Massive bleaching event on Great Barrier Reef

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by GordMay

[4] Tropical Cyclones this [past] season[/SIZE]:
Where am I going wrong?

Tropical storm “Jasper” made landfall, in Far North Queensland, as a Category 2 tropical cyclone, on 13 December.

Tropical Cyclone “Kirrily” made landfall, over Townsville, Australia, on 25 January.

Tropical Cyclone “Lincoln” made landfall, on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast, between Port McArthur and the Northern Territory-Queensland border, on 16 February.

Tropical Cyclone “Megan” made landfall, on the southwestern Gulf of Carpentaria coast, on 18 March.

I think you could have counted a higher number!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%E...cyclone_season

[RaymondR]

From Wikipedia:

"Within the region a tropical cyclone is defined as being a non-frontal low-pressure system of synoptic scale that develops over warm waters, with a definite organized wind circulation and 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph) or greater near the centre."

Being mindful that many cyclones are milder than the passages of fronts and don't make it out of just the local news and since they get their energy from evaporating sea water one would assume that hotter sea water would produce more higher category cyclones.

The "boy who cried wolf" phenomenomn is far more prevalent than cyclones since this AGW/CC fetish took hold in the public immagination.

[GordMay]

Fact check request, for RaymondR:
So, were Alan Mighty [#16] & I [#14 &15] wrong, about the number of Australian Cyclones, this pass[ing] season - or, were you wrong?

[RaymondR]

"Lincoln" and "Megan" were in the Gulf of Carpentaria which has a peninsula reaching up to PNG between it and the Coral and Tasman seas and consequently cannot be considered in any way to be influencing the Great Barrier Reef and the areas they affected are on the northern coast of Australia not the eastern.

So only two cyclones so far on Australia's east coast which is probably about average.

It has been a very rainy summer in the mainland areas contiguous with the central section of the reef which may have affected the heat flows into coastal waters.

[Alan Mighty]

Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in northern Queensland is still pleasantly warm, even on Crazy Onkel Adolf's birthdate.

IDYOC300 product of Oceanography

[Alan Mighty]

Cruisers wishing to use southeast winds to run from the S Pac across the Equator, and then to use the Southwest monsoon (the SE winds turn to SW as they cross the Equator) to run to Taiwan and then to ride the Kuroshio current north before turning east to North America should find that the Kuroshio runs further north than usual this year.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3498150

The warm water going north with the Kuroshio has been associated by some with changes in fish distribution and even coral bleaching in the waters of Nippon:

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15216673

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

... So only two cyclones so far on Australia's east coast which is probably about average...

Although Australia had eight Tropical Cyclones, this season [to date], only Two cyclones crossed the Great Barrier Reef [not 1, not 4], this summer.
In December, Cyclone Jasper crossed the GBR, north of Port Douglas, as a category 2.
Soon after, in January, Cyclone Kirrily crossed the Reef, offshore from Townsville, as a category 3.
Both cyclones caused coral damage, in the region.
Coral can be damaged or destroyed by the waves, and by fresh water inundation [due to rainfall/flooding/sedimentation], generated by cyclones.
Additionally, high temperatures, this summer, has caused widespread coral bleaching, throughout the Reef, and subsequently, some mortality.

See the:
REEF SNAPSHOT SUMMER 2023–24 ➥ https://s3.documentcloud.org/documen...ot-2023-24.pdf

Or ➥ https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/New...t-Barrier-Reef

[boatman61]

An interesting film on Al Jezeera 'Dystopia of Seoul'..
An AI interpretation of Vivaldi 4 Seasons based on climate predictions for 2050 in 14 different locations around the world.. the Marshall Islands for example had no notes at all..

