Mass coral mortality under local amplification of 2 °C ocean warming.
Mass coral mortality under local amplification of 2 °C ocean warming.
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DOI：
10.1038/srep44586
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发表时间：
2017-03-23
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Soong K
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
DeCarlo TM;Cohen AL;Wong GT;Davis KA;Lohmann P;Soong K
全球气温比工业化前水平上升2°C被认为是避免人为气候变化最具破坏性影响的合理目标。 2015年6月，受太平洋厄尔尼诺现象影响，南海海面温度上升2℃。就其本身而言，这种温和、短暂的变暖不太可能对该地区的珊瑚礁造成大范围破坏，珊瑚礁“白化警报”警报也没有拉响。然而，在南海北部的东沙环礁，异常微弱的风力造成了低流量条件，放大了2°C的盆地规模异常。礁滩上的水温通常与公海海温没有区别，但比夏季正常水平高出 6°C。大规模珊瑚白化很快发生，导致 40% 的珊瑚群落死亡，这是至少过去 40 年来前所未有的事件。我们的研究结果强调了当全球和局部过程共同推动剧烈升温时，2°C 海洋变暖对珊瑚礁生态系统造成的风险，并带来毁灭性后果。
A 2 °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 °C in response to the developing Pacific El Niño. 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 °C basin-scale anomaly. Water temperatures on the reef flat, normally indistinguishable from open-ocean SST, exceeded 6 °C 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 °C ocean warming to coral reef ecosystems when global and local processes align to drive intense heating, with devastating consequences.