Experts Confident Of Reef Recovery February 10, 2011 by lukesheppard

Scientists are confident that the Great Barrier Reef will recover from damage caused by record flooding in north-east Australia and Cyclone Yasi. The reef is the world’s largest living organism and one of the seven natural wonders of the world, attracting almost five million visitors a year from all corners of the globe keen to swim, snorkel and dive in the turquoise waters of the Coral Sea. Hundreds of kilometres of reef which lie close to the surface of the water were torn up when the cyclone hit earlier this month, but experts said a high tide and the fact the storm went across the reef, helped to minimise damage and the affected areas will regrow in time. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chairman Russell Reichelt said: “Because the cyclone tracked across rather than along the length of the reef, most other parts of the 340,000sq km World Heritage-listed Marine Park are expected to have escaped damage from the cyclone. “With good water quality, the Great Barrier Reef can bounce back from severe storms such as Cyclone Yasi. We saw this with the impact of Cyclone Larry which hit the reef in 2006.”