KSLOF scientist Renée Carlton swims over a bleaching reef while on the Global Reef Expedition mission to the Chagos Archipelago (IMAGE)

Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation

KSLOF scientist Renée Carlton swims over a bleaching reef while on the Global Reef Expedition mission to the Chagos Archipelago

Caption

When scientists on the Global Reef Expedition first came to survey the reefs of the Chagos Archipelago in 2015, the reefs were incredibly diverse, with high coral cover and lots of fish. However, toward the end of the research mission, scientists observed the first signs of a mass global bleaching event that would come to devastate reefs worldwide.

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© Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation/Derek Manzello

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