After the last bleaching episode of 2017, it was established that the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral structure on Earth, had lost about 50% of its colonies.

At the beginning of this second year of the Tara Pacific expedition, the schooner and its scientific team conducted a week of sampling in the southern Pacific Ocean to study the biodiversity of coral reefs and their reaction to climate change.

Initial observations show mixed results: at some sites on the Great Barrier Reef, coral colonies are very damaged or even dead, while a few kilometers away they show resilience or are in good health.

© Tara Expeditions Foundation