This pair of images illustrates the rise in sea surface temperature in the Florida Keys between June 11, 1985 and July 4, 2005. Most of the surface has warmed by one to two degrees Fahrenheit. Rising ocean temperatures due to climate change pose a tremendous threat to coral reefs and the marine life they shelter. Global water temperatures began a steady rise in the 1980s, accompanied by coral bleaching on a scale never before approached. In one year alone (1998) the world lost 16% of its reefs. In Florida, two corals, the elkhorn and staghorn, have been placed on the Endangered Species list.