[Coral-List] Areas of Potential Bleaching in Caribbean

[Mark Eakin]

Warming continues in the area around the northern Lesser Antilles.   
While it looks like the Florida Keys has probably dodged the bullet  
this year, there is a strong potential for low-level bleaching in the  
northeastern Caribbean this year.  We have begun to accumulate Degree  
Heating Weeks in most of this region.  The good news is that we have  
only now reached the level of temperature stress that we had reached  
by early August in 2005.  That means that it is highly unlikely that  
we will accumulate substantial thermal stress before temperatures  
begin to cool.

Cheers,
Mark


On Sep 19, 2006, at 10:28 AM, Mark Eakin wrote:

> A large warm water mass has developed around the Lesser Antilles.  It
> has the same shape as last year's record-breaking warming, but is
> only at levels of DHW 1-2.  This places the Lesser Antilles under a
> Bleaching Warning.  Similar warming is patchy in many areas of the
> Greater Caribbean, with HotSpots >1 along the southern coast of Cuba,
> between Cuba and the Bahamas, in Florida Bay and the Northern Florida
> Keys, and other scattered locations.
>
> While anomalously warm, these areas are much cooler than last year.
> We are cautiously optimistic that new bleaching will not be a major
> issue in the Caribbean during 2006.
>
> 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 reporting any bleaching events (or non-events) at
> http://www.reefbase.org/input/bleachingreport/index.asp
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> --
> ------------------------
> 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 Hwy
> Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
> 301-713-2857 x109                   Fax: 301-713-3136
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
------------------------
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 Hwy
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
301-713-2857 x109                   Fax: 301-713-3136