Mass coral mortality under local amplification of 2 °C ocean warming

被引:102
作者
DeCarlo, Thomas M. [1 ,6 ,7 ]
Cohen, Anne L. [2 ]
Wong, George T. F. [3 ,4 ]
Davis, Kristen A. [5 ]
Lohmann, Pat [2 ]
Soong, Keryea
机构
[1] Woods Hole Oceanog Inst, Massachusetts Inst Technol Woods Hole Oceanog Ins, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
[2] Woods Hole Oceanog Inst, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
[3] Acad Sinica, Res Ctr Environm Changes, 128 Acad Rd Sect 2, Taipei 115, Taiwan
[4] Old Dominion Univ, Norfolk, VA USA
[5] Univ Calif Irvine, Irvine, CA USA
[6] Univ Western Australia, Ctr Excellence Coral Reef Studies, Crawley, Australia
[7] Univ Western Australia, Sch Earth Sci, Crawley, Australia
基金
美国国家科学基金会;
关键词
CLIMATE-CHANGE; REEFS; RECOVERY; SEA; REPRODUCTION; WINNERS; DECLINE; TRENDS; GROWTH;
D O I
10.1038/srep44586
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
A 2 degrees C increase in global temperature above pre-industrial levels is considered a reasonable target for avoiding the most devastating impacts of anthropogenic climate change. In June 2015, sea surface temperature (SST) of the South China Sea (SCS) increased by 2 degrees C in response to the developing Pacific El Nino. On its own, this moderate, short-lived warming was unlikely to cause widespread damage to coral reefs in the region, and the coral reef "Bleaching Alert"alarm was not raised. However, on Dongsha Atoll, in the northern SCS, unusually weak winds created low-flow conditions that amplified the 2 degrees C basin-scale anomaly. Water temperatures on the reef flat, normally indistinguishable from open-ocean SST, exceeded 6 C-degrees above normal summertime levels. Mass coral bleaching quickly ensued, killing 40% of the resident coral community in an event unprecedented in at least the past 40 years. Our findings highlight the risks of 2 degrees C ocean warming to coral reef ecosystems when global and local processes align to drive intense heating, with devastating consequences.
引用
收藏
页数:9
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