From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch website, regions of the world’s oceans where rising water temperatures pose a threat to the reefs that provide breeding grounds for many of the word’s food fish:
More from NOAA:
The NOAA Coral Reef Watch program’s satellite data provide current reef environmental conditions to quickly identify areas at risk for coral bleaching, where corals lose the symbiotic algae that give them their distinctive colors. If a coral is severely bleached, disease and partial mortality become likely, and the entire colony may die.
Continuous monitoring of sea surface temperature at global scales provides researchers and stakeholders with tools to understand and better manage the complex interactions leading to coral bleaching. When bleaching conditions occur, these tools can be used to trigger bleaching response plans and support appropriate management decisions.
