Impact of sea-level rise and coral mortality on the wave dynamics and wave forces on barrier reefs.
A one-dimensional wave model was used to investigate the reef top wave dynamics across a large suite of idealized reef-lagoon profiles, representing barrier coral reef systems under different sea-level rise (SLR) scenarios. The modeling shows that the impacts of SLR vary spatially and are strongly influenced by the bathymetry of the reef and coral type. A complex response occurs for the wave orbital velocity and forces on corals, such that the changes in the wave dynamics vary reef by reef. Different wave loading regimes on massive and branching corals also leads to contrasting impacts from SLR. For many reef bathymetries, wave orbital velocities increase with SLR and cyclonic wave forces are reduced for certain coral species. These changes may be beneficial to coral health and colony resilience and imply that predicting SLR impacts on coral reefs requires careful consideration of the reef bathymetry and the mix of coral species.
School of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia. Electronic address: t.baldock@uq.edu.au.
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Baldock
School of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia. Electronic address: agolshani@hotmail.com.
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Golshani
School of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia. Electronic address: dave.callaghan@uq.edu.au.
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Callaghan
Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia; Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia. Electronic address: m.saunders1@uq.edu.au.
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Saunders
Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia. Electronic address: p.j.mumby@uq.edu.au.
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Mumby
D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000502:physiology; D057231:Climate Change; D057894:Coral Reefs; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D055871:Tidal Waves
Coral health; Reef bathymetry; Reef top wave dynamics; Sea level rise; Wave forces