Ocean Temperatures Threaten , to Eliminate Caribbean Coral.
The Caribbean Sea is experiencing an
episode of coral bleaching that may be
the region's worst ever, scientists say.
Unusually warm waters are to blame, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The issue could cause a mass "die-off of
corals in the area," NBC News reports. .
The current predicament follows one of the worst-ever bleaching events near Florida.
Florida is just the tip of
the iceberg. The entire
Caribbean right now is bleaching. , Derek Manzello, the coordinator of NOAA’s
Coral Reef Watch Program, via statement.
If you picked a random spot
on the map in the Caribbean
and jumped in the water, you’re
going to see bleached corals, Derek Manzello, the coordinator of NOAA’s
Coral Reef Watch Program, via statement.
Phanor Montoya-Maya, a marine biologist
at the Coral Restoration Foundation, .
said that this year's heat waves were so intense that
some corals didn't even have time to react. .
On those occasions where
the temperature went up so quickly,
they didn’t even have time to bleach.
They were burned to death, Phanor Montoya-Maya, a marine biologist
at the Coral Restoration Foundation, via statement.
However, experts say that the issue in the
Caribbean isn't as bad as the Florida area yet.
There’s not much worse than the
death of these important species,
but at the same time, I have been
truly surprised that we have not
seen more destruction as of yet, Ian Enochs, a research ecologist at NOAA’s Atlantic
Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, via statement.
There’s been a whole bunch of mortality
and death, but we have seen some recovery
as water temperatures have dropped down.
And that, to me, it means that in the face
of all of this, there’s still hope, Ian Enochs, a research ecologist at NOAA’s Atlantic
Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, via statement