[Coral-List] Time Magazine on coral bleaching

Sat Sep 17 10:50:30 EDT 2016

All,
I want to support Mark's description here.  In the Florida Keys,
during the massive bleaching events of 1987, 1990, 1997-98.... You
could see the reef track on clear days from 1-2 miles away.  It looked
like a long white ribbon stretching as far as the eye could see in
each direction. There was no question as to the extent of the
bleaching. The bleached corals could be seen in the shallow spur and
groove reefs that were connected along the reef tract by the
Transitional reefs.  The massive corals were most impacted by the
bleaching.

So, I don't think the article in the times exaggerates the visual
effect of the bleaching event.  That bleached line is my personal rule
of thumb between a massive bleaching event and lesser bleaching events
such as "major", "moderate" or even minor.  It is not very
quantitative, just anecdotal, but it works for me.

Billy

Billy D. Causey, Ph.D.
Regional Director,
Southeast Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean Region
NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
33 East Quay Rd
Key West, Florida 33040

305 809 4671 - Office
305 395 0150 - Cell
Billy.Causey at noaa.gov.

> On Sep 16, 2016, at 6:06 PM, Mark Eakin - NOAA Federal <mark.eakin at noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> While I appreciate that from an Australian perspective the description "an endless stretch of white" may seem odd, in the Caribbean and many other areas, bleached corals are all white. In fact, I've seen photo after photo of this bleaching event since it started mid-2014 and only a small minority showed fluorescence.
>
> Cheers,
> Mark
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> 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
> Twitter: @CoralReefWatch    FB: Coral Reef Watch
>
> NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP)
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>
> “The growing threat of climate change could define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other challenge.”
> President Barack Obama, September 3, 2016
>
>> On Sep 15, 2016, at 10:22 PM, Baird, Andrew <andrew.baird at jcu.edu.au> wrote:
>>
>> Visually stunning yes, but what a bunch of amateurs?
>>
>> No one who has seen a bleaching event in the wild would describe it "as an endless stretch of white".
>>
>> Professor Andrew Baird
>> ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
>> James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811
>> Mob: 0400289770
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov <mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov <mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>] On Behalf Of Mark Eakin - NOAA Federal
>> Sent: Friday, 16 September 2016 1:23 AM
>> To: Coral Listserver <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov <mailto:coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>>
>> Subject: [Coral-List] Time Magazine on coral bleaching
>>
>> A visually stunning spread just came out in Time magazine focused on the XL Catlin Seaview Survey documentation of the severe bleaching in New Caledonia earlier this year.
>>
>> http://time.com/coral/ <http://time.com/coral/> <http://time.com/coral/ <http://time.com/coral/>>
>>
>> The 360° images work best on your smartphone or tablet.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Mark
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 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
>> Twitter: @CoralReefWatch    FB: Coral Reef Watch
>>
>> NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP)
>> 5830 University Research Ct., E/RA32
>> College Park, MD 20740
>> Office: (301) 683-3320     Fax: (301) 683-3301
>> Mobile: (301) 502-8608    SOCD Office: (301) 683-3300
>>
>> “There is legitimate scientific debate over the pace and effects of climate change but no legitimate debate over the fact of the earth’s warming or over man’s contribution."
>> William D. Ruckelshaus, EPA Administrator under President Ronald Reagan, June 18 2014
>>
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