Higher than a Sea- Bird's Eye View: Coral Reef Remote Sensing Using Satellites Presented by Mark Eakin Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Higher than a Sea-Bird's Eye View: Coral Reef Remote Sensing Using Satellites
Presented by Mark Eakin
Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch
LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Higher than a Sea-Bird's Eye View: Coral Reef Remote Sensing Using Satellites
Presented by Mark Eakin
Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch
1. Climate change and coral reefs
2. Introduction to coral bleaching
3. Remote sensing basics
4. NOAA satellites pinpoint bleaching risk
5. After corals bleach
6. What does the future hold?
7. Classroom resources
Outline
1. Climate change and coral reefs
2. Introduction to coral bleaching
3. Remote sensing basics
4. NOAA satellites pinpoint bleaching risk
5. After corals bleach
6. What does the future hold?
7. Classroom resources
Outline
Climate Change
• 2009 report from the US Global Change Research Program
• Climate Change impacts, focused on the United States
http://globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts
Climate Change
http://globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts
Climate Change andCoral Reefs
http://globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts
• “Higher water temperatures and ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide will present major additional stresses to coral reefs, resulting in significant die-offs and limited recovery.”
1. Climate change and coral reefs
2. Introduction to coral bleaching
3. Remote sensing basics
4. NOAA satellites pinpoint bleaching risk
5. After corals bleach
6. What does the future hold?
7. Classroom resources
Outline
What is a coral reef?
Animal Vegetable Mineral
What is a coral reef?
All of the above!
Slide after of Joan Kleypas, NCAR
http://www.coris.noaa.gov/about/what_are/#Anchor-From-63388
Animal / Vegetable/ Mineral
Coral bleaching is caused by stress
What is coral bleaching?
Healthy coral
Bleached coral
- Corals expel their zooxanthellae- The coral tissue is clear, so you see the white limestone skeleton underneath
Healthy coral with algae
Bleached coral without algae
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/education/tutorial/crw04_morebleaching.html
What is coral bleaching?
A. Nutrient enrichment (eutrophication).
B. Fish bites.
C. Lack of vitamin D.
D. High water temperature.
E. Too much homework.
What will stress a coral and cause bleaching?
-High light or UV levels-Cold temperatures-Low salinity from coastal runoff or heavy rain-Exposure to air during very low tides
Most important: high water temperature
Photos: AIMS and GBRMPAhttp://www.coris.noaa.gov/about/hazards/
What will stress a coral and cause bleaching?
Coming up next…
- If water gets 1 or 2°C higher than the summer average, corals get stressed and bleach
- NOAA satellites measure global ocean temperature and thermal stress
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite
Questions?
1. Climate change and coral reefs
2. Introduction to coral bleaching
3. Remote sensing basics
4. NOAA satellites pinpoint bleaching risk
5. After corals bleach
6. What does the future hold?
7. Classroom resources
Outline
Measuring some property of an object without touching it.
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/education/tutorial/crw08_remotesensing.html
What is remote sensing?
Which of these treesis healthy?
Why do we think this treeis healthy?
• Our eyes sense the green color in the photo
• We interpret “green” as “healthy”
Polar-orbiting satellites have a constant orbit while the earth rotates under them.
NOAA Satellites
NOAA’s POES satellites sense the Earth’s whole surface every day.
Ocean temperature is one thing they measure.
How do we measure the temperature of the ocean from
850km above the surface?
• If you stand next to a fire, you can feel the heat on your skin.
• This is infrared radiation.
• Satellites carry a sensor to detect this radiation.
Questions?
1. Climate change and coral reefs
2. Introduction to coral bleaching
3. Remote sensing basics
4. NOAA satellites pinpoint bleaching risk
5. After corals bleach
6. What does the future hold?
7. Classroom resources
Outline
Remember…
- If water gets 1 or 2°C higher than the summer average, corals get stressed and bleach
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite
How warm is too warm?
How hot do you think the ocean has to get before corals start to bleach?
How warm is too warm?
Bleaching threshold temperatures vary from ~27 – 33°C (81 – 91°F).
Corals from naturally warmer areas are adapted to high temperatures, and have a higher bleaching threshold.http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/education/tutorial/crw22_bleachingthreshold.html
Coral Bleaching HotSpotsSatellite data show where temperature is above the bleaching threshold right now. Yellow/orange shows stressfully hot areas.
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/current/products_hotspot.html
Corals bleach when conditions get hot and stay hot
DHW are accumulated HotSpots ≥ 1for the preceding 12 weeks
Degree Heating Weeks(DHW)
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/current/products_dhw.html
DHW = 0 No Thermal StressDHW ≥ 4 Thermal Stress leading to significant bleaching DHW ≥ 8 Thermal Stress leading to wide spread
bleaching and significant mortality
Degree Heating Weeks
Bottom Line for Managers
Is my reef currently at risk for bleaching?
- Satellite data warn managers of bleaching
- Plan research, response, and monitoring
Questions?
1. Climate change and coral reefs
2. Introduction to coral bleaching
3. Remote sensing basics
4. NOAA satellites pinpoint bleaching risk
5. After corals bleach
6. What does the future hold?
7. Classroom resources
Outline
Can corals recover?
