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Ocean Acidification Has Impacted Coral Growth on the Great Barrier Reef
Author(s) -
Guo Weifu,
Bokade Rohit,
Cohen Anne L.,
Mollica Nathaniel R.,
Leung Muriel,
Brainard Russell E.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2019gl086761
Subject(s) - ocean acidification , porites , reef , coral , coral reef , oceanography , coral bleaching , environmental science , climate change , effects of global warming on oceans , great barrier reef , ecosystem , seawater , carbonate , geology , global warming , ecology , biology , chemistry , organic chemistry
Ocean acidification (OA) reduces the concentration of seawater carbonate ions that stony corals need to produce their calcium carbonate skeletons and is considered a significant threat to the functional integrity of coral reef ecosystems. However, detection and attribution of OA impact on corals in nature are confounded by concurrent environmental changes, including ocean warming. Here we use a numerical model to isolate the effects of OA and temperature and show that OA alone has caused 13 ± 3% decline in the skeletal density of massive Porites corals on the Great Barrier Reef since 1950. This OA‐induced thinning of coral skeletons, also evident in Porites from the South China Sea but not in the central Pacific, reflects enhanced acidification of reef water relative to the surrounding open ocean. Our finding reinforces concerns that even corals that might survive multiple heatwaves are structurally weakened and increasingly vulnerable to the compounding effects of climate change