A new Google Earth tool contains the most recent projections of coral bleaching and ocean acidification for all coral reef areas. The projections are based on climate models from the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report. Using this tool, managers can go to areas of interest and view: The years by which two thermal stress levels known to cause bleaching are projected to occur twice per decade and annually; Projected declines in aragonite saturation state as well as corresponding declines in calcification. The use of the tool and images obtained from it will help coral reef managers to communicate about the threats posed to reefs by climate change with their collegues, stakeholders and with policymakers. The associated paper summarizes the results of the projections and highlights that under the fossil-fuel aggressive emissions scenario, there are no refugia from the onset of annual severe bleaching or the effects of ocean acidification. Under this scenario, by 2053, 90% of all coral reef areas will experience annual severe bleaching. There are opposite latitudinal gradients in these threats to reefs, meaning that areas projected to experience annual bleaching later are exposed to the effects of acidification for longer.

Author: Van Hooidonk, R., J.A. Maynard, D. Manzello, and S. Planes
Year: 2013
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Global Change Biology 20: 103–112. doi:10.1111/gcb.12394

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