scholarly journals Juvenile corals underpin coral reef carbonate production after disturbance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémy Carlot ◽  
Mohsen Kayal ◽  
Hunter S. Lenihan ◽  
Simon J. Brandl ◽  
Jordan M. Casey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Juvenile Corals

scholarly journals Evaluation of coral reef carbonate production models at a global scale

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1339-1356 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. S. Jones ◽  
A. Ridgwell ◽  
E. J. Hendy
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Future Global Warming ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 Concentrations

Abstract. Calcification by coral reef communities is estimated to account for half of all carbonate produced in shallow water environments and more than 25% of the total carbonate buried in marine sediments globally. Production of calcium carbonate by coral reefs is therefore an important component of the global carbon cycle; it is also threatened by future global warming and other global change pressures. Numerical models of reefal carbonate production are needed for understanding how carbonate deposition responds to environmental conditions including atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the past and into the future. However, before any projections can be made, the basic test is to establish model skill in recreating present-day calcification rates. Here we evaluate four published model descriptions of reef carbonate production in terms of their predictive power, at both local and global scales. We also compile available global data on reef calcification to produce an independent observation-based data set for the model evaluation of carbonate budget outputs. The four calcification models are based on functions sensitive to combinations of light availability, aragonite saturation (Ωa) and temperature and were implemented within a specifically developed global framework, the Global Reef Accretion Model (GRAM). No model was able to reproduce independent rate estimates of whole-reef calcification, and the output from the temperature-only based approach was the only model to significantly correlate with coral-calcification rate observations. The absence of any predictive power for whole reef systems, even when consistent at the scale of individual corals, points to the overriding importance of coral cover estimates in the calculations. Our work highlights the need for an ecosystem modelling approach, accounting for population dynamics in terms of mortality and recruitment and hence calcifier abundance, in estimating global reef carbonate budgets. In addition, validation of reef carbonate budgets is severely hampered by limited and inconsistent methodology in reef-scale observations.

scholarly journals Divergence of seafloor elevation and sea level rise in coral reef ecosystems

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1739-1772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly K. Yates ◽  
David G. Zawada ◽  
Nathan A. Smiley ◽  
Ginger Tiling-Range
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Coastal Hazards ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Coral Reef Ecosystems ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract. Coral reefs serve as natural barriers that protect adjacent shorelines from coastal hazards such as storms, waves, and erosion. Projections indicate global degradation of coral reefs due to anthropogenic impacts and climate change will cause a transition to net erosion by mid-century. Here, we provide a comprehensive assessment of the combined effect of all of the processes affecting seafloor accretion and erosion by measuring changes in seafloor elevation and volume for five coral reef ecosystems in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Caribbean over the last several decades. Regional-scale mean elevation and volume losses were observed at all five study sites and in 77 % of the 60 individual habitats that we examined across all study sites. Mean seafloor elevation losses for whole coral reef ecosystems in our study ranged from −0.09 to −0.8 m, corresponding to net volume losses ranging from 3.4  ×  106 to 80.5  ×  106 m3 for all study sites. Erosion of both coral-dominated substrate and non-coral substrate suggests that the current rate of carbonate production is no longer sufficient to support net accretion of coral reefs or adjacent habitats. We show that regional-scale loss of seafloor elevation and volume has accelerated the rate of relative sea level rise in these regions. Current water depths have increased to levels not predicted until near the year 2100, placing these ecosystems and nearby communities at elevated and accelerating risk to coastal hazards. Our results set a new baseline for projecting future impacts to coastal communities resulting from degradation of coral reef systems and associated losses of natural and socioeconomic resources.

scholarly journals Global declines in coral reef calcium carbonate production under ocean acidification and warming

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. e2015265118
Author(s):  
Christopher E. Cornwall ◽  
Steeve Comeau ◽  
Niklas A. Kornder ◽  
Chris T. Perry ◽  
Ruben van Hooidonk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Calcium Carbonate ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Scale Effects ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Ocean Warming ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Near Term

Ocean warming and acidification threaten the future growth of coral reefs. This is because the calcifying coral reef taxa that construct the calcium carbonate frameworks and cement the reef together are highly sensitive to ocean warming and acidification. However, the global-scale effects of ocean warming and acidification on rates of coral reef net carbonate production remain poorly constrained despite a wealth of studies assessing their effects on the calcification of individual organisms. Here, we present global estimates of projected future changes in coral reef net carbonate production under ocean warming and acidification. We apply a meta-analysis of responses of coral reef taxa calcification and bioerosion rates to predicted changes in coral cover driven by climate change to estimate the net carbonate production rates of 183 reefs worldwide by 2050 and 2100. We forecast mean global reef net carbonate production under representative concentration pathways (RCP) 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 will decline by 76, 149, and 156%, respectively, by 2100. While 63% of reefs are projected to continue to accrete by 2100 under RCP2.6, 94% will be eroding by 2050 under RCP8.5, and no reefs will continue to accrete at rates matching projected sea level rise under RCP4.5 or 8.5 by 2100. Projected reduced coral cover due to bleaching events predominately drives these declines rather than the direct physiological impacts of ocean warming and acidification on calcification or bioerosion. Presently degraded reefs were also more sensitive in our analysis. These findings highlight the low likelihood that the world’s coral reefs will maintain their functional roles without near-term stabilization of atmospheric CO2 emissions.

Calcium carbonate production in the southernmost subtropical Atlantic coral reef

2021 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 105490
Author(s):  
Caroline B. Randi ◽  
Ana Clara Becker ◽  
Maria Julia Willemes ◽  
Chris T. Perry ◽  
Leonardo Tavares Salgado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Calcium Carbonate ◽  
Carbonate Production

Estimating regional coral reef calcium carbonate production from remotely sensed seafloor maps

2017 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
pp. 88-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Hamylton ◽  
Stephanie Duce ◽  
Ana Vila-Concejo ◽  
Chris M. Roelfsema ◽  
Stuart R. Phinn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Calcium Carbonate ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Carbonate Production

Late Holocene sea-level fall and turn-off of reef flat carbonate production: Rethinking bucket fill and coral reef growth models

Geology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L. Harris ◽  
Jody M. Webster ◽  
Ana Vila-Concejo ◽  
Quan Hua ◽  
Yusuke Yokoyama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Reef Flat ◽  
Growth Models ◽  
Reef Growth ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Holocene Sea Level
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