Study: Hottest Oceans in 400 Years Endanger Great Barrier Reef
2024-08-15
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1New research shows that water temperatures in and around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have risen to their warmest in 400 years over the past 10 years.
2The rising temperatures have put the world's largest reef under threat.
3The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest living ecosystem.
4It stretches for 2,400 kilometers off the coast of the northern state of Queensland.
5A group of scientists at universities across Australia removed core samples from the coral.
6They examined the samples to measure summer ocean temperatures going back to the year 1618.
7The scientists combined information from core samples with ship and satellite data going back around 100 years.
8The results show that ocean temperatures were unchanged for hundreds of years.
9But starting in 1900, the ocean temperatures began to rise.
10The research found that this is the result of human influence.
11From 1960 to 2024, the study's writers observed an average yearly warming for January to March of 0.12 degrees Celsius per decade.
12Since 2016, the reef has experienced five summers of mass coral bleaching.
13This is when large parts of the reef turn white due to heat stress.
14This also puts the coral at greater risk of death.
15The mass bleaching events happened during five of the six warmest years in the last four centuries, the study showed.
16This research appeared on August 8 in the publication Nature.
17"The world is losing one of its icons," said Benjamin Henley.
18He is with the University of Melbourne and is one of the study's co-writers.
19"I find that to be an absolute tragedy. It's hard to understand how that can happen on our watch in our lifetime. So it's very sad," Henley added.
20The last temperature measurement, from January to March of this year, was the highest on record.
21Henley added that it was "head and shoulders" above any other year, meaning it was much higher.
22Coral reefs are important for many reasons.
23They protect shorelines from erosion.
24They are home to thousands of kinds of fish.
25And they are an important part of the tourism industry in many countries.
26In Australia, the Great Barrier Reef adds $4.2 billion to the economy each year.
27At least 54 countries and areas have experienced mass bleaching of their reefs since February 2023, as climate change warms the ocean's surface waters.
28That information comes from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
29I'm Anna Matteo.
1New research shows that water temperatures in and around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have risen to their warmest in 400 years over the past 10 years. The rising temperatures have put the world's largest reef under threat. 2The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest living ecosystem. It stretches for 2,400 kilometers off the coast of the northern state of Queensland. 3A group of scientists at universities across Australia removed core samples from the coral. They examined the samples to measure summer ocean temperatures going back to the year 1618. The scientists combined information from core samples with ship and satellite data going back around 100 years. 4The results show that ocean temperatures were unchanged for hundreds of years. But starting in 1900, the ocean temperatures began to rise. The research found that this is the result of human influence. 5From 1960 to 2024, the study's writers observed an average yearly warming for January to March of 0.12 degrees Celsius per decade. 6Since 2016, the reef has experienced five summers of mass coral bleaching. This is when large parts of the reef turn white due to heat stress. This also puts the coral at greater risk of death. The mass bleaching events happened during five of the six warmest years in the last four centuries, the study showed. 7This research appeared on August 8 in the publication Nature. 8"The world is losing one of its icons," said Benjamin Henley. He is with the University of Melbourne and is one of the study's co-writers. 9"I find that to be an absolute tragedy. It's hard to understand how that can happen on our watch in our lifetime. So it's very sad," Henley added. 10The last temperature measurement, from January to March of this year, was the highest on record. Henley added that it was "head and shoulders" above any other year, meaning it was much higher. 11Coral reefs are important for many reasons. They protect shorelines from erosion. They are home to thousands of kinds of fish. And they are an important part of the tourism industry in many countries. In Australia, the Great Barrier Reef adds $4.2 billion to the economy each year. 12At least 54 countries and areas have experienced mass bleaching of their reefs since February 2023, as climate change warms the ocean's surface waters. That information comes from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 13I'm Anna Matteo. 14Alasdair Pal reported this story for Reuters News Agency from Sydney, Australia. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 15_____________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17ecosystem - n. a system made up of an ecological community of living things interacting with their environment especially under natural conditions 18data - n. factual information (such as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation 19decade - n. a period of 10 years 20heat stress - n. sustained, warmer-than-average ocean temperatures 21icon - n. a person or thing widely admired especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere 22absolute - adj. free from doubt : having no exceptions 23erosion - n. the process of wearing away by the action of water, wind, or glacial ice 24tourism - n. the practice and business of traveling for recreation