PPT Slide

Temperature anomalies, March 1998

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• In 1998 one of the largest El Niņo events ever recorded took place.
• Different El Nino events have different impacts over space and time, but this particular event produced a massive sweep of warm water which lay across the Indian Ocean
• This map shows a single image of sea surface temperature anomalies (March 24, 1998) showing the early stages of the pulse of warm water. Yellow areas are ɭ°C above the normal maxima.
• Temperatures of only 1-2°C above the normal maximum for just a few days are sufficient to force corals to bleach. Continued high temperatures for 3 weeks or more can lead to mass mortalities.