Jack2014

Warm Seas Lead to Extensive Coral Bleaching
acquired February - March 2016
For all of the apparent hardness of their skeletons, corals are rather fragile. Corals thrive under very specific conditions; in particular, they grow best within a small window of temperatures. If the water gets too hot or too cold, corals start to bleach and sometimes die.
The past two years have been the two hottest in the global temperature record, and coral reefs around the world are suffering because of it. The potent El Niño has amplified the problem. As a result, national and international science agencies have declared one of the worst global coral bleaching events on record.
“We are currently experiencing the longest global coral bleaching event ever observed,” said Mark Eakin, coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch, in a February 2016 statement. “We may be looking at a 2- to 2.5-year-long event. Some areas have already seen bleaching two years in a row.”
Bleaching occurs when the algae that live inside corals (and give them some of their colors) are expelled due to stress, such as higher-than-normal water temperatures or pollution. The loss of the algae means the loss of a food source for the corals. Under extreme bleaching, corals become more susceptible to disease. Bleaching does not necessarily mean death for a reef, but it can often lead to it.
The images above and below are maps of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in various regions over the past year. The maps do not depict absolute temperatures; instead, they show how much water temperatures were above (red) or below (blue) the long-term average for the same months from 2003 to 2012. Gray areas are too close to land and coastal shallows for a clear signal in this data set.
The map at the top of this page shows sea surface temperature anomalies for the southwestern Pacific Ocean for February and March 2016. The map below depicts equatorial Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific waters around the Americas in October and November 2015. The final map is a global view of SSTAs from November 2015 through February 2016, the peak of this winter’s El Niño.

acquired October - November, 2015
The maps were built with data from the Microwave Optimally Interpolated SST product, a NASA-supported effort at Remote Sensing Systems. The research team combines measurements from the U.S. Navy’s WindSAT instrument on the Coriolis satellite and the AMSR2 instrument on Japan’s GCOM-W. The sensors observe emissions of microwaves and infrared light from the sea surface, capturing the temperature of the top few millimeters of the water.
Temperatures on these maps show above-average readings, but do not necessarily look extreme in the areas around the reefs. But keep in mind that corals are sensitive to relatively minor changes in temperature. Researchers from NOAA also point out that sustained heat stress over a long period of time—weeks to months—is more damaging than brief, extreme events.
Researchers from Australia’s Coral Bleaching Taskforce have reported that nearly 93 percent of the Great Barrier Reef has been affected in some way by the bleaching event. Temperatures around the reef most recently peaked in February and March 2016. After conducting aerial and in-water surveys, scientists observed that 81 percent of the reefs between Cairns, Australia, and Papua-New Guinea have been severely bleached, with another 18 percent partially bleached. Some reports suggest 50 percent of the corals might be dead already. Along the central latitudes of the reef system, 33 percent of the reefs were severely bleached, with another 56 partly affected. In the southernmost reaches, 1 percent was severely bleached and 74 percent had some level of distress. The central and southern portions were actually aided a bit by Cyclone Winston. The severe storm churned up enough cold water to reduce surface water temperatures and moderate the bleaching.
In the Caribbean and the reefs of the Florida Keys, bleaching events were most severe in the fall of 2015. Reefs around the Hawaiian Islands, Fiji, and other Pacific islands have been severely stressed and bleached. With 2016 global temperatures already setting records, there is concern that bleaching could occur again in 2016.

acquired November 2015 - February, 2016
References and Related Reading
The Conversation (2016, April 6) Coral Bleaching Taskforce: more than 1,000 km of the Great Barrier Reef has bleached. Accessed May 18, 2016.
The Conversation (2016, April 26) Great Barrier Reef bleaching stats are bad enough without media misreporting. Accessed May 18, 2016.
NOAA (2016, February 23) El Niño prolongs longest global coral bleaching event. Accessed May 18, 2016.
NOAA Climate.gov (2016, May 6) Great Barrier Reef suffers through record-breaking bleaching event. Accessed May 18, 2016.
Science (2016, April 19) Survey confirms worst-ever coral bleaching at Great Barrier Reef. Accessed May 18, 2016.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using multi-satellite microwave sea surface temperature data from Remote Sensing Systems. Caption by Michael Carlowicz.
Instrument(s):
Coriolis - WindSat
GCOM-W1 - AMSR-2

If it gets much warmer,what's next- Florida sinks?