[boatman61]

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/fe...topia-of-seoul

[GordMay]

Corals, bred in a zoo, have joined Europe’s largest reef.
This is offering scientists hope.
Divers, at Burgers' Zoo, in the city of Arnhem, Netherlands, began work to create a "Noah's Ark" of coral, as part of a global effort to preserve coral reefs, by building reserve populations in aquaria.
More about ➥ https://apnews.com/article/saving-co...c13e6309b49171

“The World Coral Conservatory (WCC): A Noah’s ark for corals to support survival of reef ecosystems” ~ by Didier Zoccola et al
➥ https://journals.plos.org/plosbiolog...l.pbio.3000823

Originally Posted by WCC

“... We propose to build a “Noah’s Ark” biological repository for corals that taps into the network of the world’s public aquaria and coral reef scientists. Public aquaria will serve not only as a reservoir for the purpose of conservation, restoration, and research of reef-building corals but also as a laboratory for the implementation of operations for the selection of stress-resilient and resistant genotypes. The proposed project will provide a global dimension to coral reef education and protection as a result of the involvement of a network of public and private aquaria. ...”

[Alan Mighty]

Thai scientist working in the Gulf of Thailand reports coral bleaching and points to record high sea surface temperatures of 32.73 degrees Celsius (90.91 degrees Fahrenheit) as the key factor.

Thai govt marine biologist commented: 'It's global boiling, not just global warming.'

Local fisher complained of dwindling catches.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand...res-hit-record

Probably just a local phenomenon and not related in any way to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, right?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

...
Probably just a local phenomenon and not related in any way to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, right?

High sea surface temperatures are stressing coral, in every ocean basin, worldwide.

“NOAA confirms 4th global coral bleaching event” April 15, 2024
➥ https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/no...leaching-event

“... The world is currently experiencing a global coral bleaching event, according to NOAA scientists. This is the fourth global event on record and the second in the last 10 years...”

“Reporting Coral Bleaching Data and Observations to NOAA Coral Reef Watch” (Update: April 15, 2024)
➥ https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/sate...ing_report.php

Originally Posted by NOAA CRW

“... On April 15, 2024, NOAA confirmed the world has been experiencing a global coral bleaching event. Bleaching-level heat stress, as remotely monitored and predicted by NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW), has been -- and continues to be -- extensive across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean basins.

Since early 2023, mass bleaching of coral reefs has been confirmed throughout the tropics, including in Florida; the Caribbean; Brazil; the eastern Tropical Pacific (including Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia); Australia's Great Barrier Reef; large areas of the South Pacific (including Fiji, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Samoas, and French Polynesia); the Red Sea (including the Gulf of Aqaba); the Persian Gulf; the Gulf of Aden; Tanzania; Kenya; Mauritius; the Seychelles; Tromelin; Mayotte; and off the western coast of Indonesia...”

How does 2023-24 global coral bleaching compare to past events?
➥ https://www.climate.gov/news-feature...re-past-events

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Thai scientist working in the Gulf of Thailand reports coral bleaching and points to record high sea surface temperatures of 32.73 degrees Celsius (90.91 degrees Fahrenheit) as the key factor.

Thai govt marine biologist commented: 'It's global boiling, not just global warming.'

Local fisher complained of dwindling catches.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand...res-hit-record
...

Sorry, I neglected to thank you, for an interesting & informative article.

[Cloroxbottle]

Originally Posted by boatman61

With the resultant flow off of dioxin and other pollutants into the ocean being the most likely causes of mass bleaching.

I'd tend towards this being the more likely explanation. It's certainly behind the red tide in the Gulf.

[Alan Mighty]

The managers of the Con Dao National Park, the marine national park in the South China Sea that surrounds Con Son and its dozen or so neighbouring islands, report mass coral bleaching in April and May 2024.

The managers of the Con Dao National Park attributed the mass coral bleaching to high sea bottom temperature of 32 degrees Celsius during an El Niño heatwave in April-May.

According to the national park managers, mass coral bleaching in the Con Dao also happened in the El Niño years 1998, 2010, and 2016.

You'll likely remember the French called the Con Dao the 'Condore Islands' or 'Poulo Condore' (using the Malay word pulau = island) and were famous for their 'tiger cages' in which they and, up to 1975, the Republic of Vietnam imprisoned nationalists and revolutionaries.

See: https://vietnamnews.vn/environment/1...n-con-dao.html

Hopes of cruising Viet Nam disappeared about two decades ago, with officialdom proving unfriendly and the lack of any support facilities. Quite a contrast to the friendly people and the welcome they give to tourists at resorts and towns and cities.

See: https://www.davestravelpages.com/con...nd-in-vietnam/