[Coral-List] Current temperatures and Radiant Heat vs. UV

Melissa Keyes mekvinga at yahoo.com
Tue Jun 6 13:38:19 EDT 2006


Hello, Listers,
   
  Yesterday, all the way to a depth of 31 meters (100 feet or so)  the Caribbean Sea on the north side of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands was 27.5 degrees Celsius (82f).
   
  Deeper, there was a very slight thermocline, with the water at 26.5 C (80f) at 35 meters (about 115 feet)
   
  Air temps are very hot also, nights cooling to 26.5 C (80f)  and day time high nearly 32 C (90f).
   
  I believe some of the corals, S. siderea and Agaricia species are beginning to show stress.  I'll post new series photos "soon".
   
    I am enlarging my library of ID photos of corals to include Anemonies, which do bleach, and Palythoa.  If there is a particular critter of which you would like series photos, please do not hesitate to write to me with specifics.
   
  The letter Monday from Keven Reed mentions that UVA and UVB is filtered out by 3.5 meters depth of seawater.  Yesterday, I was paddling along about 23 meters (75 feet) deep when the sun came out from behind a cloud, and I definitely noticed the radiant heat.  Perhaps radiant heat has been taken into account as a 'bleacher', and I am unaware of this.  Ambiant seawater temperature and UV is all I have noticed folks discussing.  Has anyone put a thermometer in the sun, at say, ten meters?  I'll stop during my next dive and see what I might be able to record on my dive computer.
   
  Cheers,
   
  Melissa Keyes
   
  St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
   
   

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