NOAA Coral Reef Watch Homepage and Near Real-Time Products Portal

NOAA Coral Reef Watch Homepage and Near Real-Time Products Portal
NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program
DOC
NOAA
NESDIS
STAR
CRW
USCRTF
CRCP
NCRMP
CoRIS
Coral Reef Watch Home
Products List
Near-Real-Time Data
(5km Resolution)
Bleaching Alert Area (Alerts)
Degree Heating Week (DHW)
HotSpot
SST (
CoralTemp
SST Anomaly
SST Trend (7-day)
Regional Virtual Stations
Composite Products (5km Resolution)
Next-Generation Experimental Products
Datasets
Data Files
Google Earth
Publications
Cite CRW Data & Products
5km Products Methodology
Bleaching Stress Updates & Analyses
Research Activities
Retired Heritage Products (50km)
Outreach/Education
5km Products Tutorial
Report Bleaching
Coral Reef Watch Satellite Monitoring and Modeled Outlooks
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Announcements
November 2025
New Coral Reef Watch paper in
Science
Heat-driven functional extinction of Caribbean
Acropora
corals from Florida’s Coral Reef
March 2025
NEW RELEASE:
Single-pixel satellite Virtual Stations for Flower Garden Banks.
February 2025
NEW RELEASE:
Single-pixel satellite Virtual Stations for the CNMI
Saipan, Tinian, and Aquijan
Rota).
November 2024
NEW RELEASE:
Single-pixel satellite Virtual Stations for Guam.
April 15, 2024
NOAA Confirms 4th Global Coral Bleaching Event
March 14, 2024
NOAA Coral Reef Watch featured in
NESDIS Impacts Briefings
March 6, 2024
NEW RELEASE:
Single-pixel satellite Virtual Stations for the Samoas
December 15, 2023
PRODUCT UPDATE
: NOAA Coral Reef Watch's
Bleaching Alert Area product
now features Bleaching Alert Levels 1-5. New Alert Levels (3-5) provide important, added detail, for when extreme marine heat stress
exceeds Alert Level 2 conditions.
December 7, 2023
New NOAA Coral Reef Watch paper in
Science
Coral reefs in peril in a record-breaking year
NOAA press release
about the paper.)
Past Announcements
Coral reefs
are one of Earth's most diverse ecosystems. They provide
significant
ecological, economic, and societal benefits
valued, globally, at about USD$9.8 trillion each year
de Groot
et al
2012
Costanza
et al
2014
).
Unfortunately, reefs worldwide are threatened by an increasing array of impacts, primarily from
bleaching heat stress
unsustainable fishing practices
and
land-based pollution
First observed in the early 1980s, mass
coral bleaching
(whereby corals bleach over a wide area that can span tens, hundreds,
or even thousands of kilometers) has become one of the most visible and damaging marine
ecological impacts of persistently rising ocean temperatures. Bleaching is the process by
which corals lose the symbiotic algae that give them their distinctive colors and main
energy sources. If a coral is severely bleached,
disease
and death become likely. Severe coral bleaching has become
more extensive, frequent, and intense. This can be seen in the acceleration of heat
stress events that cause mass bleaching, and in new multi-decadal bleaching observation
datasets. As manifested by the devastating
2014-2017 global coral bleaching event
(now considered the
longest, most widespread and most damaging coral bleaching event on record
),
mass bleaching events around the globe are often lasting many months; are becoming an
annual event; and are impacting coral reefs that never bleached before. It's clear that
remotely monitoring coral reefs and providing actionable intelligence are critical for
early detection, on-the-ground response, communication, and enhancing coral reef resilience.
To address a defined need of coral reef managers around the world, NOAA established the Coral
Reef Watch (CRW) program in 2000. For more than 20 years, NOAA CRW has utilized remote sensing,
modeled and in-situ data to predict, observe, and alert users globally to threats to the coral
reef environment. The
near real-time satellite products
and
modeled Outlooks
that
comprise CRW's global early-warning system of coral reef environmental changes have successfully
and accurately predicted and monitored all major mass coral bleaching events observed globally
since 1997, and have provided other critical information to users, especially during periods of
severe ocean heat stress.
NOAA CRW serves all coral reef ecosystem managers with custodial duties for tropical coral reefs;
in-water coral reef monitoring networks; the private sector (including scuba diving operators);
scientific researchers at universities and research organizations; educators; students; and the
public. An extensive and diverse community of users regularly apply NOAA CRW's modeled
predictions and near real-time satellite-based heat stress products to support conservation,
restoration, and resilience-based research and management projects that aim to protect and/or
restore coral reefs.
Users apply NOAA CRW products to monitor and predict detrimental impacts to coral reefs
worldwide; understand links between environmental conditions and ecosystem impacts; assess
when reefs are vulnerable or resilient to warming ocean and its impacts (especially coral
bleaching and disease); and prepare and prioritize resources to implement timely, effective
protective responses and adaptation actions, thereby improving coral reef management
and regulation. Coral bleaching response plans, incident action plans, and restoration plans
around the world rely on NOAA CRW's
Bleaching Alert Levels
(recently expanded, in December 2023, to include
Bleaching Alert Levels 3-5, in response to the extreme marine heatwaves of 2023), to
assist with or help guide planning and implementation of work by in-water monitoring and
management networks, including in emergency situations. In response to CRW's modeled predictions,
satellite products, early warnings, and frequent communications, users have reduced local
stressors during periods of high ocean heat stress and extreme marine heatwaves, including
by closing major scuba diving and fishing areas. They also have rescued rare corals;
shaded/cooled key nursery reefs; and conducted emergency, in-water operations to remove
corals from local reefs and nearshore nurseries and house them, temporarily, in offshore
and land-based nurseries. In times of low or no marine heat stress, users also apply CRW
products to identify appropriate locations for, and then implement, conservation and
restoration initiatives, to give transplanted corals or corals grown in-situ the best
chance at survival. Learn more about the impacts of NOAA CRW's work
here
NOAA CRW is uniquely qualified to provide essential environmental intelligence. Its
extensive partnership network with data providers, scientists, and coral reef
managers allows CRW to leverage key partner efforts in the U.S. and internationally, to
undertake research to develop the best possible products for its users, and to better
understand how stakeholders use its tools. CRW works closely with its users and partners
throughout product conceptualization, research, development, implementation,
testing/enhancement, and operationalization. CRW provides training domestically and
internationally in appropriate product use/application and to garner feedback to improve
management tools. This allows NOAA to provide a better understanding of environmental
threats to coral reefs and establishes sound practices for the use of CRW's information
to enhance resilience-based coral reef management.
CRW sits within the
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)
Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR)
, and is
a part of the NOAA
Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)
matrix.
CRW's satellite products are a key component of NOAA's monitoring efforts for
coral reef ecosystems, including the
National Coral Reef Monitoring Program
Click
here
for a brief history of the early years (1997-2007) of the NOAA CRW program. (Note that this is a PDF of the
story that was originally featured on the "NOAA Celebrates 200 Years of Science, Service, and Stewardship" website.
That archival website is currently offline and unavailable.)
How to cite these products and methods
Disclaimer
Information Quality
Accessibility Policy
Customer Survey
Owner:
NOAA Coral Reef Watch