[Coral-List] British Virgin Islands - green water??? Real time images....

Georgina Bustamante gbustamante at bellsouth.net
Wed Apr 29 10:54:03 EDT 2009


Real time images....  from Frank.

 

 

From: Frank Muller-Karger [mailto:fmullerkarger at umassd.edu] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 10:49 AM
To: gbustamante at bellsouth.net
Cc: Chris Moses; Chuanmin Hu
Subject: Re: Fwd: [GCFINET] British Virgin Islands - green water???

 


Dear Georgina:

Can you please forward this message, with these links to the IMaRS web page
at USF that posts real-time images of the Caribbean Sea?

Web site:
http://modis.marine.usf.edu/weekly/ias/ias.index.html

Sample images:

23 April 2009:
http://cyclops.marine.usf.edu/modis/level3/husf/ias/2009/113/1km/pass/final/
MODIS.2009113.144508.ias.chlor_a.png

17 April 2009:
http://cyclops.marine.usf.edu/modis/level3/husf/ias/2009/113/1km/pass/final/
MODIS.2009113.144508.ias.chlor_a.png


thanks
Frank







Georgina Bustamante wrote: 

Interesting observation of green waters of potential continental (Orinoco
plume?) origin in British Virgin Islands.
 
Contact Trish (below) for more information.....
 
 
Georgina Bustamante, Ph.D.
Coordinator
Caribbean  Marine Protected Area Managers Network and Forum
 
"A social network for enhancing MPA effectiveness in the
 Wider Caribbean through communication and capacity building tools"
 
Hollywood, Florida
Tel./fax (request) +1 (954) 963-3626
Mobile +1 (305) 297-6995 
 
email: gbustamante at bellsouth.net
skype: yoyibustamante
 
CaMPAM web sites:
http://www.gcfi.org/campam/CaMPAM.htm
http://cep.unep.org/about-cep/spaw/campam-network-and-forum 
 
CaMPAM list:
To subscribe: campam-subscribe at yahoogroups.com . In the note, include
contact nos. (name, affiliation, address, email) 
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----------------------
From: Trish Baily  <mailto:ecosail at hotmail.com> <ecosail at hotmail.com>
  

To: oar.oe.faq at noaa.gov
Subject: British Virgin Islands -  green water???
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:40:25 -0400
Cc: bpotter at irf.org
 
 
 A   week ago I went to a presentation in the British Virgin Islands 
given by the guys on the research vessell currently working in the 
Caribbean.
 
One of the issues that fascinated me is that there was mention that 
at times the currents carrying waters from the Orinoco and Amazon 
rivers at times bring those waters far enough north that they can be 
monitored on the southern edges of the Virgin Islands.  Having 
sailed many times from the BVI to Venezuela I had   used the change 
in color of the water from  the deep clear Caribbean Blue to the 
clear brown/green color as in indication that I was getting into the 
nutrient rich waters coming from the  Orinoco.  I  would then expect 
the current to increase and almost the instant we hit the change in 
water color  
there would be dolphins and our fishing line would start buzzing and 
we could get  all sort of good things to eat.  Usually that change 
in  
water was about 250 miles south of the BVI.
 
So now  not quite a week after that discussion we have a green water 
event here in the BVi. I have never seen the water this color 
before  
(  I have been here 20 years)- and it looks like the color of water  
one would expect to find  around Grenada or Los Testigos.
Yesterday - Tuesday 21 April 09  I was on the north side of the BVi 
snorkeling around Monkey point on  Guana island - Water temp was 
76.8 which is cool for this time of year - but water temps are down. 
Water was clear blue as usual and visibility  down  a bit because of 
a recent northerly swell.  I then went down Sir Francis Drake 
Channell to the Bight on Norman Island.  I took my clients out to 
the Caves for a late afternoon snorkel.  A  big pod of dolphin came 
around - unusual for here -   and i    noticed the water was quite 
green.  My clients got in the water and immediately started getting 
stung by jellyfish.    I did not see what was hitting them, but I 
was in the water too and there was almost zero visibility and the 
water a very ususual green color.  On returning to the boat in the 
Bight I saw the water temp was up to 80 degrees F. - ( a 3.5deg F 
increase from the north side of Tortola).  It seems that everyone is 
getting hit by jellies of some sort.  Divers at the  Rhone yesterday 
said the water was green - no vis,  but huge feeding frenzies going 
on such  as they had never seen at the  Rhone.  Another charter boat 
emailed in saying the water looks just like it does normally in 
Grenada.
 
I just wanted to alert NOAA to this as I find the phenomena 
interesting, and feel someone should be taking samples of the water 
for analysis - .  I have written again to boats out chartering to 
tell them to note water temps and any unusual sightings.  It would 
be interesting to see if you detect this from satellite photos -  I 
wanted to get in touch with the guys on the research vessell but 
understand that they are already down island???
 
Please let me know you have received this and any explanation NOAA may have
regards - Trish Baily -  Charter boat operator - British Virgin 
Islands.  Reef Check coordinator BVI
    

 
  

 





-- 
 
__________________ FMK __________________ 
Frank Muller-Karger, Dean
School for Marine Science and Technology
Univ. Massachusetts Dartmouth
706 South Rodney French Blvd.
New Bedford, Massachusetts 02744-1221
 
fmullerkarger at umassd.edu
Phone: 508 999 8193
FAX:   508 999 8197
 
< <http://www.smast.umassd.edu> < http://www.smast.umassd.edu>>
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