The ambitious network aims to provide a global picture of the health of
coral reefs, both for research purposes and as an "early warning system"
when coral reefs are threatened. Already active in the Bahamas, it uses
underwater sensors that gather water temperature and other data and beam
it to satellites. That data is then linked to a network that allows for
real-time monitoring of reefs worldwide.

"The purpose of the sensors is to study how global warming affects
corals and to know what to watch for," said Keryea Soong, a coral expert
at National Sun Yat-sen University's Institute of Marine Biology in the
southern port city of Kaohsiung. "We can design experiments to better
understand 'bleaching.' Satellites can give you a picture of a wider
area, but with the sensors, we can know the temperatures on a much
smaller scale, such as in Kenting."

Bleaching, one of the key threats to coral reefs, occurs when coral
loses its symbiotic algae due to stresses such as high water
temperatures. That removes reefs' coloration and their main source of
nutrients.

When the monitoring network's sensors show a reef under threat,
scientists and Kenting National Park officials will be able to take
immediate steps - for example, temporarily banning water activities such
as snorkeling or boating in the area.

"The whole world is worried about the health of coral reefs," said Shih
Chin-fang, former director of Kenting National Park, in an interview.
"So a group of experts is working very hard all over the world to link
up this monitoring system to the Internet."

Ultimately, those are stopgap measures, which do not address the
long-term threat to Earth's coral reefs posed by global warming. Edmunds
worries that Kenting's reefs, while appearing tough, may just be
"lagging" deteriorating reefs elsewhere - and that their decline is
"just around the corner."

Said Edmunds: "I've seen similar effects in the Caribbean - one reef
that was doing great for 20 years, while others around it were
declining, in 2005 suddenly started to die off at an alarming rate."

For now, he and other scientists are hoping that Kenting's reefs really
are exceptional. And soon they hope to know why.

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To quote the immortal Red Green: "Keep your stick on the ice."
Ross Mayhew,
http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com/

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