NOAA Reef Watch Bracing For Global Bleaching Event; Worst On Record May Unfold In Next Months

[hatrack]

Scientists warn extreme sea temperatures could cause a “historic” coral reef die-off around the world over the coming months, following a massive coral bleaching already underway in the North Pacific. Experts said the coral die-off could be the worst in nearly two decades. Reports of severe bleaching have been accumulating in the inbox of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch programme since July.

A huge swathe of the Pacific has already been affected, including the Northern Marianas Islands, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Hawaii, Kiribati and Florida. Some areas have recorded serious bleaching for the first time. “On a global scale it’s a major bleaching event. What it may be is the beginning of a historic event,” said Coral Reef Watch coordinator Dr Mark Eakin.

In the Marshall Islands, bleaching of unprecedented severity is suspected to have hit most of the country’s 34 atolls and islands. The Guardian witnessed devastated expanses of coral that look like forests covered with snow.

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Eakin said even under a weak El Niño, bleaching could continue until 2016 – lasting twice as long as the 1998 event. High sea surface temperatures due to climate change are making El Niño a less decisive factor in coral bleaching. “Despite the fact that there’s really not a big El Niño, we’re seeing these patterns of severe bleaching. So what’s happening is, as global temperatures increase and especially as the ocean warms through the increase of carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases in the atmosphere, it’s warming the ocean so that it doesn’t take as big an El Niño to have the same effect on water temperatures,” said Eakin.

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http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/19/major-coral-bleaching-pacific-may-worst-20-years

[Baitball Blogger]

1. Anyone up for a Baking Soda Marine Rescue?

[Scuba]

2. Few people have any idea what a tragedy this is ...

http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcorals/values/

Healthy coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse and economically valuable ecosystems on earth, providing valuable and vital ecosystem services. Coral ecosystems are a source of food for millions; protect coastlines from storms and erosion; provide habitat, spawning and nursery grounds for economically important fish species; provide jobs and income to local economies from fishing, recreation, and tourism; are a source of new medicines, and are hotspots of marine biodiversity. They also are of great cultural importance in many regions around the world, particularly Polynesia.

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While it is difficult to put a dollar value on some of the benefits coral ecosystems provide, one recent estimate gave the total net benefit of the world's coral reef ecosystems to be $29.8 billion/year. [a] For example, the economic importance of Hawai`i's coral reefs, when combining recreational, amenity, fishery, and biodiversity values, were estimated to have direct economic benefits of $360 million/year.

The global value above does not account for the economic value of deep-sea coral ecosystems, which, while less well studied and understood, also provide important ecosystem services. Deep-sea corals serve as hot-spots of biodiversity in the deeper ocean and their structure provides enhanced feeding opportunities, a place to hide from predators, a nursery area for juveniles, fish spawning aggregation sites, and a place for sedentary invertebrates to grow, much like their coral reef counterparts. These ecosystems have been identified as habitat for commercially important fishes such as rockfish, shrimp, and crabs. Deep-sea corals are also being targeted in the search for new medicines. [c] The value of these services adds to the global value of coral ecosystems.