for the Australian government propping up the coal industry,” said Greenpeace Australia reef campaigner Shani Tager.

“A credible plan to protect the reef must address climate change and start with a ban on new coal mines.”

Canberra insists it is doing more than ever to safeguard the reef, which is also under pressure from farming run-off, development and the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish, committing more than Aus$2.0 billion (US$1.50 billion) over the next decade.

Scientists estimate the northern region, which teems with marine life, will take at least 10-15 years to regain lost corals, but are concerned that a fourth major bleaching event may occur before that, hampering the recovery.

The reef studies center warned earlier this year that if greenhouse gas levels keep rising, similar events would be the new normal, occurring every two years by the mid-2030s.

Given reefs need so long to recover from severe bleaching, it said “we are likely to lose large parts of the Great Barrier Reef in just a couple of decades”.

That study noted climate change had added 1.0 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming to ocean temperatures off the Queensland coast in March, when corals were first seen turning white.

There had been fears that the bleaching would badly hurt the tourism industry but Andrew Baird, who led teams of divers to re-survey the reefs in October and November, said the more accessible parts had not suffered as badly.

“The good news is the southern two-thirds of the reef has escaped with minor damage,” he said.

“On average, six percent of bleached corals died in the central region in 2016, and only one percent in the south. The corals have now regained their vibrant color, and these reefs are in good condition.”

Tourism on the World Heritage-listed reef employs 70,000 people and generates Aus$5 billion in income each year.

Australia last year narrowly avoided UNESCO putting the site on its endangered list and must report to the World Heritage committee by December 1 on the progress being made to rescue the reef. AFP</s>CANBERRA, Australia — Australian scientists say warming oceans this year have caused the biggest die-off of corals ever recorded on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies said Tuesday that the worst-affected area was a (400-mile) swath in the north of the World Heritage-listed 2, (1,400-mile) chain of reefs off Australia's northeast coast.

It found that the northern swath had lost an average of 67 of its shallow-water corals in the past nine months.

The based its findings on dive surveys in October and November.

The governments of Australia and the state of Queensland will update the UNESCO World Heritage Center this week on progress being made to protect and improve the reef, including their response to coral bleaching.</s>A new study has found that higher water temperatures have ravaged the Great Barrier Reef, causing the worst coral bleaching recorded by scientists.

In the worst-affected area, 67% of a 700km swath in the north of the reef lost its shallow-water corals over the past eight to nine months, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies based at James Cook University study found.

“Most of the losses in 2016 have occurred in the northern, most-pristine part of the Great Barrier Reef,” Prof Terry Hughes said. “This region escaped with minor damage in two earlier bleaching events in 1998 and 2002, but this time around it has been badly affected.”

The southern two-thirds of the reef escaped with minor damage, Hughes said. This part was protected from the rising sea temperatures because of cooler water from the Coral Sea.

Scientists expect that the northern region will take at least 10 to 15 years to regain the lost corals but are concerned a fourth bleaching event could interrupt the slow recovery.

The dire assessment of the reef’s health comes as the Australian government is due to report to Unesco’s world heritage committee on its handling of the reef.

After the federal government submits the report Unesco will decide whether to again consider listing the Great Barrier Reef on its “list of world heritage in danger”.

The government will need to report on how it has funded and implemented its Reef 2050 long-term sustainability plan, as well as how the bleaching event has affected the reef.

Since it last considered including the Great Barrier Reef on its list, the reef has undergone the worst bleaching event in recorded history. According to government agencies, 22% of the reef was killed in one hit, as unusually warm waters bleached and killed the coral.

Climate change poses such a threat to the reef that the former head of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has called for a ban on all new coalmines in Australia to protect the reef from climate change.

Graeme Kelleher, who was the first chief executive of the authority, a position he held for 16 years, said: “Australia cannot have a healthy Great Barrier Reef and a continuing coal industry.

“I love the reef and I have worked to preserve it since 1979; I will oppose anything that threatens to destroy it,” he said.</s>In just nine months, bleaching caused by warmer water has killed around 67% of the coral in a previously pristine part of the reef, one of the natural wonders of the world.

"We've seen three bleaching events (in the reef) and each time it can be explained by where the warm water was," the report's author, ARC Center of Excellent for Coral Reef Studies Director Terry Hughes, told CNN.

