Great Barrier Reef

Environment

Coral reefs can't keep up with climate change. So scientists are speeding up evolution

5:00am April 17, 2024

Climate change is heating oceans faster than the world's coral reefs can handle. So scientists are breeding corals that can withstand hotter temperatures – but only to a point.

During spawning corals release their eggs and sperm, filling the water like confetti, which combine to create the next generation of reef builders.

Environment

Scientists are breeding 'super corals.' Can they withstand climate change?

5:01am April 01, 2024

Coral reefs face a dire future as oceans get hotter. Scientists are breeding corals that can handle heat better, in the hope they can survive long enough for humans to rein in climate change.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is being hit hard by climate change, but new research is showing how some corals are more resilient to heat.

Environment

How can coral reefs deal with climate change? Get better roommates

3:57pm December 29, 2022

by Lauren Sommer

Hotter temperatures are threatening coral reefs worldwide. Now, scientists are pinpointing how some "super corals" are better able to withstand the heat.

A sea turtle swims over corals on Moore Reef in Gunggandji Sea Country off the coast of Queensland in eastern Australia on Nov. 13, 2022.

Environment

Australia argues against 'endangered' Barrier Reef status

1:25am November 29, 2022

by The Associated Press

Australia's environment minister says her government will urge against the U.N. adding the Great Barrier Reef to a list of endangered sites, saying worries are a reflection of the previous government.

This photo supplied by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) shows diseased corals at a reef in the Cairns/Cooktown on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, April 27, 2017.

Coral levels in some parts of the Great Barrier Reef are at the highest in 36 years

2:04am August 04, 2022

by Ayana Archie

While higher water temperatures led to a coral bleaching event in some areas in March, the temperatures did not climb high enough to kill the coral, according to the Australian government.

In this photo supplied by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), a diver swims past coral on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Oct. 18, 2016.

Australia says most Great Barrier Reef coral studied this year was bleached

1:10am May 11, 2022

by The Associated Press

Australian scientists confirm the mass bleaching, yet are hopeful the world's largest coral reef ecosystem can recover.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef has experienced four mass bleaching events in the last seven years, like this one in 2017. Scientists warn repeated bleaching makes it tough for corals to recover.

Environment

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is hit with mass coral bleaching yet again

7:00am March 26, 2022

by Lauren Sommer

Some corals have turned a ghostly white due to extreme heat stress. It's the fourth bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef in the last seven years, which makes it harder to recover.

The Australian federal government has downgraded its long-term outlook of the Great Barrier Reef to "very poor," and it says that climate change is the most significant threat.

Australia Says Great Barrier Reef Has 'Very Poor' Outlook, Climate Change To Blame

4:35pm August 30, 2019

by Merrit Kennedy

"Despite concerted efforts and investments, the condition of the Great Barrier Reef has declined since 2014, and this is largely due to the impacts from climate change," the main scientist said.

NASA's Terra satellite captured the mass of floating pumice rock on August 13.

World News

Giant Pumice Raft Floating Towards Australia Could Help Replenish Great Barrier Reef

5:26pm August 25, 2019

by Shannon Van Sant

An underwater volcano is thought to have produced a sheet of pumice that stretches 58 square miles.

Environment

A Mountaineer Writes A Firsthand Report From The World's Melting Glaciers

8:02am January 20, 2019

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

NPR's Lulu Garcia Navarro speaks with journalist Dahr Jamail about his new book, "The End of Ice," on climate change and its consequences to nature and humans.