Coral ReefsExpedition Earth and

Beyond

Core D

Experiment Design

Refined Question:How does water temperature affect the appearance

of coral reefs near Madagascar and the Great Barrier Reef, and are these changes visible from space?

Preliminary Question:How does water temperature affect the appearance of coral reefs over time, and can we see those changes from space?

Hypothesis:The impact of ocean surface temperature changes on coral reefs cannot be determined from astronaut photography.

We are working with NASA through the Expedition Earth and Beyond program. Some of the facts are important and very much needed, such as that there are four types of reefs: strikes, barrier, fringing, and atolls. An atoll beings 50 ft below the water, a barrier is at water level, fringing just above water level, and strike rises 50 ft or more into the air. Coral reefs have been evolving for 500 million years. Coral reefs don't have brains. One person wrote that coral reefs are animals related to jellyfish and anemones. An important fact is that they live in ocean water temperatures between 18 degrees C - 29 degrees C. Knowing this would be crucial so we know where to look for reefs. Another interesting fact that one student discovered is that climate changes kill coral on a widespread base. We also learned that the phylum that they belong to is Cnidaria. The last fact that I find crucial to this search is that coral reefs are the second most susceptible animal to virus and disease.

Coral Reefs and Their Importance

Coral Reef off the Coast of Madagascar

The Great Barrier Reef

Analyzing Data 1) Specific observations we made in the previous section that

directly relate to our question: Found more images for Great Barrier Reef than Madagascar More temperature data for Great Barrier Reef Ocean surface temperatures aren’t the only thing that affect

coral reefs Many of the changes that have taken place aren’t really visible

from space

2) Our interpretation of what those observations mean: There is much more information in general on the Great Barrier

Reef than on Madagascar

3) Supporting evidence that directly supports our interpretation: We found three charts on temperatures for GBR but none on

Madagascar

Our Hypothesis that we stated is, according to our data, correct. We found this out by reviewing astronaut photography over periods of time. We examined the areas of Madagascar and the Great Barrier Reef. Now we know that the major changes visible from space will take a much longer time span to appear than we are allowed.

Conclusion

Core D Work-team

ValerieEthenLaurenNathanKaylieSavannahVincent

DevanneEmilyDallasTiffanyMercedesTrentEricaSara

AnnieMasonKaylaDerekSamiTitusMeganLouis

Writers: Paige, Whitney, Natalie

We would like to thank our mentor, Paige Graff. She is the director of the Expedition Earth and Beyond. We learned a lot about

coral reefs and researching in general from her. We would also like to thank our

teacher Mr. McCollum.

THANKS!!

Thank you both SO much!