Higher than a Sea-Bird's Eye View: Coral Reef Remote Sensing Using Satellites

LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP Higher than a Sea-Bird's Eye View: Coral Reef Remote Sensing Using Satellites Presented by Mark Eakin Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch 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

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

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 and Coral Reefs Higher water temperatures and ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide will present major additional stresses to coral reefs, resulting in significant dieoffs and limited recovery. http://globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts

What is a coral reef? Animal Vegetable Mineral

What is a coral reef? All of the above!

Animal / Vegetable/ Mineral Slide after of Joan Kleypas, NCAR http://www.coris.noaa.gov/about/what_are/#anchor-from-63388

What is coral bleaching? Healthy coral Bleached coral Coral bleaching is caused by stress

What is coral bleaching? Healthy coral with algae Bleached coral without algae - Corals expel their zooxanthellae - The coral tissue is clear, so you see the white limestone skeleton underneath http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/education/tutorial/crw04_morebleaching.html

What will stress a coral and cause 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 GBRMPA http://www.coris.noaa.gov/about/hazards/

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?

What is remote sensing? Measuring some property of an object without touching it. http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/education/tutorial/crw08_remotesensing.html

Which of these trees is healthy?

Why do we think this tree Our eyes sense the green color in the photo is healthy? We interpret green as healthy

NOAA Satellites Polar-orbiting satellites have a constant orbit while the earth rotates under them. 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?

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 HotSpots Satellite 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

Degree Heating Weeks (DHW) Corals bleach when conditions get hot and stay hot DHW are accumulated HotSpots 1 for the preceding 12 weeks

Degree Heating Weeks DHW = 0 DHW 4 DHW 8 No Thermal Stress Thermal Stress leading to significant bleaching Thermal Stress leading to wide spread bleaching and significant mortality http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/current/products_dhw.html

Bottom Line for Managers Is my reef currently at risk for bleaching? - Satellite data warn managers of bleaching - Plan research, response, and monitoring

Questions?

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: AIMS and 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

2005 Bleaching in the Virgin Islands National Park Mennebeck Bay Yawzi Point Over 90% bleached Over 60% died Newfound Reef 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) South Florida/Caribbean Network I&M Program

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? 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 colony Marilyn E. Brandt, University of Miami

Questions?

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 lost 15% more are under imminent threat http://reefgis.reefbase.org

Future Warming Coral bleaching threshold Hoegh-Guldberg, 1999. Climate change, coral bleaching, and the future of the world s reefs. Marine and Freshwater Research 50(8), 839-866.

Two-part Solution: 1: lower global CO 2 emissions

Two-part Solution: 1: lower global CO 2 emissions For coral bleaching stress, there is a huge difference between 1.5 C and 2 C increase.

Two-part Solution: 1: lower global CO 2 emissions Above even the highest future scenario

Two-part Solution: 2: increase reef resilience Shade reefs Cool reefs Improve water quality Reduce other stress (pollution, disease) Reduce overfishing http://www.reefresilience.org/toolkit_coral/c1_intro.html

Coral Reefs Are Too 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 world http://coralreef.noaa.gov/outreach/protect/welcome.html

The Future of Reefs Is Up To Us A B C Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007. Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification. Science 318, 1737-1742.

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?

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 Association Dr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director Conferences and Programs Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director e-learning NSTA Web Seminars Paul Tingler, Director Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP