An unusual mix of researchers from Australia and abroad will set sail later this month in a bid to locate and then propagate "super corals" that appear best able to survive bleaching caused by climate change.

The 21-day expedition is the first to be launched by the Great Barrier Reef Legacy, a non-profit group that raised funds for the venture from the tourism industry and crowd-sourcing to find research gaps.

Researchers will be studying which corals have survived the heatwaves best, and why. Credit:Brett Monroe Garner/ GBR Legacy

It will leave Port Douglas on November 15 and head as far north as the Torres Strait, examining areas that have had little more than aerial surveys since mass bleaching first took place in the 2015-16 summer.

"This was the section that was most hard hit, with some reefs suffering up to 90 per cent coral cover lost," said Dean Miller, a marine biologist and GBR Legacy director.