"In the north, the summer temperatures got up to two degrees above the normal maximum and that caused severe bleaching," he said.

Extensive aerial surveys and teams of divers were used to map the bleaching, which covered a length of 700 kilometers.

Hughes said it could take up to 15 years for coral to grow back to previous levels. Read: Can our oceans be saved from environmental ruin? Threats to the reef have become so severe that in recent years UNESCO has suggested it could be placed on list of World Heritage sites "in danger." A spokesman for Australia's Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said a report on the status of the Great Barrier Reef to UNESCO was due by Friday, local time. A decision on whether or not the reef will be declared "in danger" is expected within the next year, the spokesman added. Two major coral bleaching events in the Great Barrier Reef took place in 1998 and 2002, but Hughes said this year's had been the most devastating. "It's quite sobering, we've now seen three of these events, each one was more severe than the last and these have occurred with less than one degree of global warming," he said. "Two degrees of global warming will mean these events are more severe." Dramatic coral bleaching, seen in Australia's Great Barrier Reef from March 2016. Some of the bleaching of reefs in the northern section has been described as "extreme." Bleaching occurs when the marine algae that live inside corals die. Of the reefs surveyed in the northern third of the Great Barrier Reef, 81% are characterized as "severely bleached." "At some reefs, the final death toll is likely to exceed 90%," Andrew Baird, of the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, says. A photo taken on September 22, 2014, shows bleached coral on the Reef, a key Australian tourist attraction. Tourism on the Great Barrier Reef generates an annual income of A$5 billion ($3.9 billion) and employs nearly 70,000 people. Of the reefs surveyed in the northern third of the Reef, 81% are characterized as "severely bleached." Driven by ocean temperatures that have been 1-2 degrees Celsius (1.8-3.6° F) above average, the bleaching event has left large sections of coral drained of all color and fighting for survival. The Reef has suffered two mass bleaching events, in 1998 and 2002, but the extent of the bleaching in these years was less severe than in 2016. Although the coral is expected to regrow, Hughes said a fourth or fifth major bleaching event in the next 15 years could damage the reef even further. "It's too unpredictable for anyone to be sure when the next event will occur," he said. RELATED: The Great Barrier Reef is not actually dead Researcher Grace Frank completing bleaching surveys in November along the less-damaged southern Great Barrier Reef. Northern reef used to be 'pristine' While the northern parts of the reef were damaged severely by the bleaching event, others survived almost entirely intact. The Great Barrier Reef's southern third only suffered about 1% bleaching on average, the report said, mostly due to the arrival of Cyclone Winston in February this year. "It brought temperatures in the bottom half of the reef down and saved it from what would have been a reef-wide bleaching event," Hughes said. – 

Pictured: A solitary bear sits on the edge of one of the Barter Islands, Alaska. There is no snow, when at this time of year, there should be," wrote photographer Patty Waymire. Via National Geographic The "Climate Change -- In Focus" exhibition shows the effects of climate change.Pictured: A solitary bear sits on the edge of one of the Barter Islands, Alaska. There is no snow, when at this time of year, there should be," wrote photographer Patty Waymire. Via National Geographic Your Shot – The exhibition shows the best 100 photographs from a global competition.

