NOAA's Coral Reef Watch program from satellite observations

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. The NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW) program uses near-real-time satellite measurements of sea surface temperature (SST) to monitor thermal stress of the coral reefs. These data provide up-to-date measurements pinpointing areas that are currently at risk for thermally induced coral bleaching. All of CRW's products can be accessed through CRW's Web portal at http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov. Ongoing examination of tropical SSTs reveal regionally diverse but changing SST patterns and trends. In 2005 and 2010, two record-breaking thermal stress events occurred throughout much of the eastern Caribbean With global satellite SSTs spanning more than two decades, we now have sufficient data to examine global-and basin-scale trends. The development and production of these CRW products takes place within National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). Introduction The United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began producing sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from satellite data in 1972. Since that time, monitoring SST from earth-orbiting infrared radiometers has had a wide impact on oceanographic science and marine ecosystem management. One of the principal sources of satellite infrared data for SST measurement is the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), which has been carried on NOAA's Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites since 1978. Typically two of these satellites provide data operationally at a time. AVHRR is a broad-band, four-or five-channel (depending on the model) scanner, sensing in the visible, near-infrared, and thermal infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum The Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites system offers the advantage of daily global coverage from each satellite, by making near-polar orbits roughly 14 times every 24 hours. In situ SSTs from buoys (drifting and moored) are used operationally to maintain satellite-derived SST accuracy by removing biases and compiling statistics with