The Experts below are selected from a list of 12546 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
D. Tchernov - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a novel paleo Bleaching proxy using boron isotopes and high resolution laser ablation to reconstruct Coral Bleaching events
Biogeosciences, 2015Co-Authors: G. Dishon, J. Fisch, I. Horn, K. Kaczmarek, J. Bijma, D. F. Gruber, O. Nir, Y. Popovich, D. TchernovAbstract:Abstract. Coral reefs occupy only ~ 0.1 percent of the ocean's habitat, but are the most biologically diverse marine ecosystem. In recent decades, Coral reefs have experienced a significant global decline due to a variety of causes, one of the major causes being widespread Coral Bleaching events. During Bleaching, the Coral expels its symbiotic algae, thereby losing its main source of nutrition generally obtained through photosynthesis. While recent Coral Bleaching events have been extensively investigated, there is no scientific data on historical Coral Bleaching prior to 1979. In this study, we employ high-resolution femtosecond Laser Ablation Multiple Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) to demonstrate a distinct biologically induced decline of boron (B) isotopic composition (δ11B) as a result of Coral Bleaching. These findings and methodology offer a new use for a previously developed isotopic proxy to reconstruct paleo-Coral Bleaching events. Based on a literature review of published δ11B data and our recorded vital effect of Coral Bleaching on the δ11B signal, we also describe at least two possible Coral Bleaching events since the Last Glacial Maximum. The implementation of this Bleaching proxy holds the potential of identifying occurrences of Coral Bleaching throughout the geological record. A deeper temporal view of Coral Bleaching will enable scientists to determine if it occurred in the past during times of environmental change and what outcome it may have had on Coral population structure. Understanding the frequency of Bleaching events is also critical for determining the relationship between natural and anthropogenic causes of these events.
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A novel paleo-Bleaching proxy using boron isotopes and high-resolution laser ablation to reconstruct Coral Bleaching events
Biogeosciences Discussions, 2015Co-Authors: G. Dishon, J. Fisch, I. Horn, K. Kaczmarek, J. Bijma, D. F. Gruber, O. Nir, Y. Popovich, D. TchernovAbstract:Abstract. Coral reefs occupy only ~0.1% of the oceans habitat, but are the most biologically diverse marine ecosystem. In recent decades, Coral reefs have experienced significant global declines due to a variety of causes, one of the major being widespread Coral Bleaching events. During Bleaching the Coral expels its symbiotic algae losing its main source of nutrition generally obtained through photosynthesis. While recent Coral Bleaching events have been extensively investigated, there is no scientific data on historical Coral Bleaching prior to 1979. In this study, we employ high-resolution femtosecond Laser Ablation Multiple Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) to demonstrate a distinct biologically-induced decline of boron (B) isotopic composition (δ11B) as a result of Coral Bleaching. These findings and methodology offer a new use for a previously developed isotopic proxy to reconstruct paleo-Coral Bleaching events. Based on a literature review of published δ11B data and our recorded "vital effect" of Coral Bleaching on the δ11B signal, we also describe at least two possible Coral Bleaching events since the Last Glacial Maximum. The implementation of this Bleaching proxy holds the potential of identifying occurrences of Coral Bleaching throughout the geological record. A deeper temporal view of Coral Bleaching will enable scientists to determine if it occurred in the past during times of environmental change and what outcome it may have had on Coral population structure.
