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20,000 BCE
Modern Day Great Barrier Reef is Born
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First Mass Bleaching Event
The first recorded mass bleaching event on The GBR was recorded, allowing scientists to make the initial connection between temperature and bleaching. -
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Record Temps on the Reef
One of the hottest recorded summers on the Reef in the 20th century. Mild bleaching began in late January 1998 and intensified. Extensive aerial surveys of 654 reefs conducted by scientists from GBRMPA showed that 74 percent of inshore and 21 percent of offshore reefs had moderate to high levels of bleaching. -
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Mass Bleaching Event
The first signs of substantial bleaching were reported in January 2002, with the worst over by April. In response, GBRMPA implemented a survey of coral bleaching in collaboration with AIMS, the CRC, and the NOAA. Aerial surveys revealed bleaching in 54 percent of the 641 reefs observed. Nearly 41 percent of offshore and 72 percent of inshore reefs had moderate or high levels of bleaching. -
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Southern Reef Bleaching
A bleaching event took place in the southern Reef, especially around the Keppel Islands. AIMS surveys revealed that, although bleaching was largely confined to this region, the degree of bleaching was worse than in previous years. -
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Extreme Freshwater Enters
Extreme summer seasons were associated with extremely high rainfall in Queensland. This led to the flooding of large amounts of freshwater to nearshore reefs resulting in freshwater bleaching. -
Dedicated Task Force
The then Abbott government established a dedicated task force to ensure the reef was not listed as ‘in danger', with officials and ministers dispatched around the world to lobby countries on the issue. -
The Campaign Succeeds
The Unesco committee decided against listing the reef as “in danger”, and congratulated Australia on its conservation plan. It gave it five years to halt the deterioration of the natural icon. -
Temps Spike Again
Record oceans temperatures have led to record widespread coral bleaching on Australian coral reefs. This bleaching is part of the ongoing third global bleaching event, declared by the NOAA in 2015. The impact of this bleaching event, the most widespread and severe ever recorded on the Great Barrier Reef, is still unfolding. Based on in-water monitoring surveys, overall coral mortality is (as of June 2016) at 22% for the entire Great Barrier Reef. -
Another Bleaching Too Soon
Severe coral bleaching affected the central third of the Great Barrier Reef in early 2017 associated with unusually warm sea surface temperatures and accumulated heat stress. This back-to-back (2016 and 2017) mass bleaching was unprecedented and collectively affected two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef. The southern sector was spared in both years. -
A New Species Found
Charlie Veron discovered at least one new species of coral and about 7 species that are new to The Great Barrier Reef, at The Legacy SuperSite -
An Act of Charity?
The then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and then environment minister Josh Frydenberg announced the government would give a $443m grant to a small business-led reef charity, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, with no tender process. A national audit office report found it had originated from a desire by the government to avoid an “in danger” listing. -
Climate Change Assessment
An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment of the latest climate science found global heating of 1.5C was likely to lead to the disappearance of a majority of tropical coral reefs, and they would be “at very high risk” at a temperature rise of just 1.2C. -
The Most Diverse Reef
Charlie Veron returned to the location of his previous new species discovery to complete a full survey, with GBR Legacy. 208 species were found in a 200m section of reef, including the one unidentified species and 12 species new to the GBR -
Poor Condition
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority released a five-yearly report that found for the first time the reef’s outlook had deteriorated from “poor” to “very poor”. Coral reefs were in very poor condition, there had been widespread habitat loss and degradation affecting fish, turtles, and seabirds, and threats from farming pollution, coastal development, and illegal fishing. Water quality was improving too slowly. -
Cyclone Damage
The most diverse hard coral site was devastated by cyclone damage. -
Bleaching Begins Again
The third mass bleaching event in five years. It was the most widespread outbreak ever witnessed, with severe bleaching recorded across one-quarter of the reef. -
A Sad Report
Australian Research Council (ARC) reports that half of the coral on The Great Barrier Reef has been lost since 1995, largely due to coral bleaching events. -
A Call to Action
A government report card released in February 2021 found the marine environment along the reef remained in poor health, prompting conservationists to call for urgent action ahead of a world heritage committee meeting this year. -
Finally 'In Danger'?
The potential ramifications of that committee meeting were brought into sharp focus in June 2021 with the release of a report by Unesco’s world heritage center recommending the reef be listed as world heritage “in danger”, in part due to Australia’s lack of commitment to deep and rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. -
References
Australian Institute of Marine Science. (2017). Coral bleaching events. AIMS. Retrieved from https://www.aims.gov.au/docs/research/climate-change/coral-bleaching/bleaching-events.html -
References
Guardian News and Media. (2021, June 22). Great Barrier Reef timeline: Decades of damage and Australia's fight to stop 'in danger' listing. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/22/great-barrier-reef-timeline-decades-of-damage-and-australias-fight-to-stop-in-danger-listing Meyers, P. (2017). History of the GBR. The Great Barrier Reef Library. Retrieved from http://thegreatbarrierreeflibrary.org/history-great-barrier-reef/