-Yes, if the stress doesn’t last too long
-Some corals can eat more zooplankton to help survive the lack of zooxanthellae
-Some species are more resistant to bleaching, and more able to recover
Photos: AIMSand GBRMPA
http://www.reefresilience.org/Toolkit_Coral/C2d_Recovery.html
Can corals recover?
-Corals may eventually regain color by repopulating their zooxanthellae
-Algae may come from the water column
-Or they may come from reproduction of the few cells that remain in the coral
Jeff Miller, National Park Service
Can corals recover?
-Corals can begin to recover after a few weeks
Jeff Miller, National Park Service
Does bleaching kill corals?-Yes, if the stress is severe
-Some of the polyps in a colony might die
-If the bleaching is really severe, whole colonies might die
-Bleaching in Puerto Rico killed an 800-year-old star coral colony in 2005
Over 90% bleached
Over 60% died
Newfound Reef
Yawzi Point
Mennebeck Bay
South Florida/Caribbean Network I&M Program
J. Miller et al. 2009. Coral disease following massive bleaching in 2005 causes 60% decline in coral cover on reefs in the US Virgin Islands Coral Reefs, DOI 10.1007/s00338-009-0531-7)
2005 Bleaching in the Virgin Islands National Park
What else can thermal stress do to corals?
Question: what is something that happens to people when they are highly stressed?
Photo: Caroline Rogers, USGS
Gain weight Get sick Turn orange
What else can thermal stress do to corals?
Photo: Caroline Rogers, USGS
Question: what is something that happens to people when they are highly stressed?
Get sick
Bleaching and coral disease
- Bleaching leaves corals more vulnerable to disease
-Can quickly kill part or all of the coral colonyMarilyn E. Brandt, University of Miami
Questions?
1. Climate change and coral reefs
2. Introduction to coral bleaching
3. Remote sensing basics
4. NOAA satellites pinpoint bleaching risk
5. After corals bleach
6. What does the future hold?
7. Classroom resources
Outline
A Worldwide Crisis
Bleaching has already happened around the world. (map shows all bleaching reports since 1963)
Adds to other stress (fishing, pollution, etc.) 19% of reefs have been lost15% more are under imminent threathttp://reefgis.reefbase.org
Hoegh-Guldberg, 1999. Climate change, coral bleaching, and the future of the world’s reefs. Marine and Freshwater Research 50(8), 839-866.
Coral bleaching threshold
Future Warming
Two-part Solution:1: lower global CO2 emissions
For coral bleaching stress, there is a huge difference between 1.5°C and 2°C increase.
Two-part Solution:1: lower global CO2 emissions
Above even the highest future
scenario
Two-part Solution:1: lower global CO2 emissions
– Shade reefs
– Cool reefs
– Improve water quality
– Reduce other stress (pollution, disease)
– Reduce overfishing
http://www.reefresilience.org/Toolkit_Coral/C1_Intro.html
Two-part Solution:2: increase reef resilience
Coral Reefs AreToo Valuable to Lose
-Not just a nice place to visit on vacation!
-Over $375 billion in fish, seafood, tourism, and coastal protection worldwide
-0.5 to 1 Billion people directly depend on healthy reefs for their food and livelihood
-Highest marine biodiversity in the worldhttp://coralreef.noaa.gov/outreach/protect/welcome.html
A B C
Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007. Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification. Science 318, 1737 - 1742.
The Future of ReefsIs Up To Us
What Can YOU Do?
1. Don’t buy jewelry/souvenirs made from coral or other reef animals.
2. Reduce fertilizer use.
3. Be a responsible tourist.
4. Learn more about coral reefs.
5. Spread the word.
http://coralreef.noaa.gov/outreach/thingsyoucando.html
http://www.projectaware.org/english/templates/info.aspx?id=407
Questions?
1. Climate change and coral reefs
2. Introduction to coral bleaching
3. Remote sensing basics
4. NOAA satellites pinpoint bleaching risk
5. After corals bleach
6. What does the future hold?
7. Classroom resources
Outline
Satellite Data and Animations(website demonstration)
• NOAA Coral Reef Watch website• provides current conditions, data,
Google Earth, etc.• Anomaly animation shows ENSO
status, etc.
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/index.html
http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/SST/anom_anim.html
Google Earth
• Fun, interactive tool
• Also teaches geography!
• See where conditions are right for coral bleaching right now.
• Live links to data on the web. http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/ge/index.html
Google Earth
• Fun, interactive tool
• Also teaches tropical geography!
• See where conditions are right for coral bleaching right now.
• Live links to data on the web.
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/ge/index.html
Classroom Resources
• Satellite data/coral bleaching– Lesson plans, data activity, tutorial– http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/education/index.html
• Ocean education– Tutorial and online resources for corals– http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/welcome.html
• Coral Reef Conservation Program– Central listing for coral education resources– http://coralreef.noaa.gov/outreach/welcome.html
Summary
- Corals are animal, vegetable, AND mineral- Climate change is warming coastal waters- Hot water bleaches corals- NOAA satellites pinpoint bleaching risk- Corals may die after bleaching- We need to act now to save coral reefs
Thank you to the sponsor of tonight's Web Seminar:
http://learningcenter.nsta.org
http://www.elluminate.com
National Science Teachers AssociationDr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director
Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director Conferences and Programs
Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director e-Learning
LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP
NSTA Web SeminarsPaul Tingler, Director
Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator