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Coral record of southeast Indian Ocean marine heatwaves with intensified Western Pacific temperature gradient

Author

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  • J. Zinke

    (School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway
    UWA Oceans Institute, 39 Fairway
    Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC
    Curtin University of Technology)

  • A. Hoell

    (University of California Santa Barbara
    Present address: NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado, USA.)

  • J. M. Lough

    (Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC
    ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University)

  • M. Feng

    (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO))

  • A. J. Kuret

    (School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway
    ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Western Australia)

  • H. Clarke

    (School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway
    ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Western Australia)

  • V. Ricca

    (School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway
    ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Western Australia)

  • K. Rankenburg

    (School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway
    ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Western Australia)

  • M. T. McCulloch

    (School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway
    UWA Oceans Institute, 39 Fairway
    ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Western Australia)

Abstract

Increasing intensity of marine heatwaves has caused widespread mass coral bleaching events, threatening the integrity and functional diversity of coral reefs. Here we demonstrate the role of inter-ocean coupling in amplifying thermal stress on reefs in the poorly studied southeast Indian Ocean (SEIO), through a robust 215-year (1795–2010) geochemical coral proxy sea surface temperature (SST) record. We show that marine heatwaves affecting the SEIO are linked to the behaviour of the Western Pacific Warm Pool on decadal to centennial timescales, and are most pronounced when an anomalously strong zonal SST gradient between the western and central Pacific co-occurs with strong La Niña's. This SST gradient forces large-scale changes in heat flux that exacerbate SEIO heatwaves. Better understanding of the zonal SST gradient in the Western Pacific is expected to improve projections of the frequency of extreme SEIO heatwaves and their ecological impacts on the important coral reef ecosystems off Western Australia.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Zinke & A. Hoell & J. M. Lough & M. Feng & A. J. Kuret & H. Clarke & V. Ricca & K. Rankenburg & M. T. McCulloch, 2015. "Coral record of southeast Indian Ocean marine heatwaves with intensified Western Pacific temperature gradient," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms9562
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9562
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuewen Ding & Pengfei Lin & Hailong Liu & Bo Wu & Yuanlong Li & Lin Chen & Lei Zhang & Aixue Hu & Yiming Wang & Yiyun Yao & Bowen Zhao & Wenrong Bai & Weiqing Han, 2024. "Emergence of decadal linkage between Western Australian coast and Western–central tropical Pacific," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.

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