Ocean Temperatures Threaten , to Eliminate Caribbean Coral.<br />The Caribbean Sea is experiencing an <br />episode of coral bleaching that may be <br />the region's worst ever, scientists say.<br />Unusually warm waters are to blame, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).<br />The issue could cause a mass "die-off of <br />corals in the area," NBC News reports. .<br />The current predicament follows one of the worst-ever bleaching events near Florida.<br />Florida is just the tip of <br />the iceberg. The entire <br />Caribbean right now is bleaching. , Derek Manzello, the coordinator of NOAA’s <br />Coral Reef Watch Program, via statement.<br />If you picked a random spot <br />on the map in the Caribbean <br />and jumped in the water, you’re <br />going to see bleached corals, Derek Manzello, the coordinator of NOAA’s <br />Coral Reef Watch Program, via statement.<br />Phanor Montoya-Maya, a marine biologist <br />at the Coral Restoration Foundation, .<br />said that this year's heat waves were so intense that <br />some corals didn't even have time to react. .<br />On those occasions where <br />the temperature went up so quickly, <br />they didn’t even have time to bleach. <br />They were burned to death, Phanor Montoya-Maya, a marine biologist <br />at the Coral Restoration Foundation, via statement.<br />However, experts say that the issue in the <br />Caribbean isn't as bad as the Florida area yet.<br />There’s not much worse than the <br />death of these important species, <br />but at the same time, I have been <br />truly surprised that we have not <br />seen more destruction as of yet, Ian Enochs, a research ecologist at NOAA’s Atlantic <br />Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, via statement.<br />There’s been a whole bunch of mortality <br />and death, but we have seen some recovery <br />as water temperatures have dropped down. <br />And that, to me, it means that in the face <br />of all of this, there’s still hope, Ian Enochs, a research ecologist at NOAA’s Atlantic <br />Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, via statement
