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> The first signs of increased stress were detected in January

> We detected the first signs of increased stress to the Great Barrier Reef when sea temperatures rose to unusually high levels during January 2002. Through a collaborative program with AIMS, Reef CRC and NOAA, GBRMPA closely monitored sea surface temperatures through a combination of remote sensing from earth-orbiting satellites and local monitoring with weather stations on the reef. The satellite monitoring provided a broad-scale picture of sea surface temperatures over the entire GBR, while the weather stations provided detailed, real-time information on temperatures on the reef flat and reef slope at a small number of fixed reef locations.

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> NOAA’s HotSpot program was used to track stressful conditions on the reef

> The satellite temperature data form the basis for NOAA’s HotSpot monitoring program, which we used to track the development of stressful conditions in the form of temperature anomalies (sea surface temperatures higher than long term seasonal averages). The rapid warming of waters over the Great Barrier Reef in two “h ot spells?can be readily seen in the HotSpot animation. These two periods of exceptionally warm water were interspersed with a cooler period lasting approximately two weeks, coinciding with a spate of increased cloud cover and rain.

> Weather stations on the reef provided detailed, real-time temperature data

> The AIMS/GBRMPA sea temperature monitoring program provided real-time updates of actual sea temperatures at key reef sites. Hourly data were transmitted from weather stations on the reef to GBRMPA and AIMS offices via satellite link. At several locations, temperatures quickly rose 1.5-2°C above the long term seasonal average, exceeding those recorded during the bleaching event of 1998. The two “h ot spells?of exceptionally warm weather, interspersed with a cooler period, can also be seen in the temperature graphs for Agincourt Reef and Cleveland Bay.

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