五年內，大堡礁三次大規(guī)模白化

The government’s top Great Barrier Reef scientist says a third mass bleaching event in five years is a clear signal the marine wonder is “calling for urgent help” on climate change.

澳大利亞政府大堡礁研究的權威科學家表示，五年內大堡礁發(fā)生第三次大規(guī)模白化現(xiàn)象，這是大堡礁這一海洋奇跡“呼吁緊急援助”應對氣候變化的明確信號。

One quarter of the Great Barrier Reef suffered severe bleaching this summer in the most widespread outbreak ever witnessed, according to analysis of aerial surveys of more than 1,000 individual reefs released on Tuesday.

根據(jù)本周二(4月7日)發(fā)布的一項對1000多個獨立珊瑚礁的航空調查分析，今年夏天，在有史以來暴發(fā)最廣泛的白化現(xiàn)象中，大堡礁四分之一的區(qū)域出現(xiàn)了嚴重白化。

Dr David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, told Guardian Australia: “My greatest fear is that people will lose hope for the reef. Without hope there’s no action.

大堡礁海洋公園管理局首席科學家大衛(wèi)·瓦肯菲爾德博士告訴《衛(wèi)報》澳大利亞版說：“我最擔心的是人們會對大堡礁失去希望。沒有希望就沒有行動。”

“People need to see these [bleaching] events. They are clear signals the Great Barrier Reef is calling for urgent help and for us to do everything we can.”

“人們需要看到這些(白化)現(xiàn)象。這是大堡礁正在呼吁我們緊急幫助、竭盡所能的明確信號”。

Prof Terry Hughes, director of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, surveyed 1,036 reefs from a plane over nine days in late March. The marine park authority also had an observer on the flights.

3月下旬，詹姆斯庫克大學卓越珊瑚礁研究中心主任特里·休斯教授在9天的時間里，從飛機上對1036個珊瑚礁進行了調查。海岸公園管理局也派出了一名觀察員。

Hughes has released maps showing severe levels of bleaching occurred in 2020 in all three sections of the reef – northern, central and southern – the first time this has happened since mass bleaching was first seen in 1998.

休斯發(fā)布的地圖顯示，在2020年，大堡礁北部、中部和南部三個部分都出現(xiàn)了嚴重的白化現(xiàn)象，這是自1998年首次發(fā)現(xiàn)大規(guī)模白化現(xiàn)象以來首次出現(xiàn)這種情況。

Some 25% of the reefs were severely bleached – meaning that more than 60% of the corals on each reef had bleached.

大約25%的珊瑚礁嚴重白化，這意味著每個珊瑚礁上超過60%的珊瑚已經(jīng)白化。

Hughes said previous observations had shown that bleaching at that extent leads to “high levels of mortality” of corals.

休斯說，先前的觀察顯示，這種程度的白化會導致珊瑚的“高死亡率”。

The Great Barrier Reef has experienced five mass bleaching events – 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2020 – all caused by rising ocean temperatures driven by global heating.

1998年、2002年、2016年、2017年和2020年，大堡礁共經(jīng)歷了五次大規(guī)模的白化，都是由全球變暖導致的海洋溫度上升造成的。

Hughes said there probably would not be the same level of coral death in the north and central regions in 2020 as in previous years, but this was partly because previous bleaching outbreaks had killed off the less heat-tolerant species.

休斯說，今年，大堡礁北部和中部地區(qū)的珊瑚死亡水平可能達不到往年的水平，但部分原因是之前的白化暴發(fā)已經(jīng)導致耐熱性較差的珊瑚死亡。

The 2020 bleaching was second only to 2016 for severity, Hughes said.

休斯表示，2020年的白化嚴重程度僅次于2016年。

Corals can recover from mild bleaching, but scientists say those corals are more susceptible to disease. Severe bleaching can kill corals.

珊瑚可以從輕微的白化中恢復，但科學家表示，這些珊瑚更容易生病。嚴重的白化甚至會殺死珊瑚。