AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Editors' Highlight

Some coral reefs may be protected through natural ocean thermostat

Several negative feedback mechanisms have been proposed to explain the stability of sea surface temperature in the western Pacific warm Pool (WPWP). These "ocean thermostat" mechanisms are hypothesized to cap sea surface temperatures in the WPWP at around 30°–31°C. Noting that even slight changes in oceanic temperature can threaten coral survival by forcing corals to expel the colorful microscopic algae that provide them with nutrition (a phenomenon called coral bleaching), Kleypas et al. (2008) analyzed data on the tropical ocean spanning 1950–2006, as well as data from simulations, and compared these with a database of coral bleaching reports. They found that between 1980 and 2005, only four episodes of bleaching were reported for reefs in the WPWP, much lower than in any other reef region. Further, sea surface temperatures from the WPWP in recent years have warmed less than elsewhere in tropical oceans, supporting the idea that thermostat mechanisms act to depress warming beyond certain thresholds.

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