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The vibrant colours of corals come from algae that live inside their tissues. It gives corals energy, allowing them to grow.

When water temperatures are too hot for too long, corals expel the algae which causes them to turn white - this is called coral bleaching..

This video gives a helpful explanation of coral bleaching

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Coral Bleaching Explained: The Story of Frank the Coral

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Though they can recover from bleaching, if bleached corals are exposed to warmer water for eight weeks or more, they become vulnerable to diseases and begin to die. This means that they can no longer support the wildlife that lives there.

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Coral Bleaching, Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef 2016 (short version)

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The main cause of coral bleaching is climate change. A warming planet means a warming ocean, and a change in water temperature can cause coral to drive out algae. Coral can also bleach for other reasons, like very low tides, pollution, or too much sunlight.

Play this fun game and learn more about coral bleaching!

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Click the + or - buttons to adjust the water temperature and pollution levels.

Click on the green "Start Storm" button to create a storm that will go by.

See what happens to the coral reef depending on the various conditions you choose!

Coral bleaching? What's that?!

A reef is a big group of rocks on the ocean floor, but did you know that a coral reef is actually alive and covered with very small animals called corals? These animals glue their tiny skeletons to rocks, so they end up staying in the same place their entire lives!

Coral reefs are very sensitive to light and temperature. If the water they live in gets too hot, they might not survive. They also don't like it when the ocean has too much pollution. Sometimes, storms can even upset coral depending on how often they happen and how severe they are. If coral reefs are under too much stress, like in these conditions, they can eject the algae living on them and turn completely white. This is known as coral bleaching. This does not necessarily mean the coral is dead - corals can survive bleaching! They do become more vulnerable to death however, especially if the stress continues for a long period of time.

NASA recently developed some very sensitive instruments to study coral reefs from an airplane flying above the ocean. The COral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL) uses an instrument called the Portable Remote Imaging Spectrometer (PRISM) to see the condition of reefs. Scientists will now be able to monitor these reefs and their health. They will be able to measure the amounts of coral, algae, and sand on the ocean floor!

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Learn what factors lead to coral bleaching.

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As carbon pollution is emitted into Earth’s atmosphere, it traps heat and causes temperatures to rise. The ocean then becomes warmer, resulting in heatwaves that cause stress to corals.

Ocean heatwaves can destroy entire reef ecosystems and the marine life that depend on healthy, corals.

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We can save energy to help stop climate change. Here are some ways this can be done:

Turn off the lights.

Close doors immediately so heat does not escape.

Take short showers.

Walk or bike if you can.

Turn off your computer when you're not using it.

Learn more about climate change here!

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Climate change describes a change in the average conditions in a region over a long period of time.