Will corals bleach again in 2016?
We understand from our research colleagues at Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) that there is already a warm pool of water off the west coast of Sumatra which is significantly warmer than has ever been known at this time of year in previous extreme coral bleaching events (year 1991, 1995, 1998, 2010). It is therefore likely that reefs in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand will be impacted by rising temperatures in the months of April‐May 2016 when sea water temperatures (SST) reach their seasonal maxima. From the research of PMBC, it was found that the critical SST is 30.4 degree Celsius. If the SST is higher than the critical point over than 3 weeks, corals will bleach.
Picture above: Satellite Coral Bleaching Thermal Stress Monitoring: data on 30/Jan/16. The NOAA Coral Reef Watch program's satellite data provide current reef environmental conditions to quickly identify areas at risk for coral bleaching, where corals lose the symbiotic algae that give them their distinctive colors. If a coral is severely bleached, disease and partial mortality become likely, and the entire colony may die. See more at http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov
Green Fins members can report the information about the sea temperature in the reefs where they dive. The report from the reef survey (using “Reef Watch” trained by Green Fins) will benefit to the response plans and management.
Information about Reef Watch click here
