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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Faculty Publications

Geography

Louisiana State University

Climate change; coral reefs; coral bleaching; hot-house paleoclimates; adaptation; ocean acidification; SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURE; OCEAN ACIDIFICATION; CORAL-REEFS; DISSOCIATION-CONSTANTS; SATURATION STATE; CARBONIC-ACID; LONG-TERM; RECOVERY; SEAWATER; WATER

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Future Of Reef Ecosystems In The Gulf Of Mexico: Insights From Coupled Climate Model Simulations And Ancient Hot-House Reefs, Kristine L. Delong Nov 2019

The Future Of Reef Ecosystems In The Gulf Of Mexico: Insights From Coupled Climate Model Simulations And Ancient Hot-House Reefs, Kristine L. Delong

Faculty Publications

emperatures (SST), salinity, carbonate chemistry, and acidity. Over the last half-century, some reef communities have been disappearing at an alarming pace. This study focuses on the Gulf of Mexico, where the majority of shallow coral reefs are reported to be in poor or fair condition. We analyze the RCP8.5 ensemble of the Community Earth System Model v1.2 to identify monthly-to-decadal trends in Gulf of Mexico SST. Secondly, we examine projected changes in ocean pH, carbonate saturation state, and salinity in the same coupled model simulations. We find that the joint impacts of predicted higher temperatures and changes in ocean acidification …