Climate Change and Paleoclimate Reconstruction
Studying, predicting and mitigating the effects of climate change on corals this coming century will involve the simultaneous application of research from a number of biological, oceanographic and atmospheric disciplines. Central to these investigations are studies of likely adaptation scenarios, both to higher temperatures and lower pH, and research into the likely future patterns of ocean warming and acidification in the tropics.
NCORE is engaged in field projects that study corals which have apparently acclimatized to environments with variable CO2 levels and studies related to the combined effects of increasing both temperature and pCO2 on a suite of Caribbean coral species to predict species survival trajectories. There are long-term field studies (>20 years of continuous NSF support) that monitor the effects of climate change on coral reef ecosystems in the eastern Pacific. They have generated one of the longest datasets of its kind worldwide, and the only one to span multiple mass bleaching and mortality events. Interdisciplinary research in this area includes identifying reef areas most likely to escape the worst effects of warming in the short- to mid-term , and modeling the effects of mesoscale eddies on coral bleaching response and recovery.
Key Questions
How
will global warming and episodes of coral reef bleaching impact
reefs, and how should these impacts be planned for and mitigated?
How
will ocean acidification and the reduced calcification potential of
reef-building organisms impact the resilience of coral reefs? What
role do these stresses play in explaining the growing incidence and
severity of disease on coral reefs?
What
can paleoclimate reconstruction tell us about the past to assist
in the formulation of ecoforecasting models?
Projects
| Project | PI(s) | Sponsor | Dates |
| The role of algal symbiont diversity in determining the resistance of scleractinian corals to bacterial bleaching | Baker, Andrew (MBF) | US-Israel Bi-National Science Foundation | 10/1/2007 to 9/30/2009 |
| Calibration ofProxy Records from Coral Skeletons to Instrumental Data from St. Croix, USVI | Swart, Peter (MGG) | NOAA | 9/1/2007 to 8/31/2008 |
| Verification of the Use of Sclerosponges for Paleoclimatic Research | Swart, Peter K (MGG) | NSF | 8/1/2007 to 7/31/2008 |
| Collaborative Research: Causes for Diversity of Cold-Water Coral Mound Fields in the Straits of Florida | Grasmueck, Mark (MGG) | NSF | 8/1/2007 to 7/31/2009 |
| Biscayne Bay's Nearshore Habitats: Linking Seasonal Patterns In Benthic Community Structure With Salinity And Temperature | Lirman, Diego (MBF) | NPS | 7/15/2007 to 12/31/2009 |
| Integrated Ecological Assessment of Antigua and Barbuda | Kourafalou, Vassiliki (MPO), Lirman, Diego (MBF), McManus, John (MBF), Mcmanus, Liana (MAF), Reid, R. P (MGG), Shay, Lynn K (MPO), Zika, Rod (MAC) | Stanford Foundation | 6/1/2007 to 8/31/2008 |
| Collaborative Research: Experimental Investigations of Coral Biomineralization: Understanding the Biomineralization Response to Ocean Acidification | Langdon, Chris (MBF) | NSF | 5/1/2007 to 4/30/2010 |
| Evaluating The Effects of Increasing PCO2 on Coral Larval Survivorship, Recruitment, and Post-Settlement Growth | Langdon, Chris (MBF) | Mote Marine Laboratory | 4/1/2007 to 3/31/2008 |
| Changing by degrees: Monitoring the adaptive response of reef-building corals to climate change and coral bleaching in the US Virgin Islands following severe bleaching in 2005 | Baker, Andrew (MBF) | NOAA | 3/1/2007 to 9/30/2008 |
| Nitrogen Isotope Studies of Polution In The Coastal Waters of Florida | Swart, Peter K (MGG) | Florida Water Environment Association | 1/1/2007 to 12/31/2007 |
| Coral resiliency to bleaching and lesioning under normal and elevated pC02 | Langdon, Chris (MBF) | Conservation International | 10/1/2006 to 9/30/2008 |
| Autonomous pH and alkalinity sensors: in situ testing at La Parguera, Puerto Rico | Langdon, Chris (MBF) | NSF | 10/1/2006 to 9/30/2010 |
| The Role of Experience in Climate Change Detection, Risk Perception and Behavior | Broad, Kenneth (MAF) | NSF | 8/1/2006 to 1/31/2008 |
| Monitoring the adaptive response of corals to climate change | Baker, Andrew (MBF) | Wildlife Conservation Society | 7/1/2006 to 6/30/2008 |
| Resiliency of corals to changing saturation state: a field study | Swart, Peter (MGG), Langdon, Chris (MBF), Millero, Frank (MAC) | NSF | 7/1/2006 to 6/30/2008 |
| Climate Change Detection, Risk Perception and Behavior in Florida | Broad, Kenneth (MAF) | Decision Research/NSF | 6/1/2006 to 12/31/2007 |
| El Niño-Southern Oscillation Disturbances on Eastern Pacific Coral Reefs: Patters and Mechanisms Recovery | Glynn, Peter (MBF) | NSF | 10/15/2005 to 9/30/2008 |
| Climate change and coral reefs: Integrating calcification, photosynthesis and symbiosis flexibility into species survival trajectories for Caribbean reef corals | Baker, Andrew (MBF), Langdon, Chris (MBF) | NSF | 10/1/2005 to 11/30/2008 |
| Collaborative Research: A Depositional and Paleoecological Model of Neogene Reef Development in the Dominican Republic | McNeill, Donald F (MGG) | NSF | 5/1/2005 to 4/30/2007 |
| Center for the Study of Individual and Group Decision Making Under Climate Uncertainty | Broad, Kenneth (MAF) | Columbia University/NSF | 3/1/2005 to 8/31/2009 |
| Effects of Climate Change on Ecosystem Services Provided by Coral Reefs and Tidal Marshes | Broad, Kenneth (MAF) | EPA | 11/1/2004 to 9/30/2007 |
| Center for the Study of Individual and Group Decision Making Under Climate Uncertainty | Broad, Kenneth (MAF), Podesta, Guillermo (MPO) | NSF | 6/15/2004 to 8/31/2009 |
