2.2. Seawater temperature anomalies
Measured seawater temperatures and bleaching observations in 1998 and 2012 were compared against coral bleaching predictions from HotSpots which were obtained from the NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program (archivedathttp://www.ospd.noaa.gov/ml/ocean/cb/hotspots.html). The Hotspot anomaly is based on the climatological mean sea surface temperatures of the hottest month in the year. We analyzed the data obtained from NOAA/NESDIS Coral Bleaching HotSpots for the Eastern Hemisphere at the study site during April–July 1998 and April–August 2010. In 1998,the seawater temperature anomaly started on 17 April, reaching the maximum on 2 June and decreased to normal conditions on 21 July. However in 2010, the seawater temperature anomaly started on 19 April, reaching the peak on 15 July and decreased to normal conditions on 30 August (Fig. 2).