Approximately one percent of the world's population has chosen to learn scuba diving and interact with the amazing aquatic marine life that lays beneath our Oceans. The creations that divers can see include hard & soft coral formations which display some of the most unique colours and patterns that can't be found elsewhere on earth. However, it is now widely accepted that most of them are disappearing at an alarming rate due to Coral Bleaching and other stress factors.

What is Coral Bleaching ?

Coral Bleaching is a process that causes coral to lose it's normal colour and although the inexperienced diver may admire the apparent snow-like environment, it's a sign that the coral is distressed. Coral is a living polyp which is surrounded by a hard shell of calcium carbonate. The coral polyps also share their calcium shell with zooxanthellae algae which converts energy from the sun into an energy form that polyps need to stay alive.

The coral polyp is not usually coloured being a clear transparent formation. However, the algae that lives with the coral are what creates the variety of vibrant colours that divers thrive to see. If the algae are unable to exist, the result is a distinct lack of colour, leaving the skeletal remains of the coral polyps which are generally white or colourless.

What causes Coral Bleaching ?

The reason why this happens is usually one of the following or a combination of several and the largest reasons are often preventable.

• Foreign objects & contaminants
Coral and algae are extremely sensitive to their surrounding environment and if foreign objects and/or contaminants such as oil and garbage are present on the reef, the algae can often die if the conditions are too difficult for them to exist.

• Inorganic nutrients
Inorganic nutrients are nutrients that aren't normal to the corals' ecosystem which can lead to a higher concentration of zooxanthellae than normal. This is often caused by rain water run-off and pollution, which tends to lower the immune system of the coral much like large numbers of people spreading colds & flu.

• Water Temperature
If the ocean temperature increases, the algae begin to die because they need normal temperatures to function properly. Coral reefs have an extremely small tolerance for a changes in temperatures, typically (+/-) 1-3 degrees change. Therefore, raised water temperatures commonly causes coral bleaching particularly during summer months.

These are the most common reasons that coral bleaching occurs and usually the most preventable. Waste products that are introduced into the oceans should be stopped and more education & awareness is needed about the plight of the earth's ecosystems. Many countries have laws that ban the emptying of garbage and chemicals from factories into our water systems. The production of greenhouse gases should be regulated because it causes the temperature of the sea to rise. If alternatives to these preventable causes of coral bleaching are not found, we risk losing a precious multi-coloured world of ocean coral reefs.

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