Corals Indicate Climate Tipping Point
Last week, Nature published an article describing the widespread bleaching of corals around the world marks a tipping point in Earth’s climate crisis. This article was based on the work done by a group from the University of Exeter, UK.
This study used analyses of fossil reef deposits to predict growth potential in contemporary reef sites, taking into account rising sea levels, carbonate levels and thermal stresses which increase the acidification, reducing coral calcification (growth) and accelerating reef erosion.
This study predicts that by 2040 over 70% of reefs tropical western Atlantic reefs with be in a state of erosion, and if there is a >2°C increase in temperature that year, then >99% of these reefs will be in a state of erosion by 2100. The study goes on to illustrate the combination of reef erosion and exacerbated sea level rise will increase risk to many other coastal habitats and ecosystems, highlighting that a way to mitigate such events would be in reef restoration efforts in combination with aggressive climate policies being enforced.
