NOAA
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Coral Reef Watch Homepage and Near-Real-Time Product Portal
Coral Reef Watch Satellite Monitoring NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Program's satellite data provide current reef environmental conditions to quickly identify areas at risk for coral bleaching , where corals lose the symbiotic algae that give them their distinctive colors. If a coral is severely bleached, disease and partial mortality become likely, and the entire colony may die. Continuous monitoring of sea surface temperature at global scales provides researchers and stakeholders with tools to understand and better manage the complex interactions leading to coral bleaching. When bleaching conditions occur, these tools can be used to trigger bleaching response plans and support appropriate management decisions. The Coral Reef Watch mission is to utilize remote sensing and in situ tools for near-real-time and long term monitoring, modeling and reporting of physical environmental conditions of coral reef ecosystems.On May 1, two students from Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Calif. deployed a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ocean drifter into the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, contributing to a global array that yields vital environmental data. Calvin Earp and Nirupam Nigam deployed the buoy from the Sanctuary's research vessel Shearwater. - read more »
NOAA Climate Services
