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Great Barrier Reef
Mass coral bleaching hits the Great Barrier Reef
![A handout photo made available by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Australia on March 10, 2017, shows the Great Barrier Reef suffering mass coral bleaching for a second year in a row, at Vlassoff Cay, near Cairns, Australia, March 6, 2017. According to WWF Australia, the Great Barrier Reef has now been hit by four mass bleaching events: 1998, 2002, 2016, and 2017.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/fedd4aefedff9a881548963e24ddf53d9b4a59e6/c=275-0-5868-3160/local/-/media/2017/03/13/USATODAY/USATODAY/636249964382338544-EPA-AUSTRALIA-GREAT-BARRIER-REEF-CORAL-BLEACHING.2.jpg?width=660&height=373&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
A handout photo made available by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Australia on March 10, 2017, shows the Great Barrier Reef suffering mass coral bleaching for a second year in a row, at Vlassoff Cay, near Cairns, Australia, March 6, 2017. According to WWF Australia, the Great Barrier Reef has now been hit by four mass bleaching events: 1998, 2002, 2016, and 2017.
WWF/BIOPIXEL HANDOUT, EPA![This combination of two photos taken in March and May 2016 released by The Ocean Agency/XL Catlin Seaview Survey shows bleached coral, left, and the same coral which has died in Lizard Island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Coral reefs, unique underwater ecosystems that sustain a quarter of the world's marine species and half a billion people, are dying on an unprecedented scale. Scientists are racing to prevent a complete wipeout within decades.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/bc09040ad13d58cb0dd35c3d392508edb5ee7dc4/c=93-0-2780-1518/local/-/media/2017/03/13/USATODAY/USATODAY/636249964376566507-AP-Australia-Global-Coral-Die-Off.jpg?width=660&height=373&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
This combination of two photos taken in March and May 2016 released by The Ocean Agency/XL Catlin Seaview Survey shows bleached coral, left, and the same coral which has died in Lizard Island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Coral reefs, unique underwater ecosystems that sustain a quarter of the world's marine species and half a billion people, are dying on an unprecedented scale. Scientists are racing to prevent a complete wipeout within decades.
Richard Vevers And Christophe Bailhache, AP![The Great Barrier Reef is suffering a mass coral bleaching for a second year in a row, at Vlassoff Cay, near Cairns, Australia, March 6, 2017.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/fedd4aefedff9a881548963e24ddf53d9b4a59e6/c=275-0-5868-3160/local/-/media/2017/03/13/USATODAY/USATODAY/636249964394194620-EPA-AUSTRALIA-GREAT-BARRIER-REEF-CORAL-BLEACHING.1.jpg?width=660&height=373&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
The Great Barrier Reef is suffering a mass coral bleaching for a second year in a row, at Vlassoff Cay, near Cairns, Australia, March 6, 2017.
WWF/BIOPIXEL HANDOUT, EPA![According to WWF Australia, the Great Barrier Reef has now been hit by four mass bleaching events: 1998, 2002, 2016, and 2017.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/fedd4aefedff9a881548963e24ddf53d9b4a59e6/c=275-0-5868-3160/local/-/media/2017/03/13/USATODAY/USATODAY/636249964392946612-EPA-AUSTRALIA-GREAT-BARRIER-REEF-CORAL-BLEACHING.jpg?width=660&height=373&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
According to WWF Australia, the Great Barrier Reef has now been hit by four mass bleaching events: 1998, 2002, 2016, and 2017.
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