Measurements of the local energy balance over a coral reef flat, Heron Island, southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Type of content
Journal Article
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
English
Date
2010
Authors
McGowan HA
Sturman AP
Wiebe AH
Neil DT
MacKellar MC
Abstract

Coral reefs are thought to face significant threat from global warming due to increased water temperatures and ocean acidity. However, research into the surface energy balance of coral reefs and their associated micrometeorology is rare. Here we present, through a case study approach, the first direct in situ measurements of the surface energy balance of Heron Reef, a small platform coral reef in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Surface energy exchanges were measured using the eddy covariance method and show that during winter and spring an estimated 80-98% of net radiation goes into heating of the water overlaying the reef and reef substrate. As a result, cloud cover is considered the dominant control on heating of the reef flat environment. Change in cloud cover may therefore significantly affect the thermal environment of coral reefs and their ecology. Sensible and latent heat fluxes reached their highest values during wintertime advection of dry and cool continental air blowing from mainland Australia. This resulted in a net loss of energy from the reef flat and a decreasing trend in water temperature. Turbulent fluxes otherwise remained small, with sensible heat flux often close to zero. Results indicate that coral reefs may act as heat sinks during winter and as heat sources during spring, thereby affecting local water and atmosphere heat budgets and associated thermodynamics. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.

Description
Citation
McGowan HA, Sturman AP, Mackellar MC, Wiebe AH, Neil DT (2010). Measurements of the local energy balance over a coral reef flat, Heron Island, southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres. 115(D19124).
Keywords
Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences, GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY, EDDY-COVARIANCE METHOD, BLEACHING EVENTS, LAKE EVAPORATION, FLUX, WEATHER, BUDGET, CLIMATOLOGY, PACIFIC, CLOSURE, LATENT
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Field of Research::05 - Environmental Sciences::0501 - Ecological Applications::050101 - Ecological Impacts of Climate Change
Field of Research::04 - Earth Sciences::0401 - Atmospheric Sciences::040104 - Climate Change Processes
Fields of Research::37 - Earth sciences::3701 - Atmospheric sciences::370108 - Meteorology
Fields of Research::31 - Biological sciences::3103 - Ecology::310305 - Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)
Fields of Research::37 - Earth sciences::3708 - Oceanography::370801 - Biological oceanography
Rights