Underwater heat 'inferno' ravages Mediterranean corals
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Loading... - Belle Rolland
- 03 Nov 2022
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Fishing nets, anchors and careless divers can rip their delicate structures, while exposure to continuous and intense heat can be lethal
In the temperate shallows of the Mediterranean, once-vibrant red and purple coral forests that provide a crucial haven for biodiversity now stand bleached and brittle, transformed into skeletons by record summer temperatures, scientists say.
Holding naked branches of gorgonian coral, Tristan Estaque of marine conservation group Septentrion Environnement is returning despondent from an exploratory dive off the coast of Marseille in southern France.
"It is heartbreaking, the deterioration is so fast," he tells AFP.
Dive surveys just two months earlier found an intact landscape, lush with violet-fringed fans of gorgonian coral.
Now it is a "ghost forest", says Estaque, with the majestic fans largely bare of living tissue. Read More...
