Spatio-temporal variations of heat stress in coral reef regions over the South China Sea islands from 1985 to 2019

Lu Yongqiang; Chen Zhenghua; Yu Kefu; He Xin; Zhang Wei; Lan Sixiang

doi:10.12284/hyxb2022129

Volume 44 Issue 11

Nov. 2022

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Article Navigation > Haiyang Xuebao > 2022 > 44(11): 179-190

Lu Yongqiang，Chen Zhenghua，Yu Kefu, et al. Spatio-temporal variations of heat stress in coral reef regions over the South China Sea islands from 1985 to 2019[J]. Haiyang Xuebao，2022, 44(11)：179–190 doi: 10.12284/hyxb2022129

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Spatio-temporal variations of heat stress in coral reef regions over the South China Sea islands from 1985 to 2019

doi: 10.12284/hyxb2022129

Lu Yongqiang^{1, 2, 3
,},
Chen Zhenghua^{1, 2, 3
,
,},
Yu Kefu^{1, 2, 3
,
,},
He Xin^{1, 2, 3},
Zhang Wei^{1, 2, 3},
Lan Sixiang^{1, 2, 3}

1.
School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
2.
Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
3.
Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China

Received Date: 2022-03-25
Rev Recd Date: 2022-05-29

Available Online: 2022-06-24

Publish Date: 2022-11-03

Abstract

Abstract

Increasing heat stress due to global warming is the main threat to coral reef regions over the South China Sea islands. Coral reefs bleaching events are most often predicted by heat stress, which will benefit the protection and management coral reefs. Degree heating week (DHW) is used to measure the intensity and duration of heat stress experienced on coral reefs, represents the accumulation of positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly at that location over the past 12 week periods. This study utilizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Coral Reef Watch (NOAA-CRW) SST dataset to investigate spatio-temporal in the heat stress of the coral reef regions of the South China Sea islands between 1985 to 2019 and its relevance to El Niño. K-means cluster analysis was performed on the 35-year maximum degree heating week values per pixel, and the coral reefs of the South China Sea islands were divided into 6 regions: Nansha−1, Nansha−2, Nansha−3, Dongsha, Xisha and Zhongsha coral reef region. The main results are as following: (1) The maximum DHW of the coral reef regions of the South China Sea islands is 0−12.9°C-week, and it decreases from high to low in latitude. (2) The linear fitting method was used to analyze the annual maximum DHW from 1985 to 2019. The results showed that the thermal pressure intensity in the coral reef area of the South China Sea islands showed an upward trend, ranging from 0.013°C to 0.174°C per week. The maximum DHW in the coral reef area of the South China Sea islands appeared in 1998, 2010, 2014. (3) The maximum annual DHW might have caused 93.9% of coral reefs to have more than one bleaching risk event, and 19.6% of coral reefs to have at least one risk of death. (4) The cross-wavelet analysis of monthly mean DHW in the coral reef regions of the South China Sea islands and Oceanic Niño index shows that there are time-frequency characteristics and time-lag correlation of multi-period 8−32 months resonance period, which confirms that the thermal pressure of coral reefs in the South China Sea islands increases significantly with the occurrence of El Niño events. The time lag correlation analysis shows that Oceanic Niño index is positively correlated with the thermal pressure in the coral reef regions of the South China Sea islands, and the latter lags behind the former by 7−9 months.
- coral bleaching,
- degree heating weeks,
- heat stress,
- El Niño,
- South China Sea

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References(60)

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