4 Page 7 CEPNews, Vol. A more extensive summary of the year's coral bleaching events will be published in the December issue of Reef Encounters. Bleaching is tied to high water temperatures, as is evident form the field observations presented here.
Corals thrive as long as temperatures remain at or below certain temperatures for a given site.
An increase of one or two degrees above the usual maximum temperatures can be deadly to these animals. Approximately 50 countries have reported coral bleaching since 1997. During the El Ni o of 1982-83, large areas of coral reef around the world were severely damaged by high water temperatures associated with coral bleaching. The previous annual record for high ocean temperature events was in 1988, which also followed an El Ni o event the year before. By using satellites to measure sea surface temperatures and to identify hot spots, NOAA has been able to predict coral reef bleaching events in real time over large ocean areas since 1997, reports NOAA oceanographer Al Strong.