Scott F. Heron - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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predicting heat stress to inform reef management noaa Coral reef watch s 4 month Coral Bleaching outlook
Frontiers in Marine Science, 2018Co-Authors: G. Liu, Scott F. Heron, William J. Skirving, Jacqueline L. De La Cour, Erick F. Geiger, Mark C Eakin, Mingyue Chen, Arun Kumar, K TirakAbstract:The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch (CRW) operates a global Four-Month Coral Bleaching Outlook system for shallow-water Coral reefs in collaboration with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The Outlooks are generated by applying the algorithm used in CRW’s operational satellite Coral Bleaching heat stress monitoring, with slight modifications, to the sea surface temperature (SST) predictions from NCEP’s operational Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2). Once a week, the probability of heat stress capable of causing mass Coral Bleaching is predicted for four months in advance. Each day, CFSv2 generates an ensemble of 16 forecasts, with nine runs out to 45 days, three runs out to three months, and four runs out to nine months. This results in 28-112 ensemble members produced each week. A composite for each predicted week is derived from daily predictions within each ensemble member. The probability of each of four heat stress ranges (Watch and higher, Warning and higher, Alert Level 1 and higher, and Alert Level 2) is determined from all the available ensemble members for the week to form the weekly probabilistic Outlook. The probabilistic Four-Month Outlook is the highest weekly probability predicted among all the weekly Outlooks during a four-month period for each of the stress ranges. An initial qualitative skill analysis of the Outlooks for 2011-2015, compared with CRW’s satellite-based Coral Bleaching heat stress products, indicated the Outlook has performed well with high hit rates and low miss rates for most Coral reef areas. Regions identified with high false alarm rates will guide future improvements. This Outlook system, as the first and only freely available global Coral Bleaching prediction system, has been providing critical early warning to marine resource managers, scientists, and decision makers around the world to guide management, protection, and monitoring of Coral reefs since 2012. This has been especially valuable during the third global Coral Bleaching event that started in mid-2014 and extended into mid-2017. The Outlook system is an integrated component of CRW’s global decision support system for Coral Bleaching. Recent management actions taken in light of this system are discussed.
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a new high resolution global mass Coral Bleaching database
PLOS ONE, 2017Co-Authors: Simon D Donner, Scott F. Heron, Gregory J M RickbeilAbstract:Episodes of mass Coral Bleaching have been reported in recent decades and have raised concerns about the future of Coral reefs on a warming planet. Despite the efforts to enhance and coordinate Coral reef monitoring within and across countries, our knowledge of the geographic extent of mass Coral Bleaching over the past few decades is incomplete. Existing databases, like ReefBase, are limited by the voluntary nature of contributions, geographical biases in data collection, and the variations in the spatial scale of Bleaching reports. In this study, we have developed the first-ever gridded, global-scale historical Coral Bleaching database. First, we conducted a targeted search for Bleaching reports not included in ReefBase by personally contacting scientists and divers conducting monitoring in under-reported locations and by extracting data from the literature. This search increased the number of observed Bleaching reports by 79%, from 4146 to 7429. Second, we employed spatial interpolation techniques to develop annual 0.04° × 0.04° latitude-longitude global maps of the probability that Bleaching occurred for 1985 through 2010. Initial results indicate that the area of Coral reefs with a more likely than not (>50%) or likely (>66%) probability of Bleaching was eight times higher in the second half of the assessed time period, after the 1997/1998 El Nino. The results also indicate that annual maximum Degree Heating Weeks, a measure of thermal stress, for Coral reefs with a high probability of Bleaching increased over time. The database will help the scientific community more accurately assess the change in the frequency of mass Coral Bleaching events, validate methods of predicting mass Coral Bleaching, and test whether Coral reefs are adjusting to rising ocean temperatures.
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Improvements to and continuity of operational global thermal stress monitoring for Coral Bleaching
Journal of Operational Oceanography, 2014Co-Authors: Scott F. Heron, G. Liu, William J. Skirving, C. M. Eakin, J. Rauenzahn, Tyler Christensen, Timothy F. R. Burgess, J. A. MorganAbstract:Mass Coral Bleaching results from periods of elevated sea temperature. Satellite monitoring of thermal stress has enhanced the capacity for the management of Coral Bleaching events worldwide. Satellite-based monitoring tools provide reef managers with cost-effective observations of temperature conditions to monitor the risk of Bleaching and to target in situ observations in areas under stress. This paper describes improvements to satellite remote sensing products from NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch to enhance product coverage and to correct identified errors in the production of Coral reef-specific metrics for thermal stress. In addition, threats to the operational production of the thermal stress metrics are considered and a contingency plan is described to ensure continuity of operations.
