As reported by Caribbean Compass.

Wondering about those large yellow buoys which are popping up around the Caribbean? They are part of the Caribbean Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS); an important part of monitoring how climate change may be impacting the coral reefs in the Caribbean. Having this early warning system will help improve planning, management, and action when it comes to climate change and especially coral bleaching.

As Climate Change intensifies, increasing ocean acidification and thermal stress affects coral reefs and leads to coral bleaching. It is therefore critical to monitor the various parameters that impact the coral reefs in the Caribbean. Strong Climate Change Early Warning Systems improve climate risk planning, management, and action and are necessary to address the impacts of Climate Change, especially coral bleaching. To this end, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, through a collaboration with NOAA, is working to establish an integrated regional network of climate and biological monitoring stations to strengthen the region’s early warning mechanism.

Through a partnership, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and NOAA, installation of five new large yellow data buoys has begun as the program expands to five new countries in the Eastern Caribbean: St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, St Vincent, and the Grenadines and Grenada. Under a previous sponsorship arrangement, CREWS stations were already installed in Belize, Trinidad & Tobago, the Dominican Republic, and Barbados. Further information about the program can be found on the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre website.