And deniers, Stupids, and frumpy Trumpy

badbob85037

You Liberals shouldn't be worried about G****l W*****g. Oh that's right it's called C*****e C****e now. But I will continue to call is Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall. But as I said you don't have to lose any sleep over C*****e C****e. Cause Liberals being 3 suits short a full deck will destroy the nation way before C*****e C****e does. Just how many of these tyrants and the ones they buy have to get caught cooking the books or writing false information before you give up on being so easy? Let me do you a big favor I have some magic beans that will end G****l W*****g. These beans grow ice and I will let you have them for what I paid for them cause I feel sorry for ya being a Libtard with your only chance of a cure is a full frontal lobotomy by pick ax. but remember the pick ax first then you pick your nose. While there don't forget to put your name in on that contest to win a full t*********r 30 minute quick change, with new up to date razor science and bring all your libtard friends.

Weewillynobeerspilly Loc: North central Texas

Do you need to borrow a few bucks to get that computer fixed?

atc333

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, including deniers. Deniers however, do not have scientific evidence to support their positions, rather a blind adherence to Right Wing mantras, which is keep the campaign contributions rolling in from Big Oil, and Coal.
Please explain how and why we have seen a 1.9% increase in the average world wide temperature of the earth in the last 60 years? Why don't you show the Environmental Scientists how wrong they are by providing another example of changes in the earths average temperature by 1.9 degrees in a 60 years span? What other time did the Earth go though what we are now going though which has occurred over the past 3000 years? In the past, such changes have taken hundreds, or thousands of years?

There are far more changes going on than simply coral bleaching, which incidentally are the nurseries of many fish species, Ocean temperatures are rising, as proved every day, Ocean currents are changing, fish species are slowly dying off or moving to cooler waters, W*****r p*****ns are changing, becoming more violent, and frequent. Plant species on earth are dying off, farmers are having to change their planting schedules, and what they plant. Insect populations are expanding, and moving northwards, causing massive problems with tree populations due to boring beetles k*****g off huge numbers of trees. These migrating species affect humans, as we have seen with outbreaks of Zika, spread by a specific type of mosquito which is taking advantage of the increasing temperatures and expanding its territory. Then of course we have the melting ice caps, and the warming of ocean temperatures, which are melting the underside of the ice caps, causing the rising ocean levels around the earth. One additional problem with rising ocean temperatures is that the ocean volume expands as it gets warmer, so you have the problem with more water in the ocean from melting ice, and expanding water volume from warmer temperatures. Then, to add insult to injury, the melting ice caps are causing a slight shift in the earth's tilt which has been detected by scientists.

How is it that you can listen to a bunch of GOP politicians who are putting continuing political contributions to their campaign funds over your and our nation's welfare? How can you ignore the opinions of scientists trained to observe change, and analysis of our now rapidly changing climate?

The amazing thing about deniers is that addressing G****l W*****g would not disrupt economies, but rather result in the creation of new and better industries, jobs, and scientific developments, benefiting all of humanity, now, and in the future.

Jack2014

and bad little boy),

We Americans already know what you're worried about. Dumb s**t trump. You already elected the horribly worst i***t to ever say he was a leader named "w". No chance his lack of intelligence would ever be surpassed. And now it has- Donald fruitcake ,bigot,amoral basterd, and liar unsurpassed is the current i***t put up by the Stupids in the repugnant party.
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Just when you thought that perhaps Donald Trump had decided to tone down some of his more incendiary positions, here he comes with a bombshell of a revelation about how he would prosecute the “War on Terror.”

On an episode of The O’Reilly Factor that will air tonight, Trump essentially says that he’d like the United States Congress to authorize war against people in the United States who may—or may not—be Islamic terrorists.

This is a war against people who are vicious, violent people that we have no idea who they are, where they come from. We are allowing tens of thousands of them into our country now so on top of wars on foreign land wait ’til you see what happens in the future…It’s probably not going to be pretty. I hope I’m wrong about that, but it’s probably not going to be pretty. It’s not speculation. We’re allowing people into our country. We don’t know who they are, where they come from.

So, in addition to potentially banning Muslims from the country altogether (a proposal Trump has yet to explain the logistics of, let alone account for the Constitutionality of), the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party now openly wonders whether perhaps we should declare pre-emptive war on those Muslims who are already here and who may—or may not—mean us harm.

Because, after all, “we don’t know who they are, where they come from,” though in most cases, it should be noted, we do know exactly who they are and where they came from.

It is unclear how non-Muslim Americans would react to a declaration of war that might include a front right here in the homeland. Some citizens were vehemently opposed to the idea of military operations conducted in the U.S. when they were under the impression that Jade Helm was anything more than a routine training exercise. The prospect of an actual, declared war being waged within our borders may well test the resolve of those who prefer the government to play as small a role as possible in their lives.