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Loss of economic value from Coral Bleaching in S.E. Asia
2012Co-Authors: Amar Doshi, Sean Pascoe, Olivier Thébaud, Colette R. Thomas, Naneng Setiasih, James Tan Chun Hong, James True, Heidi Z. Schuttenberg, Scott F. HeronAbstract:In 2010, a rise in sea water temperatures off Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia resulted in substantial Coral Bleaching. An ecological and economic survey was undertaken to determine the extent of this Bleaching and also the economic implications, particularly for scuba divers. As part of the survey, a choice experiment was undertaken to determine the loss in non-market economic value (in terms of consumer surplus) to divers from the Coral Bleaching. In this paper, we present the results of this analysis, and implications for ongoing monitoring and management of the reefs. We estimate the loss in economic value due to the 2010 Coral Bleaching event to be on the order of $50m to $80m.
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Climate Variability and Change: Monitoring Data and Evidence for Increased Coral Bleaching Stress
Ecological Studies, 2009Co-Authors: C. M. Eakin, Janice M. Lough, Scott F. HeronAbstract:Coral reefs live within a fairly narrow envelope of environmental conditions constrained by water temperatures, light, salinity, nutrients, bathymetry and the aragonite saturation state of seawater. While the natural environment can be highly variable and potentially stressful to Corals, humans are now placing the world’s Coral reefs in crisis as a result of direct local- to regional-scale insults combined with accelerating global changes. The global-scale insults result from increased concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases that are rapidly acidifying and warming ocean waters. This chapter focuses on the changing physical environment surrounding Coral reef ecosystems and especially the rising SSTs that are responsible for most mass Coral Bleaching events. We make use of improved long-term records of surface ocean climate to document SST changes in the vicinity of Coral reefs and how the risk of SST conditions conducive to Coral Bleaching varies with climate variability such as El Nino--Southern Oscillation events. We describe the application of satellite-based SSTs and related products that have been developed to detect and monitor environmental conditions leading to Coral Bleaching around the globe.
William J. Skirving - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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CoralTemp and the Coral Reef Watch Coral Bleaching Heat Stress Product Suite Version 3.1
Remote Sensing, 2020Co-Authors: William J. Skirving, G. Liu, Benjamin Marsh, Jacqueline L. De La Cour, Andrew I. Harris, Eileen Maturi, Erick F. Geiger, C. Mark EakinAbstract:The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch (CRW) program has been providing resource managers, scientific researchers, and other Coral reef ecosystem stakeholders with Coral Bleaching heat stress products for more than 20 years. The development of the CoralTemp sea surface temperature (SST) dataset has allowed CRW to produce the Coral Bleaching Heat Stress product suite with climatologies and daily SST measurements from within the same SST dataset, significantly improving data quality. Previously, the Monthly Mean (MM) SST and Maximum Monthly Mean (MMM) SST climatologies were derived using a different dataset from the near real-time SST. Here we provide an up-to-date description of how each product within the Coral Reef Watch Coral Bleaching Heat Stress product suite version 3.1 is derived, including descriptions of the MM, MMM, SST Anomaly, Coral Bleaching HotSpot and Degree Heating Week (DHW) products.
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Integrating physiology with remote sensing to advance the prediction of Coral Bleaching events
Remote Sensing of Environment, 2020Co-Authors: Robert Mason, William J. Skirving, Sophie DoveAbstract:Abstract Due to global climate change, very large areas of reef are susceptible to warming-induced Coral Bleaching, leaving Coral reef stakeholders reliant upon remote sensing forecasts of Coral Bleaching for estimates of when and where Bleaching will occur. Coral Bleaching prediction methods, to date based on satellite sensed sea surface temperature, are being developed further to improve the accuracy of predictions. This review examines the Coral physiological and Bleaching forecasting literature to identify biological and geophysical parameters that explain variance in Coral Bleaching and knowledge gaps related to the application of this knowledge to Bleaching prediction. Identified areas for the advancement of prediction methods include improvements in sea surface temperature product resolution and past datasets, incorporating the influence of UV irradiance on Coral Bleaching, and locally-varying thermal Bleaching thresholds. More empirical data is necessary for some aspects of Bleaching prediction development, though the potential exists for gains in predictive skill to be achieved through the implementation of current physiological and remote sensing knowledge.
