澳洲大堡礁珊瑚面臨史上最嚴重白化危機

The experts from James Cook University (JCU) say it is the most extreme case of mass bleaching they have ever measured at the World Heritage Site. At least 35% of corals in the northern and central parts of Australia's Great Barrier Reef have been destroyed by bleaching.

來自詹姆斯·庫克大學的專家近日表示，他們在已被列入世界自然遺產名錄的大堡礁勘的探過程中發現了有史以來最嚴重的白化現象。澳洲大堡礁北部和中部的珊瑚至少有35%已被珊瑚白化現象摧毀。

Coral bleaching is caused by rising water temperatures resulting from two natural warm currents. It is exacerbated by man-made climate change, as the oceans are absorbing about 93% of the increase in the Earth's heat. Bleaching happens when corals under stress drive out the algae known as zooxanthellae that give them colour.

珊瑚白化是由於兩個自然暖洋流匯聚導致水溫升高而發生的。人類導致的氣候變化令珊瑚白化情況更加糟糕，因爲地球增加的熱量的93%被大洋所吸收。海水變暖令珊瑚感到壓力，導致爲珊瑚提供色素的藻類被排走，從而使珊瑚白化。

"We found on average, that 35% of the corals are now dead or dying on 84 reefs that we surveyed along the northern and central sections of the Great Barrier Reef, between Townsville and Papua New Guinea," Professor Terry Hughes, the head of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at JCU, said in a statement.

詹姆斯庫克大學ARC珊瑚卓越研究中心主任特里·休斯表示：“根據我們對湯斯維爾和巴布亞新幾內亞之間的大堡礁北部和中部84種珊瑚的調查，我們發現，平均來講，35%的珊瑚現在已死亡或正在死亡”。

"This year is the third time in 18 years that the Great Barrier Reef has experienced mass bleaching due to global warming, and the current event is much more extreme than we've measured before. We're rapidly running out of time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

“由於全球變暖，這已是大堡礁在過去18年來第三次出現大規模的珊瑚白化現象。目前的狀況比我們以前所瞭解的更爲極端。減少溫室氣體排放，我們所剩時間已經不多了。”

The scientists warned that the recovery of coral cover is expected to take a decade or longer, but it would take much longer to regain the largest and oldest corals that have died.

科學家警告稱，大堡礁珊瑚恢復生機大概需要十年或更長時間。不過，對那些已經死亡的最大和最老的珊瑚羣來說，恢復生機要花費更長的時間。

Their study was released after months of intensive aerial and underwater surveys.

這項結果是在科學家進行了航拍、水下調查及長達數月的集中研究後發佈的。