e360 digest

20 Jan 2011: Reef Dive Sites in Thailand
Closed After Damage from Coral Bleaching

Authorities in Thailand are closing dozens of popular diving sites in the Andaman Sea after extremely high ocean temperatures caused widespread bleaching of coral reefs. More than half of Thailand’s 38,000 acres of coral reefs are suffering from bleaching, threatening the economy of one of the world’s top diving and beach resort regions. The diving prohibition is designed to prevent further damage to the reefs, which can die or become severely damaged when persistently high temperatures destroy or expel the single-cell algae that live within coral tissue and give it its brown color. Coral reefs in many parts of Southeast Asia have suffered from coral bleaching as ocean temperatures in the region continue to rise. Last April and May, sea surface temperatures in the Andaman Sea rose to 93 degrees F (34 C), which is 7 degrees F above the long-term average. Thai authorities said that diving sites where coral bleaching had spread to 80 percent of the reefs would be closed indefinitely. Many of the reefs are located in national parks.

Yale Environment 360 is
a publication of the
Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies.

SEARCH e360

CONNECT

Twitter: YaleE360
e360 on Facebook
Donate to e360
View mobile site
Bookmark
Share e360
Email newsletter
Subscribe to our feed:

ABOUT

About e360
Contact
Submission Guidelines
Reprints

e360 VIDEO

The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video that chronicles the story of a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant, was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Watch the video.

DEPARTMENTS

Opinion
Reports
Analysis
Interviews
e360 Digest
Video Reports

TOPICS

Biodiversity
Business & Innovation
Climate
Energy
Forests
Oceans
Policy & Politics
Pollution & Health
Science & Technology
Sustainability
Urbanization
Water

REGIONS

Antarctica and the Arctic
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central & South America
Europe
Middle East
North America

e360 VIDEO REPORT

As temperatures rise and water supplies dry up, tribes in East Africa increasingly are coming into conflict. A Yale Environment 360 video reports on a phenomenon that could become more common: how worsening drought will pit groups — and nations — against one another. Watch the video.

e360 MOBILE

The latest
from Yale
Environment 360 is now available for mobile devices at e360.yale.edu/mobile.



Top Image: aerial view of Iceland. © Google & TerraMetrics.

e360 VIDEO REPORT

Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining, an e360 video examining the environmental and human impacts of this mining practice, won the award for best video in the 2010 National Magazine Awards for Digital Media. Watch the video.

OF INTEREST