Diurnal cycles of cloud and rainfall over North-East Queensland during the coral bleaching season

Abstract

Abstract. Mass coral bleaching events are becoming increasingly frequent over the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), posing a critical risk to Australia's marine ecosystems and the broader global ocean environment. These events are primarily driven by anomalously warm water temperatures, but their severity is strongly influenced by local cloud cover, which controls the amount of solar radiation reaching the ocean surface (including ultra-violet radiation which exacerbates bleaching). This study presents a characterization of the cloud and rainfall diurnal cycles over north-east Queensland during the coral bleaching season, providing a foundational step to untangling the complex relationships between ..