{"id":125718,"date":"2024-08-10T19:34:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-10T14:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=125718"},"modified":"2024-08-13T13:24:13","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T07:54:13","slug":"great-barrier-reef-corals-records-highest-temperatures","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/great-barrier-reef-corals-records-highest-temperatures","title":{"rendered":"Great Barrier Reef Corals Records Highest Temperatures in 400 years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Study titled,<\/span><b> \u2018Highest ocean heat in four centuries places Great Barrier Reef in danger\u2019 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">was recently published.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-125895 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/unnamed-59-66ba0b704abc4.webp\" alt=\"Great Barrier Reef \" width=\"402\" height=\"454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/unnamed-59-66ba0b704abc4.webp 1140w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/unnamed-59-66ba0b704abc4-266x300.webp 266w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/unnamed-59-66ba0b704abc4-907x1024.webp 907w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/unnamed-59-66ba0b704abc4-768x867.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 402px) 100vw, 402px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Published in: It was published in the Journal Nature.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scientists at the <\/span><b>Australian Institute of Marine Science <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have termed the ongoing mass bleaching event <\/span><b>as the most widespread and extreme so far.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> Ocean Temperatures SST a<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">t the reef are <\/span><b>hottest in the past 407 years.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Key Findings of the Study<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The study finds that all the <\/span><b>mass coral bleaching events recorded between 2016 and 2024 were driven by High Sea Surface Temperatures <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Great Barrier Reef has experienced <strong>f<\/strong><\/span><b>ive mass bleaching events in the last decade alone.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Anthropogenic factor:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Climate model analysis confirms that <\/span><b>human influence on the climate system is responsible <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for the rapid warming in recent decades<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Highest Recorded Temperatures: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The S<\/span><b>ST recorded was 1.73 degrees Celsius above mean temperature <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the ongoing mass coral bleaching event recorded<\/span><b> between January-March 2024..\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Past instance:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>2016: T<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he mean temperature was <\/span><b>1.5 degrees Celsius <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">above the pre-1900s<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>2017: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The temperatures were<\/span><b> 1.54 degrees h<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">igher.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>2020:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The recordings were at <\/span><b>1.53 d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">egrees higher<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pw.live\/batches\/upsc?utm_source=seo+upsc+batch&#038;utm_medium=seo+upsc&#038;utm_campaign=seo&#038;utm_id=upsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll now for UPSC Online Course<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%;\">\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt; color: #000000;\"><b>Great Barrier Reef<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>About: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the<\/span><b> largest coral reef system globally,\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Situated In: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the<\/span><b> Coral Sea off Queensland, Australia. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stretching over 2,300 km, it comprises approximately 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>World Heritage:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is also a<\/span><b> habitat for endangered species like the dugong and the large green turtle<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, it was added to the<\/span><b> list in 1981.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Marine Protected Area: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A significant portion of the Great Barrier Reef is designated as a marine protected area,<\/span><b> overseen by Australia\u2019s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/severe-coral-bleaching-in-lakshadweep\/\">Severe Coral Bleaching In Lakshadweep<\/span><\/a><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Samples Analysis: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scientists <\/span><b>drilled the centuries-old corals from 22 locations and used stress bands in their skeletal structure t<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">o find evidence of mass coral bleaching during the <\/span><b>pre-1980s and during the 1877-78 El Ni\u00f1o.\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress bands suggest that the coral bleaching did not occur during the 1800s and even most of the 1900s.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Climate Modeling<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The scientists <\/span><b>reconstructed the record of temperatures starting from 1618 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and compared them with the modern recordings of the ocean temperatures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> first modern evidence of the mass coral bleaching<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the reef was <\/span><b>observed in the 1980<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s, but the events were not widespread and less severe in nature<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The analysis suggests that as the <\/span><b>oceans started to warm around the 19th century the bleaching event<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> started to become more damaging for the reef. .<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Assured Destruction:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It was concluded that even with the <\/span><b>global warming limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius in accordance with the Paris Agreement 70-90 per cent of the corals <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on the reef existing today can be lost.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Global warming above 2\u2009\u00b0C would have disastrous <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">consequences for coral ecosystems..<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Changes in the Reef Ecosystem: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the business as usual approach, <\/span><b>corals of the future will possess a different community structure <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with far less diverse coral species <\/span><b>\u00a0leading to a simplification of the reef ecosystem<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and immeasurable negative impact on the diversity of marine life.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Adaptation Strategy: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are<\/span><b> limitations in the only practical conservation solutions for the reef ie. coral adaptation and acclimatisation strategies,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the model projections showing that the rates of adaptation are not matching the pace of global warming\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Thermal Stress Level:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 Different coral species have different thermal stress thresholds like <\/span><b>The Acropora species are known to be quite sensitive to thermal stress, but species of the genus Porites are more resistant.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/store.pw.live\/govt-entrance-exams\/upsc-books?utm_source=SEO&#038;utm_medium=PW+Live&#038;utm_campaign=UPSC+CSE+Books\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check Out UPSC CSE Books From PW Store<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100.035%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 137.998%; 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