Great Barrier Reef records highest hard coral cover in 36 years – Reef Builders
The Australian Institute of Marine Science has reported a 36-year coral coverage high across the Great Barrier Reef for 2021/22. The greatest coverage increases were reported in the North and Central regions of the GBR, which is in direct contrast as they have also been the regions worst affected by coral bleaching via rising sea temperatures in recent years. In the Southern region, monitoring found that coral coverage decreased slightly, but that was due to other pressures affecting coral, like Crown of Thorns starfish outbreaks. The coral genus most responsible for the increase was Acropora. The recovery is encouraging news as Acropora are also the genus most susceptible to bleaching in previous events. The Great Barrier Reef has experienced four bleaching events since 2016, but the AIMS report found that coral mortality was low during the last one.
A 7m wall has gone up on a Sydney beach: are we destroying public space to save private property? – The Guardian
“We really didn’t want to build a wall,” says Bob Orth.
But Orth is one of 10 residents of Collaroy, on Sydney’s northern beaches, who have each paid $300,000 to do just that.
And not just any wall. Construction began in December on a seven-metre-high sheer concrete structure below the residents’ properties, which overlook a beach that has become notorious for dramatic erosion every time there is a big storm.