Lingering Pacific heat wave threatens Hawaii coral
Source: Associated Press
Lingering Pacific heat wave threatens Hawaii coral
By CALEB JONES
September 23, 2019
CAPTAIN COOK, Hawaii (AP) At the edge of an ancient lava flow where jagged black rocks meet the Pacific, small off-the-grid homes overlook the calm blue waters of Papa Bay on Hawaiis Big Island no tourists or hotels in sight. Here, one of the islands most abundant and vibrant coral reefs thrives just below the surface.
Yet even this remote shoreline far from the impacts of chemical sunscreen, trampling feet and industrial wastewater is showing early signs of whats expected to be a catastrophic season for coral in Hawaii.
Just four years after a major marine heat wave killed nearly half of this coastlines coral, federal researchers are predicting another round of hot water will cause some of the worst coral bleaching the region has ever seen.
In 2015, we hit temperatures that weve never recorded ever in Hawaii, said Jamison Gove, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. What is really important or alarming, probably more appropriately about this event is that weve been tracking above where we were at this time in 2015.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/6d1cdd16ecbb491b833fdcfa805442d2