Two years of record global temperatures and a potent El Niño have led to extensive damage to coral reefs around the world, including the Great Barrier Reef.
In February 2017, the Great Barrier Reef continued to be exposed to warm ocean water—the main stressor on this coral system and the reason for its bleaching.
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system on Earth, with more than 3,000 separate reefs and coral cays. It is also one of the most complex natural ecosystems.
The convergence of warm and cold currents off the coast of Patagonia helps fuel large blooms of phytoplankton. This pair of images shows temperature and chlorophyll in November 2009.
“The Sea in many places is here cover’d with a kind of a brown scum,” observed Captain Cook of the Coral Sea near Australia. Aqua MODIS made the same observation on August 9, 2011.