USGS collaborates with National Park Service to study threatened coral reefs in American Samoa
USGS scientists from the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center and the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center are cooperating with the National Park Service to better understand links between coastal groundwater and coral reef health on the island of Ofu in the National Park of American Samoa (NPSA).
These corals are exceptionally tolerant to high ocean temperatures—a problem associated with global climate change—and could be a valuable source of thermally tolerant coral types. But an outbreak of Valonia fastigiata algae is outcompeting the corals, threatening to change coral-dominated reefs into algae barrens. Excess nutrients from fertilizer, wastewater, and other human sources might be fueling the algae growth. USGS scientists are conducting fieldwork on Ofu in late January and early February to study the chemistry of the corals and coastal groundwater and to measure physical factors such as waves, currents, and seepage of groundwater into nearshore seawater and onto the reef.
Learn more about the USGS Coral Reef Project.
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