[Coral-List] Caribbean-wide Heat Stress Event

Sat Sep 2 12:25:36 UTC 2023

Thanks Dave,
 Watching the ocean heat up is similar to watching the hurricanes evolve
but on another time scale. Looks like our civilization is sitting on the
sidelines while "Rome is burning". We seem to have a voyeuristic zest to
ever refine the tools we use to watch but none of the political will to fix
the issues. We are politically willing to spend 100 million dollars to
"restore" the Florida Keys without dealing with the fundamentals (nutrients
and physics).  This summer is revealing the hard truth that none of that
effort will ever yield positive results until the economic engine driving
the destruction is brought under control. It has been like a slow motion
forest fire for years and years and years. Lahaina was fast, the Keys slow,
but overdevelopment and tourism have destroyed both.  Working on real
solutions instead of kicking the can down the road is the only true path to
follow. Charles Darwin wondered, Sir Maurice Younge, T.G Goreau, Len
Muscatine, Bob Trench, the Odum brothers, and a host of other "early"
researchers" gave us the clues. Their pre-internet" papers contain wisdom
and wonder and are well-worth reading. Also, brush up on the Laws of
Thermodynamics because you can't violate them, buy them off, or "genetic"
your way around them.
Phil

On Sat, Sep 2, 2023 at 4:30 AM Derek Manzello - NOAA Federal via Coral-List
<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> Dear esteemed colleagues,
>
>
>
> NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW) <https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/> has been
> monitoring the developing heat stress in the Caribbean. Sea surface
> temperatures are as high, or higher than ever before in the satellite
> record, and the accumulation of heat stress has begun earlier than ever
> before for most locations. At this time, 32 of the 34 satellite Regional
> Virtual Stations <https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/product/vs/data.php> in
> the Caribbean/NW Atlantic are at an Alert Level 1 or higher, which means
> that bleaching is expected at these locations; 21 of these stations are at
> an Alert Level 2, which is when severe, widespread bleaching and mortality
> are expected to begin. The modeled Four-Month Coral Bleaching Heat Stress
> Outlook
> <
> https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/bleachingoutlook_cfs/outlook_cfs.php
> >
> predicts Alert Level 2 conditions will develop for most Caribbean sites by
> the end of September 2023.
>
>
>
> To date, coral bleaching has been confirmed in Florida, Belize, Panama,
> Mexico (both sides of the Yucatan peninsula), Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the
> U.S. Virgin Islands.
>
>
>
> We are likely in the midst of another Caribbean-wide mass bleaching event.
>
>
>
> We are reaching out to you for two reasons:
>
>
>
> First, NOAA CRW is seeking to collect observations of coral bleaching/no
> bleaching.  These data are important for us to determine how well the CRW
> coral bleaching heat stress products are performing, and to determine if
> any modifications to our products are necessary for certain locations. At
> the moment, we are seeking any information from sites in the Lesser
> Antilles, as we have yet to receive any information on the state of the
> corals in these islands.
>
>
>
> There are multiple means by which a contributor can submit data, and more
> information can be found at here
> <
> https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/research/coral_bleaching_report.php
> >.
>
>
>
>
> Second, to assist our end-users in Florida, CRW developed single-pixel
> Virtual Stations for key nursery and restoration sites
> <
> https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/product/vs_single_pixel_exp/florida_keys.php
> >
> along the entirety of Florida’s Coral Reef. These stations consolidate the
> CRW heat stress metrics for individual, 5km x 5km satellite pixels
> overlaying these reef sites. This allows end-users to compare/contrast heat
> stress levels across sites, as a decision support tool for prioritization
> of monitoring, management, and rescue efforts.
>
>
>
> We aim to develop single-pixel Virtual Stations for key nursery,
> restoration, and long-term monitoring sites outside of U.S. jurisdictions,
> so that the CRW products are most useful at the necessary scale for
> end-users like yourselves.  Please reach out to us if you seek to
> collaborate on developing these stations for your region of interest.
>
>
>
> Finally, please forward this email to colleagues who you feel may have
> observations to contribute, or who require further information about this
> event. Please contact us at coralreefwatch at noaa.gov if you have any
> questions/concerns about sharing your data, as well as the mechanisms to do
> so.  We welcome all collaborations and look forward to the opportunity to
> work with and better serve you, as we all cope with this increasingly
> severe, large-scale coral bleaching event.
>
>
>
> With kind regards,
> Derek
>
> --
> Derek P. Manzello, Ph.D.
> Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch
> Center for Satellite Applications and Research
> Satellite Oceanography & Climatology Division
> e-mail: derek.manzello at noaa.gov
> url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov
>
> NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP)
> 5830 University Research Ct., E/RA32
> College Park, MD 20740
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list

-- 

Phillip Dustan PhD
Charleston SC  29424
843-953-8086 office
843-224-3321 (mobile)

"When we try to pick out anything by itself
we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords
that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe. "
*                                         John Muir 1869*

*A Swim Through TIme on Carysfort Reef*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPJE7UE6sA
*Raja Ampat Sustainability Project video*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RR2SazW_VY&fbclid=IwAR09oZkEk8wQkK6LN3XzVGPgAWSujACyUfe2Ist__nYxRRSkDE_jAYqkJ7A
*Bali Coral Bleaching 2016 video*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo>*
TEDx Charleston on saving coral reefs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwENBNrfKj4
Google Scholar Citations:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HCwfXZ0AAAAJ