Satellites & Bleaching Bleaching HotSpots

This chart shows an Eastern Hemisphere example of our HotSpot product. Click the image for more information and a view of the latest global data.

The Coral Reef Watch HotSpot maps highlight those areas around the world where sea surface temperatures are above the maximum monthly mean (MMM).

All white areas are at or below the MMM temperature. Light purple means that the temperature is above the MMM, but still below the bleaching threshold. Yellow to red regions are above the bleaching threshold (HotSpot = 1°C), and corals in those areas are experiencing thermal stress. The values show the number of degrees Celsius above the maximum monthly mean. On the Coral Reef Watch website, you can also find animations of the HotSpot data for the past 2 to 6 months.

You can also see this HotSpot information for the virtual station sites, using the time-series graphs. There is a bleaching HotSpot any time the SST goes above the MMM (dashed light-blue line). That area is highlighted in light orange below:

These HotSpot concepts were developed based on earlier work by Goreau & Hayes (1994) and Montgomery & Strong (1995).

Try our hands-on HotSpot exercises to learn more about this product.

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