Bleached Staghorn Coral (Matt Kieffer via Flickr / Creative Commons license)
Apr 01, 2014
Coral reefs off of the Western Australian coast are in extreme peril due to "unprecedented" ocean temperatures caused by climate change, a report released Tuesday by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) warns.
While ocean temperatures fluctuate over the years, both the highs and lows have consistently reached new heights in the Indian Ocean where the scientists did their research. The period since 1980 has been "the warmest period with highest sea levels" in the waters off of the West Australia coast since records began in 1795.
An effect of this warming is an event known as coral bleaching, which often leads to the death of coral ecosystems.
"Indian Ocean warming towards the end of the twenty-first century could potentially increase coral bleaching risk," the report warns, "and affect maintenance of the current diverse high-latitude coral reef ecosystem and associated fisheries."
"We were hoping that West Australia ... still had some time to react or adapt to the changes," AIMS scientist Dr. Jens Zinke told the Guardian. "But we're now seeing all these heatwaves. It's not that change is going to come, it's that change is already happening."
"We've crossed this line where coral bleaching can now occur on a large scale," he warned.
The realization that coral reefs are already facing extreme peril in the the face of global warming comes as the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its groundbreaking report Monday, warning that climate change is already decimating life on the planet, with the worst effects yet to come.
"Ocean temperatures have warmed so much and sea levels have risen so much over the last 150 years that every natural event is amplified," said Zinke. "So any future heatwave is probably going to be more extreme."
According to the AIMS scientists, warming periods in 1999, 2008 and 2011 were the highest surface temperatures ever recorded in the West Australia region. As a result the worst case extreme coral bleaching occurred in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
As the scientists report, the extreme warming period in 2011 led to "the first ever reports of large-scale coral bleaching and fish kills" in the area.
This spike in water temperatures and subsequent coral destruction must be looked at amidst the "ongoing background" of the "warming of ocean temperatures associated with climate change," said Zinke.
As the report states:
We show that interannual and decadal variations in SST [sea surface temperatures] and LC [Leeuwin current] strength characterized the past 215 years and that the most extreme sea level and SST anomalies occurred post 1980. These recent events were unprecedented in severity and are likely aided by accelerated global ocean warming and sea-level rise.
______________________
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Jacob Chamberlain
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
Coral reefs off of the Western Australian coast are in extreme peril due to "unprecedented" ocean temperatures caused by climate change, a report released Tuesday by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) warns.
While ocean temperatures fluctuate over the years, both the highs and lows have consistently reached new heights in the Indian Ocean where the scientists did their research. The period since 1980 has been "the warmest period with highest sea levels" in the waters off of the West Australia coast since records began in 1795.
An effect of this warming is an event known as coral bleaching, which often leads to the death of coral ecosystems.
"Indian Ocean warming towards the end of the twenty-first century could potentially increase coral bleaching risk," the report warns, "and affect maintenance of the current diverse high-latitude coral reef ecosystem and associated fisheries."
"We were hoping that West Australia ... still had some time to react or adapt to the changes," AIMS scientist Dr. Jens Zinke told the Guardian. "But we're now seeing all these heatwaves. It's not that change is going to come, it's that change is already happening."
"We've crossed this line where coral bleaching can now occur on a large scale," he warned.
The realization that coral reefs are already facing extreme peril in the the face of global warming comes as the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its groundbreaking report Monday, warning that climate change is already decimating life on the planet, with the worst effects yet to come.
"Ocean temperatures have warmed so much and sea levels have risen so much over the last 150 years that every natural event is amplified," said Zinke. "So any future heatwave is probably going to be more extreme."
According to the AIMS scientists, warming periods in 1999, 2008 and 2011 were the highest surface temperatures ever recorded in the West Australia region. As a result the worst case extreme coral bleaching occurred in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
As the scientists report, the extreme warming period in 2011 led to "the first ever reports of large-scale coral bleaching and fish kills" in the area.
This spike in water temperatures and subsequent coral destruction must be looked at amidst the "ongoing background" of the "warming of ocean temperatures associated with climate change," said Zinke.
As the report states:
We show that interannual and decadal variations in SST [sea surface temperatures] and LC [Leeuwin current] strength characterized the past 215 years and that the most extreme sea level and SST anomalies occurred post 1980. These recent events were unprecedented in severity and are likely aided by accelerated global ocean warming and sea-level rise.
______________________
Jacob Chamberlain
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
Coral reefs off of the Western Australian coast are in extreme peril due to "unprecedented" ocean temperatures caused by climate change, a report released Tuesday by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) warns.
While ocean temperatures fluctuate over the years, both the highs and lows have consistently reached new heights in the Indian Ocean where the scientists did their research. The period since 1980 has been "the warmest period with highest sea levels" in the waters off of the West Australia coast since records began in 1795.
An effect of this warming is an event known as coral bleaching, which often leads to the death of coral ecosystems.
"Indian Ocean warming towards the end of the twenty-first century could potentially increase coral bleaching risk," the report warns, "and affect maintenance of the current diverse high-latitude coral reef ecosystem and associated fisheries."
"We were hoping that West Australia ... still had some time to react or adapt to the changes," AIMS scientist Dr. Jens Zinke told the Guardian. "But we're now seeing all these heatwaves. It's not that change is going to come, it's that change is already happening."
"We've crossed this line where coral bleaching can now occur on a large scale," he warned.
The realization that coral reefs are already facing extreme peril in the the face of global warming comes as the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its groundbreaking report Monday, warning that climate change is already decimating life on the planet, with the worst effects yet to come.
"Ocean temperatures have warmed so much and sea levels have risen so much over the last 150 years that every natural event is amplified," said Zinke. "So any future heatwave is probably going to be more extreme."
According to the AIMS scientists, warming periods in 1999, 2008 and 2011 were the highest surface temperatures ever recorded in the West Australia region. As a result the worst case extreme coral bleaching occurred in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
As the scientists report, the extreme warming period in 2011 led to "the first ever reports of large-scale coral bleaching and fish kills" in the area.
This spike in water temperatures and subsequent coral destruction must be looked at amidst the "ongoing background" of the "warming of ocean temperatures associated with climate change," said Zinke.
As the report states:
We show that interannual and decadal variations in SST [sea surface temperatures] and LC [Leeuwin current] strength characterized the past 215 years and that the most extreme sea level and SST anomalies occurred post 1980. These recent events were unprecedented in severity and are likely aided by accelerated global ocean warming and sea-level rise.
______________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.