Rainfall effects on nutrients and sediments on the reef

When it rains very heavily for a long time, the water can carry lots of dirt and important nutrients from the land into rivers and out to the ocean. This can affect the coral reefs near the shore, which usually have clear water and low nutrients. In 2017, there was a big storm in Moorea that lasted for 10 days and caused lots of sediment and nutrients to wash into the ocean. This made the water near the Pao Pao River mouth in Cook's Bay very cloudy for at least six days. The extra nutrients from things like sewage helped seaweed grow on the reef right after the storm. This suggests that when there's a lot of heavy rain, it can help seaweed grow quickly by giving them more nutrients to absorb.

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Fong et al. 2020