TBI Webinar Series 1 - Tropical Climate Variability and Coral Reefs

Submitted by Joana on Fri, 2025-02-07 05:03
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Online
Event URL: 
TBI Webinar Series 1 - Tropical Climate Variability and Coral Reefs
Event Description: 
The CLIVAR Research Focus on Tropical Basin Interaction is pleased to invite you to join its new webinar series, the first edition by invited speakers
Dr. Thomas Felis (MARUM, University of Bremen) and Dr. Miriam Pfeiffer (Kiel University, CAU)


Tropical Climate Variability and Coral Reefs
When? February 19, 2025 at 12:00 UTC (13:00 CET)
Where? GoTo Meeting App - Link

Abstract

Climate change, in particular the rise in tropical SST, is the greatest threat to coral reef ecosystems today with associated climatic extremes affecting the livelihood of tropical societies. The interaction between the tropical ocean basins plays a key role in modulating climate variability on interannual to decadal timescales. These timescales are of strong relevance to societies and ecosystems, because they control the time interval for recovery between extreme events. Throughout the tropical oceans, a key archive for reconstructions of temperature and hydrology are massive shallow-water corals. Annually to monthly resolved coral records are critical for our understanding of tropical ocean-atmosphere interactions. The DFG Priority Programme "Tropical Climate Variability and Coral Reefs" (SPP 2299) aims to enhance our understanding of tropical marine climate variability and its impact on coral reef ecosystems in a warming world, by quantifying climatic and environmental changes during both the ongoing warming and past warm periods on timescales relevant for society. Ultra-high resolution (monthly to weekly) geochemistry of the coral skeleton is a valuable tool to understand the temporal response of corals to ongoing climate change. Developing reconstructions of past tropical climate and environmental variability, in conjunction with advanced statistical methods, earth system modelling and observed ecosystem responses will allow improved projections of future changes in tropical climate and coral reef ecosystems. We present examples for modes of tropical climate variability affecting coral reef ecosystems, for thermal stress signatures in coral geochemical and isotopic records, and highlight knowledge gaps and future directions in this emerging field, contributing to a better understanding of the response of corals and coral reefs to ongoing and future climate change.

Miriam Pfeiffer (Institute of Geosciences, University of Kiel)
Miriam Pfeiffer chairs the ‘Historical Geology and Palaeontology’ group at the Institute of Geosciences, University of Kiel. Miriam’s research group focuses on present-day and fossil coral reefs and carbonate systems. Using modern, analytical methods of palaeontology and geochemistry, the rise in seawater temperatures resulting from global warming is reconstructed and its impact modes on climate variability and coral reefs is investigated. Starting in 2026, Miriam will coordinate phase 2 of the Priority Programme "Tropical Climate Variability & Coral Reefs" of the German Research Foundation (DFG), which she jointly initiated with Thomas Felis. The programme aims to improve our understanding of tropical marine climate variability and its impacts on coral reef ecosystems in a warming world and involves more than 40 interdisciplinary researchers from 15 institutions across Germany.
 
Thomas Felis (MARUM, University of Bremen)
Thomas Felis is the head of the Coral Paleoclimatology Group at MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen. In 2017, Thomas co-initiated the PAGES (Past Global Changes) CoralHydro2k Project, which aims to reconstruct tropical ocean hydroclimate and temperature from coral archives. Within this project, together with many early-career researchers, the CoralHydro2k Database was compiled, a global, actively-curated compilation of coral oxygen isotope and Sr/Ca records covering the Common Era. Thomas has been involved in three IODP (International Ocean Discovery Programme) expeditions to Tahiti, the Great Barrier Reef and Hawai’i to recover fossil corals from the last deglacial, glacial and beyond. Currently, Thomas coordinates phase 1 of the Priority Programme “Tropical Climate Variability & Coral Reefs” of the German Research Foundation (DFG), which he jointly initiated with Miriam Pfeiffer.
 
 

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NOTE THIS WEBINAR WON'T BE RECORDED.

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