Coral reefs face severe challenges even if global warming is restricted to the 2 degrees Celsius commonly perceived as safe for many natural and human-made systems. Warmer sea surface temperatures are likely to trigger more frequent and more intense mass coral bleaching events. Only under a scenario with strong action on mitigating greenhouse-gas emissions and the assumption that corals can adapt at extremely rapid rates, could two thirds of them be safe, shows a study now published in Nature Climate Change. Otherwise all coral reefs are expected to be subject to severe degradation.
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Much more than just temperature change is impacting coral reef sustainability. As carbon gets absorbed into the ocean the pH levels of surface waters become more acidic. This inhibits coral from building reefs and impacts all shelled creatures and zooplankton.
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