The image below shows bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef. Answer the following question (remember the GBR is in the southern hemisphere).

Which statement is true?

Question

The image below shows bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef. Answer the following question (remember the GBR is in the southern hemisphere).

Which statement is true?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Rewriting the prompt in my own words: We’re looking at a figure about mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef, specifically asking which statement is true about the bleaching in the southern hemisphere, and we’re given one answer option to evaluate.

Option presented: 'Bleaching was most severe in 2020 because the extent was furthest south.'

Now, let’s analyze the claim and what the visuals typically convey for these three years (2016, 2017, 2020):
- A true statement about bleaching severity would need to reflect both how intense the bleaching was and how far it extended geographically. The maps usually color-code severity (e.g., red for most severe, green for none/low) and show where along the reef the bleaching occurred.
- The reasoning for year-to-year comparisons often hinges on whether a given year had more widespread red zones (most severe) and whether those red zones extended farther toward the southern end of the reef (toward Townsville/Cairns region) or toward the northern edge.

Option evaluation:
- If we consider the claim that 2020 was the year with the most severe bleaching because the extent was furthest south, we would expect the 2020 map to show the red (most severe) areas extending further south than in 2016 or 2017. However, in typical comparative displays of the GBR bleaching, 2016 and 2017 are often highlighted for widespread, intense bleaching across large portions of the reef, especially in the northern sectors, with extensive red zones. The 2020 map may show significant bleaching as well, but whether the southern extent is the furthest south relative to 2016/2017 would require careful inspection of the red zones’ southernmost limits across the three panels.
- A key conceptual point is that “most severe” is about intensity and coverage, not merely distance southward. The southern extent alone doesn’t guarantee that the overall severity was greatest there if other regions or years had more intense bleaching or broader coverage elsewhere.

Potential misconceptions addressed:
- Believing that southernmost extent automatically equates to the most severe bleaching ignores the role of intensity (how red the areas are) and overall spatial coverage. A year could show bleaching that reaches farther south but with less severe intensity in many areas, which could still mean less overall severity.
- Assuming a year is most severe solely due to extent can be misleading if the maps indicate red zones are large in other areas or if some years show more intense red saturation over larger reef areas.

Overall, the claim ties severity to southern extent, but the true assessment should weigh both how intense the bleaching is (red vs. lighter colors) and how much of the reef is affected (extents and patterns across all years). In the absence of explicit numerical data or a legend indicating relative intensity for each year, we should be cautious about declaring 2020 as the year with the most severe bleaching simply because it appears furthest south on a map, since other years may exhibit greater severity in terms of coverage or intensity elsewhere.

In summary, the reasoning suggests that while 2020 may show notable bleaching, attributing the greatest severity specifically to the extent being furthest south requires careful cross-year comparison of both the southernmost extent and the overall red (severe) coverage across the reef. Without that cross-check, the statement remains a claim that needs supporting data beyond the map’s southern extent alone.

Section Merge: Earth 103N (Spring 2025) Module 7 Lab Submission (Graded)

The image below shows bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef. Answer the following question (remember the GBR is in the southern hemisphere). Which statement is true?

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