SCUBA Editor Simon Rogerson reports from the Red Sea , where climactic changes have caused coral bleaching on an unprecedented scale
SPECIALREPORT
When the Red Sea turns white
SCUBA Editor Simon Rogerson reports from the Red Sea , where climactic changes have caused coral bleaching on an unprecedented scale
Divers visiting the Red Sea cannot fail to have noticed that a large proportion of the shallow corals turned ivory-white in late summer . The photographs on these pages were taken in the southern Sinai in the last week of August on a liveaboard voyage with M / Y Scuba Scene , from Hurghada to the Straits of Tiran .
Here ’ s a quick primer on coral bleaching . Most corals have a dual mechanism for feeding : they can consume particles of food ( plankton ) that come into contact with their tiny feeding tentacles , or they can derive energy from a symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae , which they nurture within their tissues . Coral cells provide algae with shelter and the building blocks for photosynthesis ; in return , the algae provide the coral with nutrients .
Coral , however , is environmentally sensitive . It needs clean sea water and a particular temperature range . If the water gets super-heated , as was observed in the Red Sea this summer , it puts the coral
This image shows semi bleached fire coral and fully bleached acropora coral in the Hurghada area
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