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predicting heat stress to inform reef management noaa Coral reef watch s 4 month Coral Bleaching outlook
Frontiers in Marine Science, 2018Co-Authors: G. Liu, Scott F. Heron, William J. Skirving, Jacqueline L. De La Cour, Erick F. Geiger, Mark C Eakin, Mingyue Chen, Arun Kumar, K TirakAbstract:The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch (CRW) operates a global Four-Month Coral Bleaching Outlook system for shallow-water Coral reefs in collaboration with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The Outlooks are generated by applying the algorithm used in CRW’s operational satellite Coral Bleaching heat stress monitoring, with slight modifications, to the sea surface temperature (SST) predictions from NCEP’s operational Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2). Once a week, the probability of heat stress capable of causing mass Coral Bleaching is predicted for four months in advance. Each day, CFSv2 generates an ensemble of 16 forecasts, with nine runs out to 45 days, three runs out to three months, and four runs out to nine months. This results in 28-112 ensemble members produced each week. A composite for each predicted week is derived from daily predictions within each ensemble member. The probability of each of four heat stress ranges (Watch and higher, Warning and higher, Alert Level 1 and higher, and Alert Level 2) is determined from all the available ensemble members for the week to form the weekly probabilistic Outlook. The probabilistic Four-Month Outlook is the highest weekly probability predicted among all the weekly Outlooks during a four-month period for each of the stress ranges. An initial qualitative skill analysis of the Outlooks for 2011-2015, compared with CRW’s satellite-based Coral Bleaching heat stress products, indicated the Outlook has performed well with high hit rates and low miss rates for most Coral reef areas. Regions identified with high false alarm rates will guide future improvements. This Outlook system, as the first and only freely available global Coral Bleaching prediction system, has been providing critical early warning to marine resource managers, scientists, and decision makers around the world to guide management, protection, and monitoring of Coral reefs since 2012. This has been especially valuable during the third global Coral Bleaching event that started in mid-2014 and extended into mid-2017. The Outlook system is an integrated component of CRW’s global decision support system for Coral Bleaching. Recent management actions taken in light of this system are discussed.
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Improvements to and continuity of operational global thermal stress monitoring for Coral Bleaching
Journal of Operational Oceanography, 2014Co-Authors: Scott F. Heron, G. Liu, William J. Skirving, C. M. Eakin, J. Rauenzahn, Tyler Christensen, Timothy F. R. Burgess, J. A. MorganAbstract:Mass Coral Bleaching results from periods of elevated sea temperature. Satellite monitoring of thermal stress has enhanced the capacity for the management of Coral Bleaching events worldwide. Satellite-based monitoring tools provide reef managers with cost-effective observations of temperature conditions to monitor the risk of Bleaching and to target in situ observations in areas under stress. This paper describes improvements to satellite remote sensing products from NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch to enhance product coverage and to correct identified errors in the production of Coral reef-specific metrics for thermal stress. In addition, threats to the operational production of the thermal stress metrics are considered and a contingency plan is described to ensure continuity of operations.
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global assessment of Coral Bleaching and required rates of adaptation under climate change
Global Change Biology, 2005Co-Authors: Simon D Donner, William J. Skirving, Christopher M Little, Michael Oppenheimer, Ove HoeghguldbergAbstract:Elevated ocean temperatures can cause Coral Bleaching, the loss of colour from reefbuilding Corals because of a breakdown of the symbiosis with the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium. Recent studies have warned that global climate change could increase the frequency of Coral Bleaching and threaten the long-term viability of Coral reefs. These assertions are based on projecting the coarse output from atmosphere‐ocean general circulation models (GCMs) to the local conditions around representative Coral reefs. Here, we conduct the first comprehensive global assessment of Coral Bleaching under climate change by adapting the NOAA Coral Reef Watch Bleaching prediction method to the output of a low- and high-climate sensitivity GCM. First, we develop and test algorithms for predicting mass Coral Bleaching with GCM-resolution sea surface temperatures for thousands of Coral reefs, using a global Coral reef map and 1985‐2002 Bleaching prediction data. We then use the algorithms to determine the frequency of Coral Bleaching and required thermal adaptation by Corals and their endosymbionts under two different emissions scenarios. The results indicate that Bleaching could become an annual or biannual event for the vast majority of the world’s Coral reefs in the next 30‐50 years without an increase in thermal tolerance of 0.2‐1.01C per decade. The geographic variability in required thermal adaptation found in each model and emissions scenario suggests that Coral reefs in some regions, like Micronesia and western Polynesia, may be particularly vulnerable to climate change. Advances in modelling and monitoring will refine the forecast for individual reefs, but this assessment concludes that the global prognosis is unlikely to change without an accelerated effort to stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.
