[Coral-List] Western Pacific Bleaching
Mark Eakin
Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov
Wed Aug 8 16:57:57 EDT 2007
Warming has been seen in the region from the northern Philippines to
southern Japan and Korea. NOAA Coral Reef Watch data reveal sea
surface temperatures of 30-32 degrees and Coral Bleaching HotSpots
reveal water temperatures of up to 2.9 degrees above the maximum
monthly mean. The warmest thermal stress accumulation is currently
found in the region south of Taipei and northwest of Luzon. Our
Degree Heating Week product reveals that the waters off the Luzon
coast now exceed 10 degree weeks of thermal stress. Reports,
including two on the Coral List, indicate that bleaching is already
underway at Kenting National Park, Taiwan, Ishigaki Island, Japan,
and the Philippines.
Another large region of heat stress can be seen in the region east of
the Mariana Islands and northwest of Wake Island. The SST anomalies
and HotSpots are not as high in this region and are currently of less
threat to coral reef systems.
Our 24 index sites around the globe can be found at:
http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/CB_indices/
coral_bleaching_indices.html
Current HotSpot and Degree Heating Week charts, HDF data, and
GoogleEarth products can be found at:
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/index.html
Please report any bleaching observations from this region to the
Coral List and to ReefBase at http://www.reefbase.org/contribute/
bleachingreport.aspx
Cheers,
Mark
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------
C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D.
Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Center for Satellite Applications and Research
Satellite Oceanography & Climate Division
e-mail: mark.eakin at noaa.gov
url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov
E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5308
1335 East West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
301-713-2857 x109 Fax: 301-713-3136
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