About Us

For more than 20 years, NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW) has been using remote sensing, modeled, and in situ data to operate a decision support system to help resource managers, scientific researchers, decision makers, in-water monitoring networks, and other stakeholders around the world prepare for and respond to coral reef ecosystem stressors, predominantly resulting from climate change and warming of the Earth's oceans.

Offering the world's only global early-warning system of coral reef ecosystem environmental changes, NOAA CRW remotely monitors conditions that can cause coral bleaching, disease, and death; delivers information and early warnings in near real-time to our extensive and diverse user community; and uses operational climate forecasts to provide outlooks of stressful environmental conditions on coral reefs worldwide. CRW products are primarily sea surface temperature (SST)-based but also incorporate light and ocean color, among other variables.



Meet the NOAA Coral Reef Watch Team

  • Derek Manzello, Ph.D.
  • Jacqueline De La Cour, M.S.
  • Gang Liu, Ph.D.
  • Erick Geiger, M.S.
  • William Skirving, Ph.D.
  • Blake Spady, Ph.D.
  • Andrew Norrie



  • Publications

  • Access and download our publications.



  • NOAA Coral Reef Watch Graphic Identifier

  • Please follow these instructions for proper use.



  • Coral Reefs and Climate Change

    Coral reefs are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. They support essential coastal fisheries and local tourism, protect coasts from erosion and tropical storms, and are a source of potential pharmaceuticals. Sustained, high water temperatures, in conjunction with other natural and human-based stressors, may cause coral bleaching, including mass coral bleaching that spans tens, hundreds, or even thousands of kilometers, to become an annual event in most oceans. This could lead to a rapid decline in the health of coral reefs worldwide.

    Corals are very sensitive to stress caused by elevated water temperatures, bright sunny days, and calm water. Corals respond to stressful temperatures by expelling the symbiotic algae that live within their tissues and provide most of their food and characteristic colors. While corals can recover from short-term, minor stress, they can starve and die if stressful conditions continue for weeks or months. Coral bleaching has become much more severe and frequent in recent decades as ocean temperatures have risen. For more information on coral bleaching, click here.



    Grab-and-go documents about NOAA Coral Reef Watch

  • Educational trifold brochure (last updated: August 2022)
  • How do users apply the NOAA Coral Reef Watch decision support products for coral reef management?


  • 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.)



    More about NOAA's coral reef activities

    While CRW sits within the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR), it is part of a larger effort that brings together expertise from across the NOAA Line Offices for a multidisciplinary approach to understanding and conserving coral reef ecosystems. For more information on NOAA's broader matrix of coral reef activities, please visit the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) website.

    NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program graphic identifier



  • E-mail the Coral Reef Watch Coordinator
  • E-mail the Webmaster



  • NOAA/NESDIS and NOAA/NOS Coral-related Media and Communications contacts

    John Leslie
    NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
    e-mail: John.Leslie@noaa.gov
    telephone: 301-713-0214

    John Bateman
    NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
    e-mail: John.Jones-Bateman@noaa.gov
    telephone: 301-713-9604

    Jennie Lyons
    NOAA's National Ocean Service
    e-mail: Jennie.Lyons@noaa.gov
    telephone: 301-713-3066

    Caroline Donovan
    NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program Communications Director
    e-mail: Caroline.Donovan@noaa.gov
    telephone: 240-410-3416