Andrew Yee
December 24th 05, 05:56 PM
John Bluck
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Dec. 19, 2005
Phone: (650) 604-5026 or 604-9000
e-mail: jbluck @ mail.arc.nasa.gov
Ben Sherman
NOAA, Washington
Phone: (301) 713-3066
RELEASE: 05-67AR
NASA RESPONDS TO CORAL BLEACHING IN CARIBBEAN
Responding to a recent coral bleaching event in the Caribbean, a
NASA-led team is in the region this week assessing the situation as
part of a U.S. inter-agency response.
Coral bleaching is associated with a variety of stresses including
increased sea surface temperatures. This causes the coral to expel
symbiotic micro-algae living in their tissues -- algae that provide
corals with food. Losing their algae leaves coral tissues devoid of
color, thus appearing to be bleached. Prolonged coral bleaching (more
than a week) can lead to coral death and the subsequent loss of coral
reef habitats for a range of marine life.
"Coral reefs are considered 'canaries of the oceans,' acting as an
early warning system for marine ecosystems," said Liane Guild, a
scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's
Silicon Valley. Guild is leading the NASA emergency deployment to
rapidly assess the damage before other changes take place in the
affected reefs.
Warnings of the onset of this event were first reported by the NOAA
Coral Reef Watch Satellite Bleaching Alert monitoring system in late
August in the Florida Keys. News of these warnings spread throughout
much of the eastern Caribbean in September and October. The U.S.
Coral Reef Task Force called for the inter-agency response in
November. The deployment will continue until Dec. 20.
"I'm very pleased to have NASA step up and bring its expertise and
assets to help the scientific community understand and address this
devastating event," said Timothy Keeney, deputy assistant secretary
of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. Keeney is the United States
Coral Reef Task Force co-chair.
The NASA-led inter-agency team is inspecting reefs in Puerto Rico,
including sites at La Parguera and Culebra Island. Sites in the U.S.
Virgin Islands include Buck Island, the north coast of St. Croix and
the south coast of St. John.
With financial and staff support from NASA, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Interior
and other agencies, NASA is conducting aircraft fly-overs above the
affected reefs to gather valuable data.
The team's Twin Otter aircraft -- supplied by Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, Md. -- will inspect the bleached reef areas using a
digital camera and the NASA Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging
Spectrometer (AVIRIS), an instrument that captures visible and
infrared light data. The aircraft-based sensors provide higher
spectral and spatial resolution data and can be used to enhance
understanding of ocean biology satellite data.
"The importance of this research is that we will be concentrating on
aspects that enhance both understanding and prediction of reef status
in terms of the extent of bleached corals, coral mortality, evidence
of recovery, evidence of algal overgrowth and biodiversity using
AVIRIS data and field measurements," Guild said.
NASA, NOAA and other organizations also are supporting field
monitoring to complement the flyover. Guild's field team will be in
the water when the overflights occur, collecting data on the coral
that relate to the AVIRIS data.
Coral reefs are critical for marine fisheries, providing habitat and
nursery grounds, according to experts. "The structure of coral reefs
provides coastline protection from severe storms by dampening wave
action," Guild said.
The research being done by the team that assesses the potential
impact of a changing climate on global ecology supports federal U.S.
Climate Change Science Program and U.S. Ocean Action Plan objectives.
The NASA-NOAA effort is just one component of the response. Many
other efforts are underway to help document and track this bleaching
event and its long-term impacts on Caribbean coral reef ecosystems
and the communities that depend on them. The NASA-NOAA flights are
one part of a larger interagency federal and international effort to
document and assess the extent and impacts of this massive bleaching
event as called for by the task force. More information about coral
reefs can be found at
http://www.coralreef.gov
Other partners in this study include researchers from the University
of Puerto Rico, NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program and the
National Park Service in the U.S Virgin Islands.
For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Web,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Dec. 19, 2005
Phone: (650) 604-5026 or 604-9000
e-mail: jbluck @ mail.arc.nasa.gov
Ben Sherman
NOAA, Washington
Phone: (301) 713-3066
RELEASE: 05-67AR
NASA RESPONDS TO CORAL BLEACHING IN CARIBBEAN
Responding to a recent coral bleaching event in the Caribbean, a
NASA-led team is in the region this week assessing the situation as
part of a U.S. inter-agency response.
Coral bleaching is associated with a variety of stresses including
increased sea surface temperatures. This causes the coral to expel
symbiotic micro-algae living in their tissues -- algae that provide
corals with food. Losing their algae leaves coral tissues devoid of
color, thus appearing to be bleached. Prolonged coral bleaching (more
than a week) can lead to coral death and the subsequent loss of coral
reef habitats for a range of marine life.
"Coral reefs are considered 'canaries of the oceans,' acting as an
early warning system for marine ecosystems," said Liane Guild, a
scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's
Silicon Valley. Guild is leading the NASA emergency deployment to
rapidly assess the damage before other changes take place in the
affected reefs.
Warnings of the onset of this event were first reported by the NOAA
Coral Reef Watch Satellite Bleaching Alert monitoring system in late
August in the Florida Keys. News of these warnings spread throughout
much of the eastern Caribbean in September and October. The U.S.
Coral Reef Task Force called for the inter-agency response in
November. The deployment will continue until Dec. 20.
"I'm very pleased to have NASA step up and bring its expertise and
assets to help the scientific community understand and address this
devastating event," said Timothy Keeney, deputy assistant secretary
of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. Keeney is the United States
Coral Reef Task Force co-chair.
The NASA-led inter-agency team is inspecting reefs in Puerto Rico,
including sites at La Parguera and Culebra Island. Sites in the U.S.
Virgin Islands include Buck Island, the north coast of St. Croix and
the south coast of St. John.
With financial and staff support from NASA, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Interior
and other agencies, NASA is conducting aircraft fly-overs above the
affected reefs to gather valuable data.
The team's Twin Otter aircraft -- supplied by Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, Md. -- will inspect the bleached reef areas using a
digital camera and the NASA Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging
Spectrometer (AVIRIS), an instrument that captures visible and
infrared light data. The aircraft-based sensors provide higher
spectral and spatial resolution data and can be used to enhance
understanding of ocean biology satellite data.
"The importance of this research is that we will be concentrating on
aspects that enhance both understanding and prediction of reef status
in terms of the extent of bleached corals, coral mortality, evidence
of recovery, evidence of algal overgrowth and biodiversity using
AVIRIS data and field measurements," Guild said.
NASA, NOAA and other organizations also are supporting field
monitoring to complement the flyover. Guild's field team will be in
the water when the overflights occur, collecting data on the coral
that relate to the AVIRIS data.
Coral reefs are critical for marine fisheries, providing habitat and
nursery grounds, according to experts. "The structure of coral reefs
provides coastline protection from severe storms by dampening wave
action," Guild said.
The research being done by the team that assesses the potential
impact of a changing climate on global ecology supports federal U.S.
Climate Change Science Program and U.S. Ocean Action Plan objectives.
The NASA-NOAA effort is just one component of the response. Many
other efforts are underway to help document and track this bleaching
event and its long-term impacts on Caribbean coral reef ecosystems
and the communities that depend on them. The NASA-NOAA flights are
one part of a larger interagency federal and international effort to
document and assess the extent and impacts of this massive bleaching
event as called for by the task force. More information about coral
reefs can be found at
http://www.coralreef.gov
Other partners in this study include researchers from the University
of Puerto Rico, NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program and the
National Park Service in the U.S Virgin Islands.
For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Web,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home