Global sea surface temperatures reached record-high levels over the summer of 2023. The warmer waters were fueled by decades of human-caused climate warming and a recent boost from the natural climate phenomenon El Niño. All the added heat stressed coral reefs around Florida, Cuba, and the Bahamas, triggering bleaching watches and alerts for the area. 

Corals thrive within a small range of temperatures and become stressed when water is too hot or cold. Bleaching occurs when stressed corals expel the algae that live inside them, stirpping corals of their color. Extreme bleaching can leave a reef susceptible to starvation, disease, and even death. 

@nasa and other satellites help track stress on corals. Data for the animation are compiled by @noaa’s Coral Reef Watch, which blends observations from polar orbiting satellites such as the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP, and from geostationary satellites such as GOES, with computer models.

Image Description: 

This animation shows ocean waters transitioning from blue to deep red as heat built up over the summer around Florida, Cuba, and the Bahamas. The colors show accumulated heat stress, where blue means no heat stress and deep red means greater than 12 degrees Celsius of added heat over the weeks of July 1 through September 30, 2023. The landmasses are white. 

#nasa #globalwarming #climatechange #satellitedata #satelliteimagery #climatedata #earthdata #climatescience #earthscience #corals