[Coral-List] NOAA Confirms 4th Global Coral Bleaching Event

[Jacqueline De La Cour]

Hi All,

I am sure many of you are aware of this, due to the ongoing press 
coverage globally; so apologies for cross-posting.I do hope the 
following information is valuable to you all and your networks.

On April 15, 2024, NOAA confirmed 
(https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-confirms-4th-global-coral-bleaching-event)the 
world has been experiencing a global coral bleaching 
event.TheInternational Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) also announced 
(https://icriforum.org/4gbe/) the global bleaching event, and provided a 
link to its new "Coral Bleaching Hub" 
(https://icriforum.org/bleaching-hub/), which shares key messages and 
resources about coral bleaching, its impacts, causes, and solutions 
currently being implemented and developed.

Bleaching-level heat stress, as remotely monitored and predicted by NOAA 
Coral Reef Watch (https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/index.php), has been 
-- and continues to be -- extensive across the Atlantic, Pacific and 
Indian Ocean basins.

Since early 2023, mass bleaching of coral reefs has been confirmed 
throughout the tropics, including in Florida; the Caribbean; Brazil; the 
eastern Tropical Pacific (including Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, 
Panama, and Colombia); Australia's Great Barrier Reef; large areas of 
the South Pacific (including Fiji, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the 
Samoas, and French Polynesia); the Red Sea (including the Gulf of 
Aqaba); the Persian Gulf; the Gulf of Aden; Tanzania; Kenya; Mauritius; 
the Seychelles; Tromelin; Mayotte; and off the western coast of Indonesia.

This is the fourth global coral bleaching event on record (following the 
1998, 2010, and 2014-2017 global events), and the second in the last 10 
years. The 2014-17 global event is considered the longest, most 
widespread, and the most damaging coral bleaching event on record 
(http://www.noaa.gov/media-release/us-coral-reefs-facing-warming-waters-increased-bleaching).However, 
the ongoing global bleaching event is expected to surpass the extent and 
severity of the prior global event, in the weeks ahead, as the 
percentage of the world's coral reefs (i.e., satellite pixels containing 
coral reefs), which have experienced bleaching-level heat stress, 
continues to increase.

As NOAA and its partners work to document the extent and severity of the 
mass bleaching on coral reefs around the world, the current global coral 
bleaching event also provides an opportunity for NOAA Coral Reef Watch 
to compare field data of coral bleaching and mortality with our 
operational daily global 5km-resolution satellite coral bleaching heat 
stress data products 
(https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/product/5km/index.php), to help improve 
product performance, where possible, for our extensive and diverse user 
community worldwide.To do this, we need your help!!

If you would like to contribute in-water coral bleaching data and 
observations (including reports of NO bleaching) to NOAA Coral Reef 
Watch's ongoing data collection effort, please visit 
https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/research/coral_bleaching_report.phpfor 
more information, and/or contact us at coralreefwatch at noaa.gov.Our 
sincere thanks to those of you, who have already been sharing your data 
and observations with us!

Also, if you'd like to learn more about what you can do to help protect 
coral reefs, please view this NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program 
infographic (https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/thingsyoucando.html) 
and/or visit this U.S. Environmental Protection Agency web page 
(https://www.epa.gov/coral-reefs/what-you-can-do-help-protect-coral-reefs).

Thank you very much, and be well please!

Warm Regards,

Jacquie De La Cour

----
*********************************
Jacqueline De La Cour, M.S.

Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies, University of 
Maryland/Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center
NOAA Coral Reef Watch (*NOAA Affiliate)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NESDIS/STAR/SOCD Coral Reef Watch
NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP), E/RA3

5830 University Research Court
3rd Floor, Room 3224 (c/o Gang Liu)
College Park, MD 20740

URL: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov 
<https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/index.php>
Twitter: @CoralReefWatch <https://twitter.com/coralreefwatch>
Facebook: Coral Reef Watch <https://www.facebook.com/coralreefwatch>

-- 
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software.
www.avg.com