Scientists Hunt 'Super Reefs' That Survive Extreme Heat
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- Inside Climate News published an ICN Sunday Morning episode about the global search for "super reefs" — coral ecosystems that can endure extreme ocean temperatures even as warming devastates reefs elsewhere.
- The world has lost more than half of its coral reefs, with most of the remainder at risk of disappearing within the next 25 years, according to the report.
- Teresa Tomassoni, ICN's oceans correspondent, traveled to the Marshall Islands to follow Woods Hole scientists tracking these heat-resilient reef systems.
- The Woods Hole researchers use specialized technology to study coral resilience, with the goal of unlocking secrets that could help scientists and conservationists restore or even cultivate similar reefs in other parts of the world.
- The reporting also examines the role governments play in coral conservation as part of the broader resilience story.
Why it matters: More than half of the world's coral reefs are already gone, with most of the rest facing extinction within 25 years. If Woods Hole scientists can identify what makes certain reefs heat-tolerant, conservationists could potentially replicate that resilience in dying reef systems — a narrow but real lifeline for marine biodiversity and the coastal economies that depend on reefs.
