Great Barrier Reef Loss Questioned

Claims that Australia's Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its coral cover between 1995 and 2017 have received global media coverage were based on a new paper co-authored by controversial Australian researcher, Professor Terry Hughes of James Cook University. ¹ Here are some examples:

• Maria Cramer, “The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its corals,” The New York Times, October 14, 2020
• Amy Woodyatt, “The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its corals within 3 decades,” cnn.com, October 14, 2020
• Luke Denne, “The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral in just 20 years, study says,” nbcnews.com, October 14, 2020
• “Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its corals since 1955,” bbc.com, October 14, 2020

New reef Found estimated to be around 20 million years old-- At 500 meters high, it is taller than the Empire State Building

However, says Professor Peter Ridd, a leading authority on the Great Barrier Reef, these claims are false. According to Professor Ridd, the best data on the coral cover is taken by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), who have been measuring over 100 reefs every year since 1986. AIMS data show that coral cover fluctuates dramatically with time but there is roughly the same amount of coral today as in 1995. There was a huge reduction in coral cover in 2011 which was caused by two major cyclones that halved coral cover. Cyclones have always been the major cause of temporary coral loss on the reef. ¹ This isn't the first time reports have claimed serious damage to the Reef. One of a number of reports said that 93% of the reef has been hit by coral bleaching. Joanne Nova says this is bunk. She reports, “Local dive operators (who possibly know what the reef looks like) found about 5% damage and describe the difference as phenomenal. Indeed, they say the reef is pretty much just like it was 20 years ago when they last did a survey.” They said, “The discrepancy is phenomenal. It is so wrong. Everywhere we have been we have found healthy reefs.” ² Here's other information on this issue: Earlier this year Western Australia's Rowley Shoals showed the first sign of mass coral bleaching, but a follow-up survey has found a remarkable recovery that looks likely to preserve the reef's near-pristine health—at least for now. According to researchers, it appears the coral had pulled off an 'amazing' return towards health over the past six months. ³ On October 20, a team of scientists detected a coral reef measuring 1,640 feet tall—600 feet taller than the Eiffel Tower—embedded in the sea floor near the northern edge of the Great Barrier Reef. “To find a new half-a-kilometer reef in the offshore Cape York area of the well-recognized Great Barrier Reef shows how mysterious the world is just beyond our coastline,” Jyotika Virmani, the Executive director of Schmidt Ocean Institute said. ⁴ The structure is estimated to be around 20 million years old. At 500 meters high, it is taller than the Empire State Building (381 meters to the top floor), the Sydney Tower (305 meters), and the Petronas Twin Towers 451.9 meters). It is nearly 1 mile wide. ⁵

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Other New Reefs Discovered

In addition to the new reef discovered by the Great Barrier Reef until recently no one even knew that corals could grow just out from the river mouth of the Amazon. Then 9,300 square kilometers of reef were found living in a region no one thought corals could grow. This has astonished scientists, governments and oil companies who have started to explore on top of it. ⁶ The reef appears to be thriving below the freshwater plume or outflow. Compared to many other reefs, scientists say it is relatively 'impoverished.' Nevertheless, they found over 60 species of sponges, 73 species of fish, spiny lobsters, stars and much other reef life. ⁷ Joanne Nova observes, “The corals discovered near the Amazon might be quite important. The zone has been described as having a 'unique pH' which is a funny way to say that it was almost certainly a lower pH (because rivers are naturally low). Why hide that? It might show that corals aren't under as much threat from 'acidification' as some people want you do think.”⁸ Researchers found another large reef system off Queensland, hidden under 20 m of water. Scientists found fields of strange donut shaped mounds. The mounds are geological structures formed by the growth of a green algae made of living calcified segments.⁹ So far, researchers have mapped more than 6,000 square kilometers, more than three times the previously estimated size of the reef. ¹⁰ Says one researcher, “You're looking at these sites on a map going, maybe there's something there, then you dive over the side to have a look and all of a sudden are greeted with these coral habitats that you totally didn't expect.” ¹¹

References

1. Benny Peiser, “Claims of dramatic Great Barrier Reef loss are false,” principia-scientific.com, October 19, 2020
2. Joanne Nova, “Great Barrier Reef: 5% bleached, not 93% says new report, discrepancy phenomenal,” joannenova.com, August 24, 2016
3. Ben Collins, “Reefs at WA's Rowley Shoals make surprise recovery from 'significant' coral bleaching,” abc.net.au, November 5, 2020
4. Rasha Aridi, “A coral reef taller than the Eiffel Tower was just discovered off the coast of Australia,” smithsonianmag.com, October 29, 2020
5. Amy Woodyatt, “Massive coral reef taller than the Empire State Building discovered in Australia,” cnn.com, October 27, 2020
6. John Vidal, “Huge coral reef discovered at Amazon river mouth,” theguardian.com, April 22, 2016
7. Rodrigo L. Moura et al., “An extensive reef system at the Amazon River mouth,” Science Advances, Vol. 2, April 22, 2016
8. Joanne Nova, “World is going to hell but we're finding new coral reefs everywhere,” joannenova.com, February 1, 2017
9. Cassie Crofts, “Aussie scientists find new reef behind the Great Barrier Reef,” nationalgeographic.com, August 29, 2016
10. Anna-Lena Janzen, “Scientists puzzled by fields of giant donut-shaped reefs found off north Queensland,” abc.net.au/news, September 1, 2016
11. Stephanie Small, “Moreton Bay coral discovery mapped out by scientists seeking better protection for reef,” abc.net, January 20, 2017