Dataset Information

Keep up or drown: adjustment of western Pacific coral reefs to sea-level rise in the 21st century.

ABSTRACT: Since the Mid-Holocene, some 5000 years ago, coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean have been vertically constrained by sea level. Contemporary sea-level rise is releasing these constraints, providing accommodation space for vertical reef expansion. Here, we show that Porites microatolls, from reef-flat environments in Palau (western Pacific Ocean), are 'keeping up' with contemporary sea-level rise. Measurements of 570 reef-flat Porites microatolls at 10 locations around Palau revealed recent vertical skeletal extension (78±13?mm) over the last 6-8 years, which is consistent with the timing of the recent increase in sea level. We modelled whether microatoll growth rates will potentially 'keep up' with predicted sea-level rise in the near future, based upon average growth, and assuming a decline in growth for every 1°C increase in temperature. We then compared these estimated extension rates with rates of sea-level rise under four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). Our model suggests that under low-mid RCP scenarios, reef-coral growth will keep up with sea-level rise, but if greenhouse gas concentrations exceed 670?ppm atmospheric CO2 levels and with +2.2°C sea-surface temperature by 2100 (RCP 6.0?W?m(-2)), our predictions indicate that Porites microatolls will be unable to keep up with projected rates of sea-level rise in the twenty-first century.

SUBMITTER: van Woesik R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4632590 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Keep up or drown: adjustment of western Pacific coral reefs to sea-level rise in the 21st century.

van Woesik R R Golbuu Y Y Roff G G

Royal Society open science 20150722 7

Since the Mid-Holocene, some 5000 years ago, coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean have been vertically constrained by sea level. Contemporary sea-level rise is releasing these constraints, providing accommodation space for vertical reef expansion. Here, we show that Porites microatolls, from reef-flat environments in Palau (western Pacific Ocean), are 'keeping up' with contemporary sea-level rise. Measurements of 570 reef-flat Porites microatolls at 10 locations around Palau revealed recent vertical ...[more]

PMID: 26587277

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Dataset Information

Keep up or drown: adjustment of western Pacific coral reefs to sea-level rise in the 21st century.

Publications

Keep up or drown: adjustment of western Pacific coral reefs to sea-level rise in the 21st century.

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