Chlorophyll Concentration Shows Oceanographic Patterns in Great Barrier Reef
Visualizations by
Lori Perkins
Released on March 17, 2005
Coral bleaching may be one of the greatest threats to the Great Barrier Reef. Coral bleaching is a stress response that often occurs when the surrounding waters become too warm for the corals. In the stressful situation, the corals expel their brownish zooxanthellae and lose their color. Zooxanthellae are unicellular yellow-brown algae that make it possible for the corals to grow and reproduce quickly enough to create reefs. Without the zooxanthellae, the coral cannot obtain sufficient nourishment. If conditions remain difficult, the corals may die. Major coral bleaching incidents on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998 and 2002 led to widespread death of corals in some areas. Researchers in the Barrier reef of Australia are using NASA's resources to help identify troubled coral.
GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation:
Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0