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Originally Posted by Chi-Town
Bad news for the coral reefs.
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That's one I do a fair bit of pondering about. Had a gap of many years between dives in the Keys and was shocked at the pitiful condition of the corals when I returned a couple of years ago. Have since learned that the die-off is due to some kind of bacteria (or pathogen of some type), but which kind has yet to be figured out.
We first lived in Pompano Beach after retirement so that I could shore dive from our condo. Between about Deerfield Beach and Fort Lauderdale there is reef running parallel to the shoreline starting as little as 100 yards off shore and in water as shallow as 11 feet. Comfy water temps of 85-86° in the summer months allows diving without neoprene. But, last summer I noticed that the temp rose to 87° (part of your dive computer info) for a short stretch and much of the coral soon suddenly bleached white. Interestingly, it all completely recovered in fairly short order. Haven't heard what's happening this summer, but I guess lobster mini-season is currently underway. Tiring of eating lobster is partly why we're here. :-)
My main ponderage, though, is whether the extent of coral reef growth will simply move north as ocean temperatures rise. Maybe folks won't have to drive as far for a dive vacation, eh?