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NASA: Deadly blooms in the Gulf of Mannar

Published

3 years ago

2023/05/9

For the past four years, water in the Gulf of Mannar has turned bright green in September and October as the population of a single-celled phytoplankton called Noctiluca scintillans soared. These large blooms of the marine dinoflagellates glow a spectacular shade of blue at night, but their presence can have deadly consequences for marine life by soaking up all the oxygen in the water and causing hypoxia and dead zones, said a report by NASA yesterday.

That’s what was happening on September 23, 2022, when the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI) on Landsat 9 captured this image of whorls of N. scintillans discoloring waters in northern Sri Lanka and southern India near the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve. The shallow water in this area normally teems with coral, reef fish, sea turtles, dolphins, dugong, and other marine life. But during N. scintillans outbreaks, fish carcasses line beaches and dead coral skeletons transform reefs.

“We saw particularly severe coral mortality and fish kill in 2019, but it happened in 2021 and 2022 as well,” explained Diraviya Raj, a researcher at the Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute in Tamil Nadu, India, and the lead author of a 2020 study about N. scintillans blooms in the Gulf of Mannar. “The 2020 bloom was short and did not harm corals, but the 2021 and 2022 events each lasted for two months, covered large areas, and caused severe damage.”

The earliest reports of N. scintillans blooms causing fish kills in the Gulf of Mannar date back to 1935, with occasional reports of the phenomenon in subsequent decades. However, the regularity and intensity of the blooms since 2019 seem to be something new. “We suspect that climate change has made the N. scintillans bloom an annual occurrence,” Raj said. “The water temperature level has been more than 30°Celsius (86°Fahrenheit) during the blooms, which is unusually high for the Gulf of Mannar in September-October.”

Living staghorn corals are brightly colored, while the dead corals in the photograph above—taken on November 17, 2021, near Manauli Island—had turned white and were covered with algal debris about a month after the bloom started to affect them. Fast-growing corals species such as Acropora, Montipora, and Pocillopora are the most vulnerable to N. scintillans blooms because they require the most oxygen to thrive.

Lines of dead fish, like those shown below, covered beaches on the islands of the Gulf of Mannar and the mainland near Mandapams and Keelakarai when the photo was taken on October 13, 2021. By analyzing water samples, Raj and colleagues confirmed that oxygen-depleted water triggered by the N. scintillans bloom was the cause of the fish kills and coral deaths.

Another team of researchers from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Mandapam Camp and the Indian Space Research Organization tracking the blooms found that 38 genera of fish were affected by the 2019 bloom and 43 genera by the 2021 bloom. Among them were parrotfish, rabbitfish, pufferfish, lesser sardines, needlefish, and tarpons, they noted in a study published in March 2023.

The 2021 bloom also killed large numbers of animals being raised in finfish farms, explained Ramesh Kumar, the lead author of the study. However, the team thinks it may soon be possible to warn fish farmers of N. scintillans blooms in advance, using improved satellite mapping abilities and new modeling techniques. That may allow farmers to harvest fish before blooms spread to coastal areas and cause widespread damage.

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Fuel prices increased

Published

15 hours ago

2026/05/31

Priyan

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight on Saturday (May 30).

Accordingly,
the price of Auto Diesel has been increased by Rs. 15 to Rs.407 per liter,
the price of Super Diesel has been increased by Rs. 20 to Rs. 478 per liter.
the price of Petrol 92 Octane has been increased by Rs. 24 to Rs. 434 per liter
the price of Petrol 95 Octane up by Rs. 25 to Rs. 495 per liter
the price of kerosene by Rs. 20 to Rs. 285 per liter.

News

Sangha reform drives stymied from within: CBK

Published

15 hours ago

2026/05/31

Thilina Walpola

Chandrika

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has called for a comprehensive reform programme within Sri Lanka’s Buddhist clergy, warning that repeated efforts to strengthen the Sasana have in the past been derailed by opposition from within sections of the Sangha itself.

In a statement addressed to the Mahanayake Theras of the three Buddhist chapters, Kumaratunga stressed that the long-term preservation of Buddhism depends on safeguarding both the Dhamma and Vinaya, or disciplinary code, and urged urgent internal reform to address what she described as deep-rooted structural weaknesses.

She noted that Buddhist history has consistently demonstrated that periods of institutional crisis were addressed through reform processes, citing precedents from the First Buddhist Council to reforms during the Kandyan era under Welivita Sri Saranankara Thera.

Referring to post-independence efforts, Kumaratunga said initiatives taken during the 1956 Bandaranaike administration to strengthen Buddhism were left incomplete following the assassination of former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.

She further stated that during her own presidency, plans to convene a Buddhist Council under the guidance of the late Madihe Pannasiha Mahanayake Thera had received government backing but were ultimately abandoned due to resistance from certain sections within the clergy.

The former President alleged that, on both occasions, vested interests benefiting from existing weaknesses within the Buddhist establishment had worked to obstruct meaningful reform efforts.

Warning that Buddhism in Sri Lanka is currently facing serious challenges, she called for a broad internal dialogue within the Sangha to identify root causes and implement both short- and long-term corrective measures.

Kumaratunga urged the Mahanayake Theras to take the lead in convening a Dharma Sanghayana, or Buddhist Council, and said she was prepared to work with senior lay Buddhist leaders to support such an initiative.

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Court orders arrest of Basil

Published

15 hours ago

2026/05/31

Thilina Walpola

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Friday ordered the arrest of former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Bhashwara Gunaratne, Managing Director Rumi Jauffer and several others over the alleged misuse of Rs. 7.8 million belonging to the Tourism Promotion Authority during the 2014 Uva Provincial Council election campaign.

Magistrate Pasan Amarasena directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest and produce the suspects before court, after it was informed that they would be named under the Public Property Act on the advice of the Attorney General.

The CID told court that attempts to take the suspects into custody from their residences had been unsuccessful as they were not present.

The Magistrate also imposed an overseas travel ban on the suspects and ordered that the Controller of Immigration and Emigration be notified.

Investigations have reportedly revealed that the funds were used to print 12,000 T-shirts bearing an image of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on one side and the name of a political party on the other.

According to the CID, the T-shirts were later distributed at a political event held in the Monaragala District.