Following the hottest December on record over the Great Barrier Reef, U.S. government scientists predict the world's largest coral reef system could experience a mass coral bleaching event later in the southern hemisphere's summer. Such an incident would be catastrophic to the fragile marine habitat, which thus far has survived five mass bleaching events — three in the last seven years alone.
If extensive damage occurs as a result of high temperatures leading into the bleaching season, 2022 would become the second year with mass bleaching during La Niña. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research scientists, in a report awaiting peer review before publication in Faculty 1000, raises alarm bells about the potential impact of the extreme heat wave. Associated monsoonal conditions of La Niña years of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation would typically create a cooling effect over the southern Pacific, including the 135,000 square mile reef system.
