The record heat puts a strain on the survival of marine species and among these are the corals exposed to bleaching
As global temperatures rise, all living things, including humans, are at risk. Bad most vulnerable species are those of marine ecosystems such as corals that populate the extraordinary reefs in the world and, due to the bleaching that affects them, risk disappearing.
Following the record heat waves of recent years, many countries - such as Australia for example - have taken a stand to protect their environmental heritage and save the Great Barrier Reef, but this is not enough according to scholars.
A recent study conducted by researchers at James Cook University, University of Leeds, and Texas Tech University, led by marine biologist and professor Scott Heron, has indeed shown that if the world temperature measured in the oceans were to increase again by 1.5 ° C then there would be no escape for corals around the world as these would not be able to recover from the stress of excessive heat.
About 84% of the corals present on our planet are located in geographic areas strongly affected by the increase in temperatures and this will cause their bleaching in the years to come. From this catastrophe only 0,2% of corals could be saved present in the Indian Ocean as these waters are proven to be much colder than others. This percentage is however equal to zero.
All the Earth's coral reefs are also at risk because preventing global warming from exceeding 1,5 ° C seems increasingly unlikely according to the prof's team. Heron and current data. In addition to this it must be taken into account that corals need approx 10 years to restore the vital functions of the marine ecosystem and that
most coral reefs won't have time to recover between bleaching events
says prof. Heron.
To assess the damage of global warming on coral reefs, the researchers used projections of the latest generation of climate models to predict the exposure of what they call "hot springs" to ever-increasing temperatures.
These shelters are locations where, thanks to sea currents and deeper waters that detect lower temperatures, corals may be able to survive extreme heatwaves and perhaps it would be possible to recover them. This is only a hypothesis, but Prof. Heron and his team hope that this is indeed the case.
Source: Plos
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