"On a recent trip to Indonesia we were saddened to see the huge number of bleached anemones. We expected to see some coral bleaching, but we were surprised by how many anemones were also becoming victims to rising ocean temperatures," wrote photographer Diana Paboojian. Via National Geographic Your Shot Emperors at the edge in Antarctica – Photo: Kira Morris. A group of emperor penguins faces a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Via National Geographic Your Shot – Photo: Jetje Japhet, South Africa. "These animals have found the secret stash of the orange farmer who dumps the oranges that have fallen from his trees at least 7km away from the orchards to control the breeding of fruit fly. It is the end of a long, dry, winter exacerbated by global warming which makes the winters longer and drier and the summers hotter with less rain in an already dry climate. These animals then behave totally out of character with baboons and warthog still feeding after dark," wrote Japhet. Via National Geographic Your Shot – A seal lies near among massive cracks in the sea ice near Ross Island, Antarctica. Photo: Kira Morris, Antarctica. Via National Geographic Your Shot – Photo: Probal Rashid. "A flood-affected woman on a raft approaches a boat, searching a dry place to shelter herself in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh. Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change," wrote Rashid. Via National Geographic Your Shot – Photo: Vladimir Melnik, Russia: "I was in expedition exploring Franz Josef Land archipelago. There was a polar station where people brought dogs as guards against polar bears. The summer is difficult time for bears. In recent years warming in Arctic resulted in loss of sea ice which is critically important for bears as they can hunt only from ice. The bears which stay on the islands doomed to meager ration and go to human settlements," wrote Melnik. Via National Geographic Your Shot – Photo: Ujjal Das, India: "The pic was taken in Puruliya District of West Bengal. This is a drought-prone area and in summertime the whole district becomes dry creating water problem." Via National Geographic Your Shot – Matuf Ikhsan, Indonesia: "In Gers, France, an irrigation reservoir supplies water to a monocultural field. Here the economy revolves mainly around culinary tourism." – Riddhima Singh Bhati, India: "This part of Rajasthan is badly affected by intense heat waves and dryness because of decreased precipitation. The anticipated rise in temperature due to climate change poses formidable challenge to development of livestock in India." – Photo by Hira Ali, Pakistan: "The picture shows a flooding in the mountainous area of Chitral, in the north of Pakistan. There are many glaciers high in the mountain. Due to climate change, for the past two years there has been a lot of flooding and destruction." – Photo: Leung Ka Wa, China: "A visible aspect of climate change is the turbidity in the air. It can be caused by particulates caused by combustion products. The turbid air decreases visibility so it is harder to see the stars in urban areas." – Photo: Tom Schifanella, USA: "Since 2000, Icelandic glaciers have lost 12% of their size, in less than 15 years. Pictured here, Icelandic guide Hanna Pétursdóttir admires an ice cave inside the Svínafellsjökull Glacier, which she notes is rapidly expanding due to the effects of global warming," wrote Schifanella. Via National Geographic Your Shot – Photo: Stuart Chape, Samoa: "This aerial view of the Chong Kneas floating village on Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia, demonstrates just how threatened the great lake is from changing rainfall patterns and rising temperatures." Via National Geographic Your Shot – Photo: Long Yat Chau, Hong Kong: "Air pollution, particularly in the form of waste gas from generating stations, is a serious problem in Hong Kong." – Photo: Ryan Lai, Hong Kong: "Piles of solid waste lie behind a perfectly-framed photograph of spectacular scenery." – Photo: Felicia Hou, USA: "It is almost as if Mother Nature is sending us a warning that if we do not stop destroying the planet now, there may not be one to destroy in the future." – Photo: Vadim Balakin, Russia: "These polar bear remains have been discovered at one of the islands of Northern Svalbard, Norway. While it is not certain whether the polar bear died from starvation or old age, the good condition of its teeth indicate that it is most likely from starvation," wrote Balakin. Via National Geographic Your Shot Hughes said the northern sections had previously been among the most pristine in the entire Great Barrier Reef, remaining untouched while the southern regions saw their coral drop by half in the past 30 years. "It's hard to get to, so it's the part where there are more sharks, more crocodiles, more turtles, more coral. Unfortunately the 67 per cent loss we've detected means that pristine northern part is now in a worse condition than the lower part," he said.</s>Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like. Close

The news of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) being pronounced dead in October left the world shocked and disappointed.

An article written by Outside Magazine published an obituary for the GBR, citing its lifespan from 25 million BC until 2016. According to the article, the notoriety and coral bleaching were two factors that led to its deteriorating health.

“The Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away in 2016 after a long illness. It was 25 million years old,” the article said.

Russell Brainard, chief of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Program at NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, told HuffPost that he believes the article was stressing the urgency of the condition of the GBR, but those who did not read the article with any context of the situation “are going to take it at face value that the Great Barrier Reef is dead.”

According to Tony Davis, and environmental reporter, “Reports of the Great Barrier Reef’s death are greatly exaggerated, say scientists, booing Outside Magazine.”

The Cornell Cooperative Extension at Rockland County tweeted their thoughts on the matter saying, “’Great Barrier Reef is Dying NOT Dead! The message should be that it isn’t too late… not we should all give up.'”

