Some corals have turned a ghostly white due to extreme heat stress. It's the fourth bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef in the last seven years, which makes it harder to recover.
Despite new pledges to cut emissions, the world is not on track to hit a key climate change target. Scientists warn a planet hotter than that will look very different.
Photographer David Doubilet first dove below the surface at age 8 and has spent a lifetime making underwater images. He talks to NPR about his new book: Two Worlds: Above and Below the Sea.
Rising ocean temperatures killed 14% of the world's coral reefs, a new analysis finds. But it's not without hope: Experts say many can recover if immediate action is taken to curb future warming.
Eyewitness images and satellite pictures show oil that seeped from tanks at a major storage terminal on the island's eastern side. The terminal's owner says it was damaged by Hurricane Dorian.
A new study from the Florida Keys shows that a lot of the stress on corals comes from local sources, providing hope that community action can help save them.
Sunscreens containing the chemicals linked to coral reef bleaching will be banned from sale in Key West. The city commission voted 6-1 Tuesday night. Industry officials say the link isn't proven.
Pantone chose the "vibrant, yet mellow" shade for its ability to bridge the natural and digital worlds. The pick comes at a poignant time, given the existential threats the color's namesake now faces.
The bio-diverse country says it has a responsibility to conserve its reefs. However, researchers say there are more effective and less toxic sunscreens available.
Hawaii is about to ban the sale of sunscreens containing certain chemicals that have been shown to harm coral reefs. Environmentalists urge a switch to mineral-based products.
A study in the Pacific Ocean finds that bags and bottles are sickening and killing reefs from Thailand to Australia. Coral reefs already are susceptible to disease due to unusually warm water.
Ocean acidification can cause reckless behavior in coral reef fish. But researchers say that coral reef environments have large chemical variations daily, which can offer recovery time for fish.
It's the world's biggest coral reef system, home to some 400 types of coral. In the past 18 months, rising ocean temperatures helped cause the single greatest loss of coral ever recorded there.
After another major coral bleaching event, a new study has concluded that securing a future for coral reefs "ultimately requires urgent and rapid action to reduce global warming."
The reef structure covers more than 2,000 square miles north of the Great Barrier Reef. What might live there and even what it looks like up close, is still largely a mystery.
China has been creating artificial islands out of reefs in the South China Sea. Environmentalists say the process is killing off coral and giant clams.
Around the world, warm oceans and human interference are still causing massive reef "bleaching." A newly released study looks at what's different about these healthier-than-expected reefs.
Over six months, healthy coral is bleached and then covered with algae. Scientists say bleaching has hit 93 percent of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia's "biggest ever environmental disaster."
The reef is unusual because it lies in muddy waters, and scientists had only seen hints of its existence until recent research expeditions. They say it's already in danger because of oil drilling.
Researchers found that the oxybenzone in just a single drop of sunscreen can wreak havoc on fragile coral reef systems. Reefs all over the world are at risk.
