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CAPTAIN COOK, Hawaii (AP) – At the edge of an ancient lava flow where jagged black rocks join the Pacific, oversized little houses overlook the calm, blue waters of Papa Bay on Big Island in Hawaii – no tourists nor any hotel in sight. Here, one of the most abundant and dynamic coral reefs grows just below the surface.
Yet even this remote shoreline, far from the impacts of sunscreen, trampling feet and industrial sewage, is already showing the first signs of a catastrophic coral season in Hawaii.
Just four years after a major sea heat wave killed nearly half of the coast's coral, federal researchers predict a new wave of hot water will cause one of the region's worst coral bleaching. .
"In 2015, we reached temperatures we never recorded in Hawaii," said Jamison Gove, oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "What is really important – or alarming, probably more appropriate – about this event is that we have already followed the evolution of our current situation in 2015."
Researchers using hi-tech equipment to monitor Hawaii's reefs are seeing early signs of bleaching in Papa Bay and elsewhere caused by a a sea heat wave that pushed temperatures to record highs for months. The months of June, July and August have all experienced the warmest ocean temperatures ever recorded around the Hawaiian Islands. Until September, ocean temperatures are lower than those observed in 2015.
Forecasters expect the high temperatures in the North Pacific to continue injecting heat into Hawaiian waters until October.
"The temperatures have been hot for quite a long time," said Gove. "It's not just the temperature, but how long the ocean temperature stays warm."
Coral reefs are vital around the world because they are not only a habitat for fish – the base of the marine food chain – but also a food and medicine for humans. They also create an essential shoreline barrier that separates large ocean swells and protects densely populated shorelines from storm surges during hurricanes.
In Hawaii, reefs are also an important part of the economy: tourism is developing mainly through coral reefs that contribute to the creation and protection of iconic white sand beaches, offer snorkeling and diving sites and help to form waves that attract surfers from around the world.
Ocean temperatures are not uniformly warm across the state, noted Gove. Local wind patterns, currents and even features on the land can create hot spots in the water.
"There are things like two giant volcanoes on the big island blocking the prevailing trade winds," making the west coast of the island, where Papa Bay is located, one of the hottest parts of the island. State, said Gove. He said he expected a "serious" coral bleaching in these places.
"This is common, whitening 100% of most corals," said Gove. And many of these corals are still recovering from the bleaching of 2015, which means they're more susceptible to heat stress.
According to NOAA, the causes of the heat wave include the persistence of an atmospheric depression between Hawaii and Alaska, characterized by weak winds that could otherwise mix and cool surface waters across much of the North Pacific. The cause of this phenomenon is not clear: it could reflect the usual chaotic motion of the atmosphere, or could be linked to global warming and other effects of man-made climate change.
Beyond this event, ocean temperatures will continue to rise in the coming years, Gove said. "There is no doubt that global climate change is contributing to what we are going through," he said.
For corals, warm water is synonymous with stress, and prolonged stress kills these creatures and can leave reefs in shambles.
Bleaching occurs when stressed corals release algae that provide them with essential nutrients. This seaweed also gives color to the coral. Thus, when it is expelled, the coral becomes white.
According to Dr. Gove, researchers have a technological advantage for the surveillance and understanding of money laundering this year, data that could help save the reefs in the future.
"We are trying to track this event in real time via satellite, which is the first time in history," Gove said.
In the remote Papa Bay area, most of the corals have recovered from the 2015 bleaching event, but scientists fear they will not perform as well this time around.
"Almost every species we monitor is suffering from at least a little whitening," said Greg Asner, ecologist, director of the Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science at the University of Arizona State, after a dive into the bay at the beginning of the month.
Asner told Associated Press that sensors showed the bay was about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit above normal for this time of year.
It uses aircraft-based advanced imaging technology, satellite data, underwater sensors and information from to give state and federal researchers like Gove the information they need.
"What's really important here is that we take these measurements (under water), connect them to our aircraft data and then connect them to the satellite data," he said. Asner. "It allows us to zoom in to see the big picture in order to get the truth about what's going on here."
Scientists will use this information to research, among other things, why some species of corals are more resistant to heat stress. Some of the latest research suggests that a slow exposure of coral to heat in the labs can condition them to withstand hotter water in the future.
"Once the heat wave is over, we will have a good map to plan restoration efforts," Asner said.
Meanwhile, Hawaii residents, such as Cindi Punihaole Kennedy, are helping to educate tourists. Punihaole Kennedy is the director of the Kahalu'u Bay Education Center, a non-profit organization created to help protect Kahalu'u Bay, a popular snorkeling site near the Big Island tourist center, Kailua-Kona .
The bay and the surrounding beach park are home to more than 400,000 visitors a year, she said.
"We share with them what to do and what not to do when they enter the bay," she said. "For example, avoid walking on the corals or feeding the fish."
The bleaching and death of corals was widespread in the region in 2015.
"It was devastating for us to not be able to do anything," said Punihaole Kennedy. "We just watch the corals die."
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