National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Swimmers' Sunscreen Killing Off Coral


Email to a Friend	<< Back to Full Story

Normal coral (left) exposed to ultraviolet filters found in sunscreen "bleaches" white (right) when the algae living inside it die.

Up to 10 percent of coral reefs are threatened by sunscreen-induced bleaching, a new study found.

Photograph courtesy Department of Marine Science, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy