Warmer than average seas continue to dominate Australian tropical waters. Here are two important datasets we need to keep our eye on as we go into summer.  The first shows positive anomalies (“HotSpot“) in sea surface temperature (SST) measured by NOAA satellites.  Basically anything over + 1°C to more than four weeks is likely to be accompanied by mass coral bleaching.  A formal translation of the SST anomalies into bleaching risk provided by Coral Reef Watch is contained in the second figure.  Both these datasets will provide important information as we go into this extremely unusual summer.