Climate Change: Warming set to 'devastate' coral reefs, BBC Reports

A report by BBC News today quotes a study by an international team of researchers who examined reefs in the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, where "a warming event in 1998 killed much of the live coral."

The group found the oceanic reef had experienced fish extinctions, algal growth, and only limited recovery.

Details have been published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The 1998 event saw Indian Ocean surface temperatures rise to unprecedented levels, killing off - or 'bleaching' - more than 90% of the inner Seychelles coral. Coral bleaching has been described as a vivid demonstration of climate change in action.

'[Bleaching events] are becoming more frequent and are predicted to become more severe in coming decades. They are directly linked to increases in sea surface temperatures,' said lead author Nick Graham, of the University of Newcastle, UK.

Read more at: BBC News/Coral Reefs

Categories: climatechange, environment, science