Category: Scientific Papers (Abstract & PDF)

A screenshot of the first page of the "Modulation of North American Heat Waves by the Tropical Atlantic Warm Pool" publication.

Modulation of North American Heat Waves by the Tropical Atlantic Warm Pool

Lopez, H., Kim, D., West, R., & Kirtman, B. (2022). Modulation of North American Heat Waves by the Tropical Atlantic Warm Pool. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, e2022JD037705.

Plain Language Summary: Extreme heat is responsible for the most weather-related deaths in the United States (US). Using observations and numerical model experiments, this study investigates the potential predictability of heat waves determined by the state of the tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST). During boreal summer (June-July-August), a larger than normal area of warm SST produces an atmospheric response over the US Great Plains, leading to increased clear-sky conditions, rainfall deficits, surface temperature, and heat wave events. The results of this study suggest a potential seasonal predictability of high-impact extreme heat events, owing to the longer prediction skill of SST.

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A screen shot of the "Increasing Hurricane Intensification Rate Near the US Atlantic Coast" publication.

Increasing Hurricane Intensification Rate Near the US Atlantic Coast

Balaguru, K., Foltz, G. R., Leung, L. R., Xu, W., Kim, D., Lopez, H., & West, R. (2022). Increasing hurricane intensification rate near the US Atlantic coast. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(20), e2022GL099793.

Plain Language Summary: While hurricanes pose a significant socioeconomic threat in general, those that intensify close to the coast are particularly challenging for operational forecasters and decision makers. Past studies examined basin-scale changes in hurricane intensification and the large-scale environment in the Atlantic. However, near-coastal changes in hurricane intensification have not been extensively studied. Herein, we address this using a combination of observations and numerical model simulations. Analysis of hurricane track data for the period 1979–2018 indicates that the mean hurricane intensification rate has increased significantly near the Atlantic coast…

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The influences of diurnal variability and ocean acidification on the bioerosion rates of two reef-dwelling Caribbean sponges

Morris, J., Enochs, I., Webb, A., de Bakker, D., Soderberg, N., Kolodziej, G., & Manzello, D. (2022). The influences of diurnal variability and ocean acidification on the bioerosion rates of two reef‐dwelling Caribbean sponges. Global Change Biology.

Abstract: Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to modify the structure and function of coral reef ecosystems by reducing calcification, increasing bioerosion, and altering the physiology of many marine organisms. Much of our understanding of these relationships is based on experiments with static OA treatments, although evidence suggests that the magnitude of diurnal fluctuations in carbonate chemistry may modulate the calcification response to OA. These light-mediated swings in seawater pH are projected to become more extreme with OA, yet their impact on bioerosion remains unknown. We evaluated the influence of diurnal carbonate chemistry variability on the bioerosion rates of two Caribbean sponges: the zooxanthellate Cliona varians and azooxanthellate Cliothosa delitrix. Replicate fragments from multiple colonies of each species were exposed to four precisely controlled pH treatments: contemporary static (8.05 ± 0.00; mean pH ± diurnal pH oscillation), contemporary variable (8.05 ± 0.10), future OA static (7.80 ± 0.00), and future OA variable (7.80 ± 0.10)…

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Reef Sediments Can Act As a Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Vector

Studivan, M. S., Rossin, A. M., Rubin, E., Soderberg, N., Holstein, D. M., & Enochs, I. C. (2022). Reef sediments can act as a stony coral tissue loss disease vector. Frontiers in Marine Science, 2046.

Abstract: Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first observed in 2014 near Virginia Key in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Field sampling, lab experiments, and modeling approaches have suggested that reef sediments may play a role in SCTLD transmission, though a positive link has not been tested experimentally. We conducted an ex situ transmission assay using a statistically-independent disease apparatus to test whether reef sediments can transmit SCTLD in the absence of direct contact between diseased and healthy coral tissue. We evaluated two methods of sediment inoculation: batch inoculation of sediments collected from southeast Florida using whole colonies of diseased Montastraea cavernosa, and individual inoculations of sediments following independent, secondary infections of ∼5 cm2 coral fragments. Healthy fragments of the coral species Orbicella faveolata and M. cavernosa were exposed to these diseased sediment treatments, as well as direct disease contact and healthy sediment controls…

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Pre-exposure to a variable temperature treatment improves the response of Acropora cervicornis to acute thermal stress

DeMerlis, A., Kirkland, A., Kaufman, M. L., Mayfield, A. B., Formel, N., Kolodziej, G., Manzello, D. P., Lirman, D., Traylor-Knowles, N., & Enochs, I. C. (2022). Pre-exposure to a variable temperature treatment improves the response of Acropora cervicornis to acute thermal stress. Coral Reefs, 41(2), 435-445.

