NOAA's Coral Reef Watch program from satellite observations

Abstract

The NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW) program uses near-real-time satellite measurements of sea surface temperature (SST) to monitor thermal stress of the coral reefs. These data provide up-to-date measurements pinpointing areas that are currently at risk for thermally induced coral bleaching. All of CRW's products can be accessed through CRW's Web portal at http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov. Ongoing examination of tropical SSTs reveal regionally diverse but changing SST patterns and trends. In 2005 and 2010, two record-breaking thermal stress events occurred throughout much of the eastern Caribbean (Wilkinson and Souter 2008. Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005. Townsville, Australia: Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, and Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, 152; Eakin et al.2010. Caribbean corals in crisis: record thermal stress, bleaching, and mortality in 2005. PLoS One, 5, e13969). In 1998 and 2010, record-breaking bleaching occurred in all tropical oceans (Wilkinson 2000. Status of coral reefs of the world 2000, Townsville, Australia: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 375). With global satellite SSTs spanning more than two decades, we now have sufficient data to examine global- and basin-scale trends. The development and production of these CRW products takes place within National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). This NESDIS team is comprised of scientists from the Marine Ecosystem & Climate Branch in the Satellite Oceanography & Climatology Division of the Center for Satellite Applications & Research and from personnel within NESDIS' Office of Satellite Products and Operations.