The GBR is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem. It covers more than 300,000 square kilometers, consisting of more than 3,000 reefs, 600 islands and 300 coral cays.

While the condition of the GBR is grave, there are hopes for a recovery effort to save the GBR. According to a report by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, 93 percent of the reef is affected by bleaching, which puts the GBR at a high risk for extinction. Bleaching occurs when coral are put under extreme stress by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients. In these conditions, they expel symbiotic algae from their tissues, causing them to turn white.

However, there are concerns the publishing of the obituary that over-exaggerated the condition will stop people from helping with the effort, thinking it is a lost cause

Professor John Pandolfi from the ARC Centre at the University of Queensland, expressed optimism for its recovery.

“It is critically important now to bolster the resilience of the reef, and to maximize its natural capacity to recover,” Pandolfi said. “The reef is no longer as resilient as it once was, and it’s struggling to cope with three bleaching events in just 18 years.”</s>Scientists say Australia's Great Barrier Reef has experienced the worst coral die-off ever recorded due to global warming. Natasha Howitt reports.</s>The Australian government’s official “response plan” to the worst ever bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef commits it to no new action, pledges no new money and does not make any attempt to address climate change, according to a draft seen by the Guardian.

The Northern Great Barrier Reef Response Plan, marked “draft” and “confidential”, begins by describing the bleaching event as “the worst ever coral bleaching” and attributes its cause to climate change.

It says: “In the aftermath of the bleaching event it is more important than ever to building [sic] the resilience of the reef.” But the recommendations appear to contain no new money for action to help build resilience.

It says the plan will be “nested under the Reef 2050 plan”, which is a document the federal and Queensland governments created to convince Unesco not to include the Great Barrier Reef on its “world heritage in danger” list.

On Thursday the government needs to report to the Unesco world heritage committee on the implementation of the Reef 2050 plan, as well as how it has been funded.

But, in June, the Guardian revealed Australia would also need to report on how it is responding to this year’s bleaching event.

At the time, Tim Badman, the director of the IUCN’s world heritage program, which advises the committee on the state of its natural world heritage properties, told the Guardian: “We would expect that that report from Australia is going to cover all the significant things that have happened since June 2015 and whether there are changes in the picture of the management or the response that is needed … The bleaching event is a new issue to be considered.”

It is not known whether this plan is what the government intends to present to Unesco in response to that requirement.

It was revealed this week the bleaching appeared to kill about 67% of coral in the northern third of the reef. Across the entire reef, early estimates suggested about 22% of coral had died but scientists now say that figure is likely to be higher.

But the government’s plan for dealing with the bleaching, at least in its draft from October, appeared unable to point to any significant new action.

It divides actions into four groups. One group is “new initiatives to boost recovery” and the others are activities that have either been in place for a long time, were enacted as part of the Reef 2050 plan, or were introduced since the Reef 2050 plan.

The document indicates the list of activities under “new initiatives to boost recovery” are not complete but it does indicate they require “no new money” and mostly deal with reducing sediment runoff through gully remediation.

Under the actions labelled as “additional” since 2015, it lists a grab-bag of activities initiated by other groups, including WWF. That includes the two shark licenses WWF bought, which they will retire, and research they are conducting into turtle health – neither of which were primarily a response to bleaching.

The draft document was presented to the Reef 2050 advisory committee, which mentioned it in its communique on 11 October. The communique said the committee “welcomed the draft and provided comments”.

“The committee noted that the aim was to finalise the Northern GBR Response Plan by the end of 2016,” the communique said.

It remains unclear whether this document was still set to be completed by the end of 2016 or whether it would form the basis of the government’s reporting to Unesco in relation to the bleaching.

The government is also preparing a Reef 2050 plan investment framework, which is expected to form a key component of its reporting to Unesco on Thursday.

A Queensland government study found $8.2bn needed to be spent over 10 years to reach water targets set in the Reef 2050 plan. The government currently says it is spending just $2bn and much of that is not being spent on water quality but also other activities such as maritime safety.

A spokeswoman for the federal Department of Environment and Energy said: “The department does not comment on draft confidential reports. Australia will provide its status update on the Reef 2050 plan to Unesco on 1 December 2016.”
Scientists say warm seas around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have killed two-thirds of a 435-mile stretch of coral in the past nine months.