{"id":258256,"date":"2023-05-20T17:07:38","date_gmt":"2023-05-20T15:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258256"},"modified":"2023-05-20T17:08:58","modified_gmt":"2023-05-20T15:08:58","slug":"coral-snapshot-2022-23-all-the-unanswered-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258256","title":{"rendered":"Coral Snapshot 2022-23, & All the Unanswered Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Jennifer Marohasy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 20, 2023 By jennifer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full marks to David Mills, writing in the Courier Mail, for asking why the government tends to bury good news reports about the Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a few other questions that I would like answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key government ministers, marine scientists, and climate scientists have been unable to acknowledge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q1. Overall coral cover has been increasing since at least 2009 (14 years).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q2. According to official underwater surveys<\/a> \u2013 that are perimeter surveys \u2013 coral cover is at a record high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know Sky Television legend Rowan Dean has been in trouble with the press watchdog over this good news claim. But it seems pretty straightforward, quoting from the most recent relevant government report<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Widespread recovery has led to the highest coral cover recorded by the Long-Term Monitoring Program in the Northern and Central Great Barrier Reef \u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Q3. These perimeter surveys under estimate coral cover, claiming it to be less than 40%, when coral cover is often more than 90% at the crest of the same reef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corals around the outside\/perimeter of reefs are particularly susceptible to cyclone damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The official surveys of coral cover are somewhat misleading because the survey is done of just one habitat type, the reef perimeter. Most of the coral is at the reef crest. The survey of John Brewer reef followed the track shown by the yellow, orange and green lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q4. The number and intensity of cyclones has been decreasing<\/em> since at least the 1970s. Something the Bureau of Meteorology is unable to acknowledge. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Q5. When will the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) reconcile results from aerial surveys that report severe bleaching (30-60%) with underwater survey results that reported no (0%) bleaching \u2013 at the same coral reefs at the same time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, aerial surveys of John Brewer Reef in March 2022 reported 60% bleaching. Coincidentally, at the same time this reef was being surveyed underwater. The results published online in August 2022 found no coral bleaching at this reef (o%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is impossible to reconcile 60% bleaching based on the official aerial survey with 0% bleaching based on the official underwater survey for John Brewer Reef, with both surveys undertaken in March 2022.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results from underwater survey are here:
https:\/\/apps.aims.gov.au\/reef-monitoring\/reef\/John%20Brewer%20Reef\/manta<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results from aerial survey were<\/em> here:
https:\/\/www.gbrmpa.gov.au\/the-reef\/reef-health<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This map was being promoted through March and April 2022 as showing the Great Barrier Reef suffering from mass coral bleaching with the impression that most of the coral was going to die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There never were any photographs from the aerial surveys, and the results have since been removed, without explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I visited John Brewer reef in April 2022 after it made worldwide headlines as the centre of mass coral bleaching. I found a coral wonderland, with one of the underwater photographs from that visit featured at the top of this blog post. At the reef crest coral cover exceeded 100%, with corals growing onto of each other. Meanwhile, the official underwater survey stated coral cover to be just 21.8%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be clear, John Brewer Reef, that was being reported around the world as stark white, was, in reality, the most beautiful coral reef with over 100% coral cover at the crest, and an abundance of fish and other marine life including a friendly white tipped reef shark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I detailed the extent of the contradiction in a series of blog posts, including \u2018Stonewalling on Contradictory Results \u2013 Part 3: John Brewer Reef Fact Check\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also made a documentary film, entitled \u2018Bleached Colourful \u2013 Part 1\u2019 it shows the corals at John Brewer reef in April 2022 from both under-the-water and from an aerial drone survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Me\/Jennifer Marohasy photographed by a drone hovering at 5 metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Me\/Jennifer Marohasy photographed by a drone hovering 20 metres above John Brewer Reef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Me\/Jennifer Marohasy photographed by a drone hovering at 40 metres above John Brewer Reef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Me\/Jennifer Marohasy photographed by a drone hovering 120 metres above John Brewer Reef in early April 2022. This is the maximum legal limit for flying a drone in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official aerial surveys are by Neal Cantin and\/or Terry Hughes looking out an airplane window while flying at an altitude of 150 metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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