The world’s oceans experience unprecedented rising temperatures: last month, the average global sea surface temperature reached a record 21° Celsius. Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported the 4th global bleaching event on record. A press release stated, “Within the last 14 months, significant coral bleaching has been documented in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres of each major ocean basin. Since 2023, the problem has become more frequent in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.”

    According to NOAA, warmer ocean temperatures can result in expulsion of algae that live in the coral tissue, leaving the coral completely white - something known as ‘coral bleaching’. This does not necessarily mean corals will die, as they can recover if the strain on their ecosystems is reduced. At a local level, storms, disease, sediments and changes in salinity can cause corals to bleach. However, mass bleaching, which is when several varieties of coral reefs are bleached, is largely caused by increased sea temperatures. When these events are sufficiently severe or prolonged, they can cause coral mortality, which hurts the people who depend on the coral reefs for their livelihoods.

    In 2019, NOAA published a study that provided “resiliencebased management practices” and __________ the importance of coral restoration. “We are on the frontlines of coral reef research, management and restoration, and are actively and aggressively implementing the recommendations of the 2019 study.” A buoy in Florida reported an ocean temperature of 38° Celsius in July 2023, according to meteorologists at the time. In response, NOAA started a program to attempt to offset the effects of global climate change on the local coral reefs by moving coral nurseries to deeper, cooler waters and deploying sunshades to protect corals in other areas.