#Florida’s Record-Breaking Sea Temperatures Affecting #Coral

Story by Catrin Einhorn and Jason Gulley, July 31, 2023

"With #climateChange ravaging Florida’s beloved reef, people who’ve devoted their careers to restoring coral in the sea are now racing to get it out of the water, to tanks on land. They’re pushing through feelings of grief and fear over the future to save what genetic material and young corals they can. But in the background, an existential question looms: How can they restore reefs if the ocean is getting too hot for coral to live there?

"While marine #heatwaves occur naturally, the eye-popping sea temperatures recorded off the Keys this month (one reading hit 101 degrees Fahrenheit, or just over 38 Celsius) have been made worse by global warming, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The world’s oceans have absorbed 90% of the additional heat unleashed by people burning fossil fuels and razing forests. Currently, about 44% of the #global #ocean is in a #heatwave.

"The mass coral bleaching happening throughout the Keys is the most severe in the state’s history, Derek Manzello, the coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program, said. Surveys over the next few months are needed to understand how much coral has died.

"'I fear for the worst,' he said."

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/florida-s-record-breaking-sea-temperatures-are-forcing-coral-to-move-ashore/ar-AA1eBobC?ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=db377e9d989448b28fc54a44b522a0f0&ei=19

#Coral #OceanTemperatures #OceanHeating #ClimateGrief #CoralBleaching #Dieoff #Extinction #ExtremeHeat #WaterIsLife

We've reached the 'boiling seas' part of the #ClimateCrisis

Opinion by Hayes Brown, July 31, 2023

"July was the hottest month ever in recorded history, and we’re likewise seeing oceanic temperatures hit worrying highs around the world. Off the coast of #Florida, the water has hit 100ºF multiple times in last week, a temperature more suitable to hot tubs than the open sea. The unavoidable truth is that our oceans are warming faster than predicted, and it is beginning to feel like the hackneyed 'frog in a slowly boiling pot' analogy for climate change is more apt than ever.

"Things seem even more dire when you look at the other side of the #Atlantic. The #Mediterranean sea, already in the midst of its hottest July ever, last Monday broke the record for the hottest the sea has ever been, hitting 83.6º F. As Scottish meteorologist Scott Duncan noted, usually the maximum temperature in the area is in August, so the record could still be broken again.

"Meanwhile, the temperatures we’re seeing off Florida are a problem beyond the utter weirdness of the ocean feeling no more refreshing than standing in the sun. The rising heat is causing havoc on the ocean’s wildlife. Scientists on the Florida Keys are racing to save coral specimens taken from the third-largest coral reef on the planet and the only living barrier reef in the continental U.S. With the hottest part of summer likely still ahead, it’s not clear if the reef can handle that much sustained heat.

"And more broadly, warm waters are less able to hold onto dissolved oxygen, meaning that the more the sea temperature rises, the greater the chance we begin to see mass die-offs of fish and other sea creatures literally drowning. We’re already seeing the kelp forests that form the base of temperate coastal ecosystems dying off thanks to the temperature increases. And hotter waters in the Arctic and Antarctic will affect the ice melt rate and how much the sea level rises over the next decades."

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/we-ve-reached-the-boiling-seas-part-of-the-climate-crisis/ar-AA1eBt6k?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=5fa19fd7a1914c94bfd29dfe9db30434&ei=4

#Oceans #OceanTemperatures #ExtremeTemperatures #ClimateChange

#Florida is in hot water as #OceanTemperatures rise, threatening the state's #CoralReefs

WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7 | By Associated Press
Published July 11, 2023 at 10:28 AM EDT

"Record #global ocean heating has invaded Florida with a vengeance.

"Water temperatures in the mid-90s (mid-30s Celsius) are threatening delicate coral reefs, depriving swimmers of cooling dips and adding a bit more ick to the Sunshine State's already oppressive summer weather. Forecasters are warning of temperatures that with humidity will feel like 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius) by week's end.

"The #HeatDome that baked #Texas and #Mexico for much of the early summer has oozed its way to Florida with sunshine, little to no cooling clouds or rain, but humidity worsened by the hot oceans.

"If that's not enough, Florida is about to get a dose of #dust from Africa's #Saharan desert that's likely to hurt air quality."

Read more: https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/weather/2023-07-11/florida-hot-water-ocean-temperatures-rise-threatening-states-coral-reefs

#DustStorm #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #ClimateCatastrophe #WetBulb #AirQuality

@Radical_EgoCom @ElGriego
I assume you haven't seen the most recent graphics then.
#antarcticice #oceantemperatures ...
The incredible, gigantic extent of those changes can't be taken serious enough, yet they find no answer/reaction in media or politics at all.

Ecosystems are more fragil than one think.
Corals, for example, die off completely at a difference of "just" 2 degrees.
If let's say Krills die in masses #temperaturechange it will have a dominoeffect throughout the oceans bc they are the major base of a lot of foodchaines.

Of course we (personally) can try our best. But regarding the inaction and ignorance of most governments - it's to late for hope already (for us that is).

@MartinStendel@fediscience.

CNN June 20, 2023
“Richard Unsworth, an associate professor of biosciences at Swansea University in the UK and a founding director of Project-Seagrass, called the Atlantic heat wave “totally unprecedented.”…

“While we can’t in detail predict the intensity, duration and location of severe heating events such as the current marine heatwave, we know they’re increasingly likely to be more prevalent as our climate system collapses further,” Unsworth said.”

“As our climate system collapses further “ is one terrifying comment.
And still the fossil fuels pour into the atmosphere.
It’s time our free wheeling billionaires pay a (substantial) carbon tax for their destructive lifestyles.

#ClimateEmergency #OceanTemperatures #OceanHeatWave
#ElNino
#massextinction

Something bad is happening in the Atlantic Ocean.

Note, that the left plot is from the North Atlantic, while the right one is from Antarctica...

#SST #OceanTemperature #OceanTemperatures #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

Plots by
@ZLabe @EliotJacobson

🌊🌡️ The world's oceans are experiencing record-high temperatures, highlighting the urgency of addressing the climate crisis! 😔🌡️

🌍🌡️ Let's raise awareness about the impact of rising ocean temperatures on marine ecosystems and the need for immediate action to combat climate change! 🐠🌊

https://blog.rapusia.org/climate_crisis/2211/ocean-temperatures-have-reached-record-values/

#ClimateCrisis #OceanTemperatures #ProtectOurOceans 🌍🌡️🌊

Referenced link: https://phys.org/news/2023-06-ocean-temperatures-el-nio-blame.html
Discuss on https://discu.eu/q/https://phys.org/news/2023-06-ocean-temperatures-el-nio-blame.html

Originally posted by Phys.org / @physorg_com: http://nitter.platypush.tech/physorg_com/status/1668664534456840192#m

#Oceantemperatures are off the charts, and #ElNiño is only partly to blame https://phys.org/news/2023-06-ocean-temperatures-el-nio-blame.html

#ClimateDiary Keep on thinking of when Lauren in #ParableOfTheSower starts packing a backpack (with seeds etc), just in case they need to leave; and how she then tries to talk to her best friend about it, but this friend just can’t take it. Now in “unchartered territory” for #OceanTemperatures and the prospect of #ElNino kicking in already later this year, i do worry things might get pretty bad already this year; and have started to think (crazy i know!) about my own “backpack” packing 1/2