National Geographic

N### 81LockhartRiverAUSTRALIACape YorkPeninsula``````NEWGUINEA``````NEWGUINEAG R E AT^ B### A R RI E RREEFG R E A T^ BA R R IE R^R E EF^Torres St``````raitEndeaaavourStttr.``````ShelllburrneBaaay``````C o ra lGulf ofPapua``````SaibaiIsland``````Prince ofWales Island``````OspreyReef``````AshmoreReef``````PortlockReefs``````EasternFieldsCape YorkCape GrenvilleFair Cape### FAR NORTHERN MANAGEMENT AREAEXPLORE | ATLASILLUMINATING THE MYSTERIES—AND WONDERS—ALL AROUND US EVERY DAYNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC VOL. 234 NO. 2EXPLOREIN THIS SECTIONHidden AfghanistanToxic Sulfur MineStarving Polar Bear``````Reef bleaching severityProportion of individual reefin 1998, 2002, or 2016 event*Extreme (more than 60%)Moderate (30–60%)Low (10–29%)### HALF OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEFhas been bleached to death since2016. Mass coral bleaching, a globalproblem triggered by climate change,occurs when unnaturally hot oceanwater destroys a reef ’s colorful algae,leaving the coral to starve. The GreatBarrier Reef illustrates how extensivethe damage can be: Thirty percent ofthe coral perished in 2016, another 20percent in 2017. The efect is akin to aforest after a devastating fire. Much ofthe marine ecosystem along the reef ’snorth coast has become barren andskeletal with little hope of recovery.CORAL CRISISSCALE VARIES IN THIS PERSPECTIVE. DISTANCE FROM SAIBAI ISLAND TO CAPE YORK IS 90 MILES. *MOST SEVERE SCORE (SOME REEFS SURVEYED IN MORE THAN ONEBLEACHING). TERRAIN RENDERING: CHARLES PREPPERNAU. ART: MATTHEW TWOMBLY. SOURCES: ARC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR CORAL REEF STUDIES; NOAA CORAL``````Worse than expectedBleaching in 2016 occurredso rapidly that scientistshad to retool their predic-tions for how much heatthe reef could endure.