The main reason for the bleaching appears to be abnormally high sea temperatures, however, run-off from heavy rainfall and high levels of UV radiation caused by clear skies also appear to have played a part. This year's coral bleaching is a global event that has been observed off East Africa, Western Australia, Samoa, and in the Galapagos Islands off South America. Scientists have become concerned as coral bleaching events have become more frequent, widespread and severe since the early 1980s. Major bleaching events have occurred in all the major reef communities, including Australia, China, Japan, Panama, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Kenya, the Red Sea, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Okinawa. The Great Barrier Reef is an international icon, one of the seven wonders of the natural world and World Heritage listed.
Action is required by all nations to cut greenhouse gases and begin the phase out fossil fuels.
Over the next week a research team from Greenpeace and Southern Cross University, New South Wales, will be documenting coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef's Heron Island.