First IVF corals successfully spawn on Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) has an exciting announcement: The first generation of IVF coral babies have officially reproduced on a degraded reef. As described by GBRF, coral IVF uses modern technology to breed and distribute corals so they have the highest chance of survival. “Our Read More...
Snorkelers discover record-breaking coral in Great Barrier Reef
A group of snorkelers in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef discovered a true treasure during a dive last week. While swimming off the coast of Goolboodi island in Queensland’s Palm Island Group, they stumbled across a coral measuring 17.4 feet (5.3 meters) tall and 34.1 feet (10.4 meters) Read More...
How making sense of a scent can help protect coral reefs
Have you ever thought about what corals smell like? Caitlin Lawson, Marine biologist at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia, has made it her mission to collect the gaseous, smelly chemicals that corals release under different conditions with the hope that a deeper understanding of Read More...
Living Coral Biobank to protect Great Barrier Reef for generations to come
Yesterday we shared a story about a newly discovered coral reef that stretches as high as the Empire State Building. Now, a new coral conservation center is aiming to protect this structure and all types of coral in the Great Barrier Reef. Drawn up by Contreras Earl Architecture, the world's Read More...
Marine scientists discover coral reef taller than the Empire State Building
The charted world of the undersea has just gotten a bit richer in color, thanks to marine scientists in Australia who have recently discovered a detached coral reef more than 500 meters high at the Great Barrier Reef. The “blade-like” vertical reef, which is taller than the Empire State Read More...
Extremely rare “walking” fish discovered in the Great Barrier Reef
After the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel plunged deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, it came back with a treasure trove of high-resolution footage featuring rare deep-sea creatures. The remote operated vehicle (ROV), which explored Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, spotted and took Read More...
Great Barrier Reef seafloor mapping reveals new species and rare samples
The Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor embarked on its fourth expedition this year to explore the deepest regions of the Great Barrier Reef. At 1,820 meters deep, the researchers discovered five new species of corals and sponges and took the first sample of the 40 and 50 million year Read More...
Ambitious experiment aims to protect the Great Barrier Reef from bleaching
The Great Barrier Reef is facing its first mass bleaching event in five years as a result of climate change and the record ocean temperatures. In a bid to mitigate the ecosystem’s loss and protect it from warming, scientists from the University of Sydney have recently experimented with a Read More...
Underwater speakers are helping scientists bring life back into the Great Barrier Reef
Healthy coral reefs emanate a remarkable soundscape, acting as a signaling mechanism for juvenile fish who are looking for a place to settle. When reefs fade away, this rich soundscape becomes a silent dessert, depriving the dying corals of the chance to ever regenerate. As scientists are Read More...
How a robot could save Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef used to be a symbol of the pristine beauty that the ocean offers, but now it represents the terrible mark that human-induced climate change is having on the world as half of the coral that made up the reef has died in the past couple years. Is there still hope? The Read More...