Coral reefs may be protected by natural ocean thermostat

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The Western Pacific Warm Pool northeast of Australia contains some of the warmest ocean waters in the world. Corals are thriving in the region partly because water temperatures in the warm pool are not changing significantly. Credit: Steve Deyo UCAR
The Western Pacific Warm Pool, northeast of Australia, contains some of the warmest ocean waters in the world. Corals are thriving in the region, partly because water temperatures in the warm pool are not changing significantly. Credit: Steve Deyo, UCAR

Natural processes may prevent oceans from warming beyond a certain point, helping protect some coral reefs from the impacts of climate change, new research finds. The study, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), finds evidence that an ocean "thermostat" appears to be helping to regulate sea-surface temperatures in a biologically diverse region of the western Pacific.


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