It appears that Donald Trump has no intention of acknowledging the distinction between Muslims in general and the violent extremists who pervert Islam. This might lead one to wonder whether Trump’s new “War on Terror” would also target Christian extremists in this country who perpetrate mass casualty events in the name of their God. Congress will certainly want to weigh in on these issues if and when a President Trump makes his request.

Featured image via Getty Images

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Terms of Service

Get the points , wee-wee. And bad little boy?

Weewillynobeerspilly Loc: North central Texas

Sounds like you're the one that's worried, you show your fear by constantly fixating on Trump...a true projection of what you fear the most......thats all you do now, nice!! He owns you and your too dumb to recognize that fact, you spend every waking moment with Trump on that mind.... keep it up penisjcaker......makes me giggle ay your fear......and by all your posts, you are owned.

Jack2014

Wee-wee go wee-wee on a tree like the dog you are. Probably a Dane.
Read my next post stupid.

Weewillynobeerspilly Loc: North central Texas

I like peeing on trees penisjacker, marks my territory dummy...hard to do for you since you squat, and that makes you a puddle jumper....and look at the i***t calling someone else stupid.....priceless indeed.

reconreb Loc: America / Inglis Fla.

#1 Scientific fact for ya to chew on .. The earth has been evolving from the beginning and for you to suggest that you can change that evolution by crateing a false narritive (scientist who are paid buy gov. grants to promote c*****e c****e and therefor extract more money from tax payers) is to suggest you could somehow control Nature on a scale equal to that of the universe .. I am not buying what you are selling .. I know horse s**t win I smell it I do not have to taste it to confirm that smell .. GO FISH !!!!!

Jack2014

Since you say you know so much about nature? Where is the internal combustion engine does nature cause the problem of pollutants generated? What about coal and gas fired utilities? How does nuclear waste fit? Or plastic bottles polluting our oceans? Or worse- food fish going extinct? Maybe you can produce a dimmer switch for the sun,stupid jerk

Do you even know there is a sun? You live in Texas ,right?


Lead pipes

Trooper745 Loc: Carolina

Okay, one more time! Since it is, according to you and the other man made c*****e c****e believers, a scientific fact that the earth is warming because of, and only because of, man's use of f****l f**ls, .... exactly what average annual temperature is the correct temperature for earth's atmosphere?

Then, using all of those scientific facts you claim to know, tell us EXACTLY what amount of carbon can we release into the atmosphere, and exactly what amount of f****l f**l use must we curtail worldwide to reach that magic number?

Jack2014

We are already passed it,DA$$ trooper.

Can you read or didn' you take that course in grade school? Texan?


The oceans are already dying.

Trooper745 Loc: Carolina

Okay, so according to you, dumbass, there's nothing we can do about it. So why worry about something that is already broken? Guess old mother nature will just have to shake the etch-a-sketch, and start a new megaannum.

nwtk2007 Loc: Texas

It's not just g****l w*****g but there is a significant effect due to the warming.

http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/coral5.htm

Jack2014

What you're saying is that since when driving your police car and speeding toward an abutment, you should hit it,DA$$
Here's one for you. Your DA$$ in chief is building another wall or walls!
Report: Trump planning sea wall at golf course due to c*****e c****e
By Harper Neidig
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Getty Images
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has called c*****e c****e “bulls--t,” is trying to build a sea wall at one of his golf courses in Ireland to protect it from g****l w*****g, according to Politico.

In a permit application filed by International Golf Links Ireland, “g****l w*****g and its effects” is cited as the reason why protection from erosion is needed at the course in County Clare.

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According to the report, the course suffered major damage in a storm just days before Trump purchased it, with parts of it suffering nearly 30 feet of erosion.
Trump International Golf Links Ireland also submitted an environmental impact statement accompanying the application that cited a study predicting a steady rate of erosion, but argued that the study underestimated the effects of c*****e c****e.

“If the predictions of an increase in sea level rise as a result of g****l w*****g prove correct, however, it is likely that there will be a corresponding increase in coastal erosion rates not just in Doughmore Bay but around much of the coastline of Ireland,” the statement reads. “In our view, it could reasonably be expected that the rate of sea level rise might become twice of that presently occurring. … As a result, we would expect the rate of dune recession to increase.”

“As with other predictions of g****l w*****g and its effects, there is no universal consensus regarding changes in these events,” the statement added. “Our advice is to assume that the recent average rate of dune recession will not alter greatly in the next few decades, perhaps as far into the future as 2050 as assumed in the [government study] but that subsequently an increase in this rate is more likely than not.”

The presumptive GOP nominee has called c*****e c****e a h**x, claiming that China created the myth in order to surpass the U.S. economically.

Like all things trumpity, he sucks at golf too. Probably cheats as well.