Mark Spalding - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Coral Bleaching in the southern seychelles during the 1997 1998 indian ocean warm event
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2000Co-Authors: Tom Spencer, Kristian Teleki, Clare Bradshaw, Mark SpaldingAbstract:Abstract Coral Bleaching shows complex spatial-temporal dynamics at several scales. Recent developments in ocean surface remote sensing technologies allow for both a better appreciation of these dynamics and an opportunity to place more local studies of Coral Bleaching and Bleaching-related Coral mortality into wider oceanographic and biogeographic contexts. Coral Bleaching is described at four Coral reefs in the southern Seychelles (sea area 6–10°S 45–54°E) during March–May 1998. Bleaching intensity varied between locations, between environments at the within-reef scale, and between Coral growth forms. These data are compared with Bleaching reports and sea surface temperature statistics for eight further stations in the western Indian Ocean to establish a link between Bleaching and the unprecedented warming of the Indian Ocean during 1997/98. Implications for long-term reef history, and Coral reef futures, in the western Indian Ocean are discussed.
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Coral Bleaching in the Southern Seychelles During the 1997–1998 Indian Ocean Warm Event
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2000Co-Authors: Tom Spencer, Kristian Teleki, Clare Bradshaw, Mark SpaldingAbstract:Abstract Coral Bleaching shows complex spatial-temporal dynamics at several scales. Recent developments in ocean surface remote sensing technologies allow for both a better appreciation of these dynamics and an opportunity to place more local studies of Coral Bleaching and Bleaching-related Coral mortality into wider oceanographic and biogeographic contexts. Coral Bleaching is described at four Coral reefs in the southern Seychelles (sea area 6–10°S 45–54°E) during March–May 1998. Bleaching intensity varied between locations, between environments at the within-reef scale, and between Coral growth forms. These data are compared with Bleaching reports and sea surface temperature statistics for eight further stations in the western Indian Ocean to establish a link between Bleaching and the unprecedented warming of the Indian Ocean during 1997/98. Implications for long-term reef history, and Coral reef futures, in the western Indian Ocean are discussed.
G. Liu - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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CoralTemp and the Coral Reef Watch Coral Bleaching Heat Stress Product Suite Version 3.1
Remote Sensing, 2020Co-Authors: William J. Skirving, G. Liu, Benjamin Marsh, Jacqueline L. De La Cour, Andrew I. Harris, Eileen Maturi, Erick F. Geiger, C. Mark EakinAbstract:The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch (CRW) program has been providing resource managers, scientific researchers, and other Coral reef ecosystem stakeholders with Coral Bleaching heat stress products for more than 20 years. The development of the CoralTemp sea surface temperature (SST) dataset has allowed CRW to produce the Coral Bleaching Heat Stress product suite with climatologies and daily SST measurements from within the same SST dataset, significantly improving data quality. Previously, the Monthly Mean (MM) SST and Maximum Monthly Mean (MMM) SST climatologies were derived using a different dataset from the near real-time SST. Here we provide an up-to-date description of how each product within the Coral Reef Watch Coral Bleaching Heat Stress product suite version 3.1 is derived, including descriptions of the MM, MMM, SST Anomaly, Coral Bleaching HotSpot and Degree Heating Week (DHW) products.
