Skirving, William, and Guinotte, John (2001) The sea surface temperature story on the Great Barrier Reef during the coral bleaching event of 1998. In: Wolanski, Eric, (ed.) Oceanographic Processes of Coral Reefs: physical and biological links in the Great Barrier Reef. CRC Press, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 301-313.

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Abstract

[Extract] The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) experienced its most intensive and extensive coral bleaching event on record in early 1998 (Berkelmans & Oliver, 1999). Bleaching occurs when there is widespread loss of pigment from coral, due mainly to the expulsion of symbiotic algae (Yonge & Nicholls, 1931). The algae are usually expelled in times of stress, often caused by sea surface temperatures (SST) which are higher than the coral colony's tolerance level. This may be as little as 1 to 2°C above the mean monthly summer values (Glynn et al., 1988; Drollet et al., 1994; Berkelmans & Willis, 1999). Other causes of stress are above-average amounts of solar radiation, high turbidity, and low salinity. Generally, high SSTs and high levels of solar radiation go hand in hand, and are occasionally accompanied by low tides.

Item ID:	24953
Item Type:	Book Chapter (Research - B1)
ISBN:	978-0-8493-0833-8
Date Deposited:	20 Jul 2017 23:50
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