Skip to main content

Loading...

Drone picture of a small island surrounded by blue waters.

A man puts on a wet suit.

Two women load a boat with oxygen tanks for diving.

A map showing where an island is in relation to the Queensland coastline.

"I hate to say I am getting numb to it, but we kind of expected it,"
Professor Figueira said.

Sunset over a calm beach with orange reflected in the sea.

"You're so far out from everything, which is what makes it so special … it is hard to get to, and therefore [other factors have] low impact,"
he said.

Aerial shot of a reef lagoon.

small fish swim among coral.

"I think this will be a pretty big change for the lagoon … nothing like it's seen, certainly in the last 20 years."
Close-up image of lots of dead coral washed up on a shore.

Bleached coral and fish.

A piece of fluorescent purple coral.

"There was a lot of death already,"
he said.
A piece of dead coral that fans out like a flower.

A young woman smiles at the camera on a boat.

"It was a sobering experience to be out there and see the extent of this year's bleaching event,"
she said.

A white anemone and a clown fish.

Dead coral and a purple shelf coral that is dying.

A diver with a large piece of equipment under water.

A person diving with a rig taking photos of coral.

3D map of a coral reef.

"We can look, zoom right in and we can track the colonies through time … and their fate through this bleaching event,"
he said.

An aerial view of reefs.

Posted , updated