Scientists Race to Save Florida Reef 3 Years After Record 2023 Bleaching

1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 9

Three years after Florida’s worst recorded mass coral bleaching, scientists say they are better prepared to protect the state’s vulnerable reef as waters off South Florida turn ominously warm again.
Late June warming has revived fears of another crisis because the 2023 marine heat wave devastated corals, leaving researchers and conservationists alert to early signs of stress.
El Niño is again heating the ocean, making temperature spikes the central threat scientists are trying to manage before bleaching reaches the scale seen in 2023.
The effort underscores how Florida’s reef remains exposed to recurring marine heat waves even as monitoring and response plans have improved since the last disaster.