Hawaii coral bleaching is small despite powerful El Nino
The prospect of the strongest El Nino cycle on record in the forecast made researchers and ocean lovers alike fear for potentially catastrophic coral bleaching — but this year’s hurricane season may have brought one silver lining. Despite having the strongest El Nino cycle on record, this year's coral bleaching in Hawaii has been minimal. The only bleaching seen was localized and likely due to a specific stressor, which could include heat stress, freshwater discharge, pollution or another stressor. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s coral heat stress outlook also indicates that Hawaii has remained in a “watch” or no alert at all through this El Nio cycle. Despite being fueled by warm ocean water, hurricanes can cause temporary dips in sea-surface temperatures, which can span hundreds of miles from their paths depending on the strength of the storm. The last strong El NINO helped fuel a catastrophic bleaching event in 2015, which resulted in a 71% loss in coral cover and a 50% loss of bayonage on Oahu. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the corals were spared from El Ninos' impacts.
公開済み : 12時間前 沿って Chloe Jones の Environment Science
Despite having the strongest El Nino cycle on record, this year’s coral bleaching has been minimal. A head of healthy coral is held at the University of Hawaii’s School of Marine Biology Coral Resilie... [6754 symbols]
トピック: El Niño
