TWARS (This Week at Reef Seekers) - August 11-18, 2024

[Ken Kurtis]

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Heat, Bleached reefs, Sea Lion photogs, and more (please scroll down for details)​

It was hot at Dodger Stadium on Sunday . . . BUT NOT AS HOT AS LAS VEGAS ON SATURDAY - I was in Vegas Saturday for Jim Cooper's Celebration of Life. My phone said it was 108º the entire day no matter where we were. (The overnight low was 89º.) So when we sit here in L.A. complaining about how hot it is - and I'm certainly guilty - it could be worse. And if climate change continues on its current path, we might just start getting Vegas temps here in La-La-Land. JIM'S SERVICE - It was live-streamed from his church. 90 minutes tota. If you'd like to watch (you can skip in and out), it's on their website on-line. My 11-minute remarks about Jim start 33 minutes in. Here's the link: https://ferventlv.org/sermons/jim-cooper-memorial-service/ START THINKING ABOUT EASTER ISLAND - I hope to finalize next year's travel offerings later this week but am leaning heavily towards Easter Island (our third time there) in either February or March. I need to confirm with both our tour guide (Josie) and the dive shop (Orca) what their respective availabilities are to pick the best possible time for us. The amazing thing is that, given the distance traveled, we can do this with only two plane flights from LAX. First stop is Santiago, Chile, and then the second stop is the airport on Easter Island (which is also part of Chile). Fun fact about the airport: Airport runways are generally going to be around 6,000-8,00 feet long. The runway at Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is almost 11,000 feet long because it was designated as a possible emergency landing site when we were launching Space Shuttles. CORAL BLEACHING - You hear a lot of talk about global warming, climate change, and the like. I know some of you still poo-poo it and think it's not that big a deal. But maybe you've never seen a bleached reef. And while it may be possible for a bleached reef to recover, that depends on a lot of variables that include whether the rise in water temps - and it doesn't take much - is temporary or permanent. I came across an article that was talking about the heat assault on Florida's coral reefs - water temps there last year were above 90º and occasionally exceeded 100º - and what steps they were trying to take to help restore those reefs. But it contained a rather dire image of a bleached coral reef and if this doesn't get your attention, I don't know what will. (Photo credit to Katey Lesneski of NOAA.)​

GREAT BARRIER REEF TEMPS ARE HIGH - On the other side of the world, there's also concern about rising water temps. This time it's on the Great Barrier Reef. In a paper published last week, researchers reviewed historical data and found that ocean temps along the GBR in the last decade are the highest they've been in 400 years. (For those who argue global warming is cyclical as opposed to man-made, this fact may pop that balloon.) You can read more about the study here: GREAT BARRIER REEF TEMPS. LA NIÑA??? - Interestingly - and this is why some people feel these things are cyclical instead of man-made - there's a prediction of a La Niña this year for SoCal starting late this summer. La Niña is when water temps are lower than normal and usually also results in a less-wet rainy season. Go figure. SEA LION PHOTOGS - What happens when you strap a camera to a sea lion? You get interesting footage. Some Australian researchers did just that and published their findings. You can get a glimpse of what it looked like in this link, which includes another link to the actual paper with details and more footage: SEA LIONS WITH CAMERAS. And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!! - Ken​