Monthly average temperatures and thermal regimes

Monthly average temperatures for the warmest month of the year(SST) in Belize, based on ESA AATSR data from 1991-2008. This allows the upper thermal tolerance threshold for corals to be estimated.

This data can be used together with acute measures of stress to categorise reefs and produce thermal regimes that identify reef’s susceptibility to bleaching. In the thermal regime figure, 'A' sites experience high chronic, but low acute thermal stress (predicted to fare better under climate change), 'B' sites experience both high chronic and high acute stress, 'C' sites experience low chronic and low acute stress, 'D' sites experience low chronic and high acute stress (1985-2005, 4 km AVHRR pathfinder data).