Assessment of Bleaching Stress Vulnerability of Lakshadweep Islands using Google Earth Engine (GEE)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58825/jog.2024.18.2.135Keywords:
Coral bleaching, SSTA, Degree heating week, Google earth engine, LakshadweepAbstract
Coral reefs, among the Earth’s most diverse and valuable ecosystems, face unprecedented challenges due to climate change. Coral bleaching is a phenomenon wherein corals lose their symbiotic zooxanthellae owing to various stressors, leading to a whitening effect of the coral tissues. In recent decades, climate change has intensified coral bleaching events. Multiple stressors, including elevated Sea Surface Temperature (SST), extreme irradiance levels, and various biotic and abiotic factors trigger bleaching events. Coral bleaching is primarily driven by thermal stress caused by elevated SSTs. Climate change has worsened bleaching’s frequency and intensity. Global bleaching events are often linked to planetary ocean-atmospheric circulation processes such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD).
This study focused on assessing the vulnerability of coral reefs in the Lakshadweep region of India from 2016 to 2023 using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Data Record Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (NOAA CDR OISST) daily data. GOOGLE EARTH ENGINE (GEE) is a cloud computing platform which is used to collect and generate the base data for this study. The vulnerability assessment utilized two bleaching indices: SST anomaly and Degree Heating Week (DHW). Analysis of DHW data reveals that 2020 experienced the highest SST anomaly residence time due to IOD event of 2019, as compared to 2016 and 2023 which are known El Niño years. All Lakshadweep islands exhibited vulnerability, although in varying degrees across different areas. Based on the magnitude, intensity, and frequency of bleaching stress, the islands are categorized into different categories of vulnerability. This study identifies Baliyapaniyam, Cheriyam-Kalpeni and Suhelipar reefs as very highly vulnerable reefs in Lakshadweep. This study highlights the urgent need for monitoring and management measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change on coral reef ecosystems using spatial vulnerability patterns.
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