Daily News 26th January 2022

Environment UK News

Scientists Find a Coral Reef in Tahiti

Where Is Tahiti?

• In French Polynesia in the South Pacific Ocean. French Polynesia is a group of 118
islands in total.

• Tahiti is the largest of these islands. It’s halfway between Sydney and California.

Scientists found a very big, perfectly preserved

coral reef near Tahiti, French Polynesia.
The scientists worked for UNESCO
The coral pieces look like roses and are about
2m long.
The reef is about 3km. This makes it
one of the largest discoveries of its type.
Alex Rosenfield is a photographer. He took
some photos of the coral reef in Tahiti. He
thought it was magical to see beautiful rose
corals and said they were like a work of art.
The reef is 30-65 metres under the sea. Photo: A coral reef.
Scientists think this is very exciting. They
thought corals didn’t live below 25 metres.

Coral Reefs In Danger

Many coral reefs around the world are
endangered. This means they could disappear
if people don’t take action.
This is because of rising sea temperatures. In
French Polynesia in 2019, a coral ‘bleaching
event’ happened.
Coral is a living thing. They need algae, Glossary
which are like very small plants, to live. The
bleaching To become lighter in colour.
algae also give the coral its colour. When coral
is stressed because of a rise in sea temperature,
it gets rid of the algae. This means that the South Pacific In the Pacific Ocean south
coral looks white. When coral turns white, of the equator.
scientists call it bleaching. Without algae, the UNESCO A UN organisation which
coral dies. promotes peace.

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 Scientists Find a Coral Reef in Tahiti

Questions
1. Where did scientists find a new coral reef?

2. What do the corals look like?

3. Why are scientists excited about this coral reef in particular?

4. Why are scientists worried about coral reefs?

5. What makes coral reefs stressed?

6. What does coral need to live?

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