[Coral-List] Areas of Potential Bleaching in Caribbean

[Greg Challenger]

I vote that terms intentionally meant to evoke an emotional response, either positive or negative, be avoided in science.  That said, I don't see how one term better describes a negative consequence over another, since they are essentially the same.  Since climate change is referred to as global warming, ocean warming is consistent and as Richard Grigg indicates it is entrenched in the literature.  The negative consequences are best described in detail rather than with a single word.  The use of single words to describe potential negative consequences may be best left to the media.  When they run out of superlatives we are all in trouble.

----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Grigg,  
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 5:56 AM
To: Steven Miller; Coral Listserver
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Areas of Potential Bleaching in Caribbean

Coral listers,

         I think warming is a better term to describe temperature rise in  
the ocean than is heating.  And it is less inflammatory than heating, and  
it fits better with the opposite effect of cooling, and it is entrenched in  
the literature.  I vote we keep it.

                                                 Rick Grigg
                                                 Dept. of Oceanography,  
Univ. of Hi.


At 05:27 PM 9/26/2006 -0400, Steven Miller wrote:
>Why don't we coral-listers start using the word "heating" instead of
>warming, as suggested by James Lovelock and probably others too.  It's a
>simple change that better describes the negative consequences of the
>phenomenon.  Warming sounds like a good thing.  Heating, maybe not.
>
>Mark, maybe you can get NOAA to adopt this terminology?
>
>Regards,
>
>Steven
>
>Mark Eakin wrote:
>
> >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
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Coral-List mailing list
>Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list



_______________________________________________
Coral-List mailing list
Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list