Given that global warming is the greatest threat to coral reefs, coral restoration projects have expanded worldwide with the goal of replenishing habitats whose reef-building corals succumbed to various stressors. In many cases, however, these efforts will be futile if outplanted corals are unable to withstand warmer oceans and an increased frequency of extreme temperature events. Stress-hardening is one approach proposed to increase the thermal tolerance of coral genotypes currently grown for restoration. Previous studies have shown that corals from environments with natural temperature variability experience less bleaching when exposed to thermal stress, though it remains unclear if this localized acclimatization or adaptation to variable temperatures can be operationalized for enhancing restoration efforts…

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Genetic variants of the coral Acropora cervicornis linked to elevated nutrient and heat stress resistance

A recent study by scientists at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Science, the Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS), and NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) identified genetic variants in staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, that can tolerate elevated temperatures and nutrient pollution, two environmental stressors that […]

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Molecular Mechanisms of Coral Persistence Within Highly Urbanized Locations in the Port of Miami, Florida

Rubin, E. T., Enochs, I. C., Foord, C., Mayfield, A. B., Kolodziej, G., Basden, I., & Manzello, D. P. (2021). Molecular mechanisms of coral persistence within highly urbanized locations in the Port of Miami, Florida. Frontiers in Marine Science, 936.

Abstract: Healthy coral communities can be found on artificial structures (concrete walls and riprap) within the Port of Miami (PoM), Florida. These communities feature an unusually high abundance of brain corals, which have almost entirely vanished from nearby offshore reefs. These corals appear to be thriving in very low-quality waters influenced by dense ship and boat traffic, dredging, and numerous residential and industrial developments. The PoM basin is part of Biscayne Bay, an estuarine environment that experiences frequent freshwater input, high nutrient loading, hypoxia, and acidification. To investigate if there is a molecular basis behind the ability of these corals to persist within these highly “urbanized” waters, we compared whole transcriptome expression profiles from 25 PoM Pseudodiploria strigosa colonies against six conspecifics from a nearby offshore reef…

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State of the Climate in 2021

Blunden, J. and T. Boyer, Eds., 2022: “State of the Climate in 2021”. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 1038), Si–S465, https://doi.org/10.1175/2022BAMSStateoftheClimate.1

In 2021, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth’s atmosphere continued to increase. The annual global average carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration was 414.7 ± 0.1 ppm, an increase of 2.6 ± 0.1 ppm over 2020, the fifth-highest growth rate since the start of the instrumental record in 1958. This brings the concentration of CO2 to, once again, the highest in the modern record and ice core records dating back 800,000 years. The growth rate for methane (CH4) was the highest on record and the third highest for nitrous oxide (N2O), contributing to new record high atmospheric concentration levels for both gases….

Chapter 3 “Global Oceans” was co-edited by Rick Lumpkin, the Director of AOML’s Physical Oceanography Division, and Greg Johnson (NOAA). AOML authors are Francis Bringas, Shenfu Dong, Gustavo Goni, Rick Lumpkin, Renellys Perez, Claudia Schmid, Denis Volkov, and Rik Wanninkhof. Chapter 4 “Tropics” was edited by Howard Diamond (NOAA) and Carl Schreck (NC State), with AOML authors Stanley Goldenberg, Gustavo Goni, and Francis Bringas contributing to the chapter.

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Ice Worm Publication Selected as a Spotlight Paper

A recent study co-authored by Jean Lim, University of Miami CIMAS scientist working with Kelly Goodwin and Luke Thompson at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory, has been selected out of a wide array of publications as a spotlight paper in the latest issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology. The focus of this special feature […]

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Pre-Exposure to a Variable Temperature Treatment Improves the Response of Acropora Cervicornis to Acute Thermal Stress

DEMERLIS, A., A. Kirkland, M.L. Kaufman, A.B. MAYFIELD, N. FORMEL, G. KOLODZIEJ, D.P. Manzello, D. Lirman, N. Traylor-Knowles, and I.C. ENOCHS. Pre-exposure to a variable temperature treatment improves the response of Acropora cervicornis to acute thermal stress. Coral Reefs, 41(2):435-445 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-022-02232-z) (2022). 

Abstract: Given that global warming is the greatest threat to coral reefs, coral restoration projects have expanded worldwide with the goal of replenishing habitats whose reef-building corals succumbed to various stressors. In many cases, however, these efforts will be futile if outplanted corals are unable to withstand warmer oceans and an increased frequency of extreme temperature events. Stress-hardening is one approach proposed to increase the thermal tolerance of coral genotypes currently grown for restoration…

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