Galapagos - Bleaching?

Eric Eisenhardt on leave 97/98 erice at pangea.stanford.edu
Mon Jan 5 21:01:41 EST 1998


On Tue, 18 Nov 1997, Prof Alan E Strong wrote:

> SST have reached new highs around Galapagos -- nearly 28 deg C.  Our
> HotSpot charts [see bottom for URL] show potential now exists for high
> temp induced bleaching, associated with present El Nino.  This is the 1st
> time SSTs have been this high a several years.
>

As of Dec. 18-30 bleaching was observed first hand in Galapagos. Roughly
20% of polyps of roughly 80% of the coral I saw was bleached near the top
(mostly a brown lumpy coral, I don't know the name, anyone?) although I
was only able to visit Santa Cruz, Bartolome, Santa Fe, and Espanola; NOT
the islands typically known for large coral assembleges (Devil's Crown,
Isabella). Hope this helps.


-Eric
erice at pangea.stanford.edu


> Elsewhere around the globe potential areas for bleaching appear to be less
> than past years...as the Red Sea HotSpot has almost completely
> disappeared. [Have gotten no confirmation of bleaching in Cape Verdes, as
> conditions are now a bit less harsh.]
>
> Appreciate any feedback.
>
> Cheers,
> Al
> **** <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< *****
> 				Alan E. Strong
> Phys Scientist/Oceanographer			  Adj Assoc Professor
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