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predicting heat stress to inform reef management noaa Coral reef watch s 4 month Coral Bleaching outlook
Frontiers in Marine Science, 2018Co-Authors: G. Liu, Scott F. Heron, William J. Skirving, Jacqueline L. De La Cour, Erick F. Geiger, Mark C Eakin, Mingyue Chen, Arun Kumar, K TirakAbstract:The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch (CRW) operates a global Four-Month Coral Bleaching Outlook system for shallow-water Coral reefs in collaboration with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The Outlooks are generated by applying the algorithm used in CRW’s operational satellite Coral Bleaching heat stress monitoring, with slight modifications, to the sea surface temperature (SST) predictions from NCEP’s operational Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2). Once a week, the probability of heat stress capable of causing mass Coral Bleaching is predicted for four months in advance. Each day, CFSv2 generates an ensemble of 16 forecasts, with nine runs out to 45 days, three runs out to three months, and four runs out to nine months. This results in 28-112 ensemble members produced each week. A composite for each predicted week is derived from daily predictions within each ensemble member. The probability of each of four heat stress ranges (Watch and higher, Warning and higher, Alert Level 1 and higher, and Alert Level 2) is determined from all the available ensemble members for the week to form the weekly probabilistic Outlook. The probabilistic Four-Month Outlook is the highest weekly probability predicted among all the weekly Outlooks during a four-month period for each of the stress ranges. An initial qualitative skill analysis of the Outlooks for 2011-2015, compared with CRW’s satellite-based Coral Bleaching heat stress products, indicated the Outlook has performed well with high hit rates and low miss rates for most Coral reef areas. Regions identified with high false alarm rates will guide future improvements. This Outlook system, as the first and only freely available global Coral Bleaching prediction system, has been providing critical early warning to marine resource managers, scientists, and decision makers around the world to guide management, protection, and monitoring of Coral reefs since 2012. This has been especially valuable during the third global Coral Bleaching event that started in mid-2014 and extended into mid-2017. The Outlook system is an integrated component of CRW’s global decision support system for Coral Bleaching. Recent management actions taken in light of this system are discussed.
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Remote Sensing of Coral Bleaching Using Temperature and Light: Progress towards an Operational Algorithm
Remote Sensing, 2017Co-Authors: William Skirving, G. Liu, Ove Hoegh-guldberg, Robert Mason, Sophie Dove, Susana Enríquez, John Hedley, C. Eakin, Jacqueline De La Cour, Alan StrongAbstract:The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch program developed and operates several global satellite products to monitor Bleaching-level heat stress. While these products have a proven ability to predict the onset of most mass Coral Bleaching events, they occasionally miss events; inaccurately predict the severity of some mass Coral Bleaching events; or report false alarms. These products are based solely on temperature and yet Coral Bleaching is known to result from both temperature and light stress. This study presents a novel methodology (still under development), which combines temperature and light into a single measure of stress to predict the onset and severity of mass Coral Bleaching. We describe here the biological basis of the Light Stress Damage (LSD) algorithm under development. Then by using empirical relationships derived in separate experiments conducted in mesocosm facilities in the Mexican Caribbean we parameterize the LSD algorithm and demonstrate that it is able to describe three past Bleaching events from the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). For this limited example, the LSD algorithm was able to better predict differences in the severity of the three past GBR Bleaching events, quantifying the contribution of light to reduce or exacerbate the impact of heat stress. The new Light Stress Damage algorithm we present here is potentially a significant step forward in the evolution of satellite-based Bleaching products
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Improvements to and continuity of operational global thermal stress monitoring for Coral Bleaching
Journal of Operational Oceanography, 2014Co-Authors: Scott F. Heron, G. Liu, William J. Skirving, C. M. Eakin, J. Rauenzahn, Tyler Christensen, Timothy F. R. Burgess, J. A. MorganAbstract:Mass Coral Bleaching results from periods of elevated sea temperature. Satellite monitoring of thermal stress has enhanced the capacity for the management of Coral Bleaching events worldwide. Satellite-based monitoring tools provide reef managers with cost-effective observations of temperature conditions to monitor the risk of Bleaching and to target in situ observations in areas under stress. This paper describes improvements to satellite remote sensing products from NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch to enhance product coverage and to correct identified errors in the production of Coral reef-specific metrics for thermal stress. In addition, threats to the operational production of the thermal stress metrics are considered and a contingency plan is described to ensure continuity of operations.
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NOAA Coral Reef Watch Coral Bleaching Outlook System
2008Co-Authors: G. Liu, C. PenlandAbstract:A new NOAA tropical Coral Bleaching outlook system has just been developed. The system includes a sea surface temperature (SST) prediction model based on NOAA's Linear Inverse Model (LIM) and a Bleaching thermal stress model based on the Coral Bleaching HotSpot and Degree Heating Week (DHW) algorithms used in NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW) operational near-real-time satellite Bleaching monitoring. The system forecasts regions of potential thermal stress conducive to Coral Bleaching ranging from one week to 18 weeks in advance.