关岛有幸避免了今年预计的严重珊瑚白化

Vulnerable coral reefs on Guam have not experienced severe bleaching that was predicted for this year, in part because of stormy weather that reduced water temperatures, officials said.

官员们说，关岛脆弱的珊瑚礁并没有出现预计今年会出现的严重白化现象，部分原因是暴风雨天气导致海水温度下降。

The Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans said a mass coral bleaching event indicated by satellite measurements of sea surface temperatures did not occur, Pacific Daily News reported.

据《太平洋日报》报道，关岛统计和计划局表示，卫星测量海面温度显示，没有发生大规模珊瑚白化事件。

“We have so far been very lucky,” said Whitney Hoot, a coral reef resilience coordinator with the statistics and plans bureau.

“到目前为止，我们非常幸运。”统计和计划局珊瑚礁复原协调员惠特尼·霍特(Whitney Hoot)说。

The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch program indicated in July that the island would likely experience significant bleaching, which often precedes coral death.

美国国家海洋和大气管理局的珊瑚礁观察计划在7月份表示，该岛可能会经历严重的白化，而这种白化往往发生在珊瑚死亡之前。

Recent stormy weather including Super Typhoon Hagibis may have contributed to the coral’s survival through cloud cover that cooled surface water temperatures. Storms and wind are also likely to have exchanged hot water in shallow areas with cooler water from deeper areas, officials said.

最近的暴风雨天气，包括超级台风海贝，可能是通过云层冷却地表水温度，促成珊瑚存活的原因。官员们说，风暴和大风还可能使浅水地区的热水与较深地区的冷水发生交换。

Coral paling, which is the precursor to bleaching, has affected some corals, and the island is still under a bleaching warning, which is anticipated to remain for up to four weeks, Hoot said.

霍特表示，珊瑚变白是珊瑚白化的前兆，它已经影响到一些珊瑚，该岛仍处于白化警告中，预计将持续四周。