New images show the Great Barrier Reef is not only turning white, it is getting covered in slime as well.

“Some people see coral bleached white and think it looks pretty. But this is what follows – it’s literally an attack of the slime,” says WWF-Australia spokesperson Richard Leck.

“The dead coral skeleton gets covered in algae and looks horrible. This is what’s happening right now to 22 per cent of coral on the Great Barrier Reef,” he said.

A set of images taken at Lizard Island - ground zero of the mass bleaching – show the shocking damage that bleaching has wrought.

The stills and 360-degree vision were shot by XL Catlin Seaview Survey and the video was filmed by Laura Richardson from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University.

“We normally photograph reefs at the height of bleaching and they usually look stunning at this stage even though they are often dying. This time, however we were a few weeks after the bleaching and it was one of the most disgusting sights I’ve ever seen,” said Richard Vevers, founder of The Ocean Agency and Executive Director of the XL Catlin Seaview Survey.

“The hard corals were dead and covered in algae, looking like they’ve been dead for years.

“The soft corals were still dying and the flesh of the animals was decomposing and dripping off the reef structure.

“I can’t even tell you how bad I smelt after the dive - the smell of millions of rotting animals,” he said.

The Guardian has produced an in-depth analysis of the current state of the Reef, which features many of the dramatic photos taken on recent trips. 

In a related story, the ABC reports that it could cost up to $16 billion to improve water quality on the Great Barrier Reef.

Some of the footage can be seen below.