=========================  Bleaching Report  ===========================


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****************  Bleaching in the Marshall Islands ********************
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Report from:  Silvia Pinca and Dean Jacobson
              College of the Marshall Islands

Date:         3 November 2002

"We now witnessed at least two bleaching events (a third one is probably 
happening now) off the shores of Majuro atoll (7 degree N), both lagoon 
and ocean side, attacking Acroporas (at least cerealis and robusta and
maybe nana) on the reef shelf. These corals are briefly exposed at low 
tide (new moon) when we experienced very high atmospheric temperatures 
coincident with lack of trade winds."

"The corals that bleached in September are now dead and covered with a 
green film of algae." 

"Some of the recently bleached ones are sometimes (vulnerable to 
breaking) down into pieces." 

"Evidence of bleaching in another atoll (Jaluit, southwest of Majuro) 
(may indicate that) this is a spread out event."

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NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Project
NOAA/NESDIS

19 November 2002