The low-lying reef islands distributed in the tropical and subtropical coastal regions are highly vulnerable to the devastating damages of surges and waves during the severe weather events. Over the past two decades, extreme waves have caused tremend...
Many post-disaster surveys have reported on the natural function and effectiveness of fringing reef in preventing the shoreline from the inundation caused by severe weather events. Prior studies mainly focus on the wave propagating, transforming, and...
Dredging materials from reef flats have become an important source of sand and aggregates for meeting the infrastructure needs of coral-lined shores in subtropical and tropical regions, especially for low-lying atoll islands. Dredging at the reef fla...
This study numerically investigates wave transformation and setup processes across fringing reefs, focusing on artificial reef configuration effects under varying tidal conditions and incident wave parameters. The OpenFOAM-based waves2Foam model simu...
Posidonia oceanica seagrass, endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, provides ecological goods and ecosystem services of paramount importance. In shallow and sheltered bays, P. oceanica meadows can reach the sea surface, with leaf tips slightly emerging, f...
In order to better understand the role of coral reefs around an isolated island in mitigating tsunami hazards, this study performed a horizontally two-dimensional (2DH) numerical study of tsunami-like solitary wave propagation and run-up around an id...
The prediction of wave transformation and associated hydrodynamics is essential in the design and construction of reef top structures on fringing reefs. To simulate the transformation process with better accuracy and time efficiency, a shock-capturin...
The aim of this study is to better understand cross-reef wave-driven current characteristics, which are crucial to biological, ecological, and geomorphological processes within coral reefs. This study reports a set of new wave flume measurements to a...
The non-hydrostatic wave-flow model SWASH was used to investigate the hydrodynamic processes at a reef fringed pocket beach in southwestern Australia (Gnarabup Beach). Gnarabup Beach is a ~1.5 km long beach with highly variable bathymetry that is bou...
Globally, coral reefs are under threat from climate change and increasingly frequent bleaching events. However, corals in Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaiʻi have demonstrated the ability to acclimatize and resist increasing temperatures. Benthic cover (i.e., cora...
Satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) is used to monitor coral bleaching through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch (CRW) Decision Support System (DSS). Since 2000, a broad-scale 50 km SST was used to mon...
Fringing reefs have significant impacts on beach dynamics, yet there is little research on how they should be considered in beach nourishment design, monitoring, and conservation works. Thus, the behavior and characteristics of nourishment projects a...
Increasing evidence suggests that coastal ecosystems provide significant protection against coastal flooding. However, these ecosystems are highly impacted by local human activities and climate change, which has resulted in reducing their extent and...
This study utilized a shock-capturing Boussinesq model FUNWAVE-TVD to investigate the maximum momentum flux in the solitary wave run-up zone over back-reef slopes. Validation results of the present model were compared to the previous version of FUNWA...
This study evaluated the status of coral communities at the fringing reefs in the northern South China Sea, and their potential role in maintaining nearby coastline stability of northeastern Hainan Island (Puqian Bay, Hainan Bay). Thirty-nine coral s...
In 2020 marine heatwaves elicited severe bleaching on many of Earth’s coral reefs. We compared coral reef benthic community composition before (April 2020), during (September 2020), and after (December 2020–September 2021) this event at f...
Many populated, tropical coastlines fronted by fringing coral reefs are exposed to wave-driven marine flooding that is exacerbated by sea-level rise. Most fringing coral reefs are not alongshore uniform, but bisected by shore-normal channels; however...
Groundwater discharge from high tropical islands can have a significant influence on the biochemistry of reef ecosystems. Recent studies have suggested that a portion of groundwater may underflow the reefs to be discharged, either through the reef fl...
An epilithic algal matrix (EAM) exhibits rapid expansion, recovery capacity, and high adaptability, leading to widespread distribution in degraded coral reef habitats. However, limited research on the dynamic processes of succession hinders a compreh...
Benthic habitat zonation is described from in situ observations and seabed photographs taken from the coastal area of Weno Island, Chuuk, Micronesia. Habitat groups, types, and boundaries are defined by visible substratum characteristics (i.e., in si...
Understanding the transport and exchange of water masses both within a reef and between a reef and the surrounding ocean is needed to describe a wide-range of ecosystem processes that are shaped by the movement of material and heat. We show how novel...
This study reveals the coastal protection benefits of small artificial reefs on tropical islands. A monitored case study involving field and computer modelling investigations, as well as construction of a 95 m long reef and 12,000 m3 of local sand no...
Coral reef rehabilitation in the Caribbean is of major ecological and economic importance in the West Indies. Local organizations in Grenada constructed a cement pyramid artificial reef structure with rugosity (termed “The Pyramid”) and p...
Coral reef assemblages generally form gradients of spatial structures which are governed by a variety of interacting physical and biological processes that vary in intensity, frequency, and spatial scale. Assessing the structure of contemporary reef...
Artificial reefs have been suggested as alternative dive sites to mitigate human pressure on natural reefs. Despite the conceptual appeal of artificial reefs, there is a paucity of empirical evidence regarding their effectiveness in achieving this ob...
Since 2011, recurring Sargassum Brown Tides (SBTs), caused by periodic massive influxes of holopelagic Sargassum spp., have impacted seagrass meadows in the 50–200 m wide nearshore fringes of Mexican Caribbean reef lagoons. The present study ai...
Knowledge of factors that are important in reef resilience and integrity help us understand how reef ecosystems react following major anthropogenic and environmental disturbances. The North Jamaican fringing reefs have shown some recent resilience to...
Anegada, the easternmost island of the Virgin Islands group (Caribbean Sea), is a low Pleistocene carbonate platform surrounded by Horseshoe Reef, the world’s third-largest fringing reef. The western part of the island consists of an extensive...
The use of hyperspectral imaging in marine applications is limited, largely due to the cost-prohibitive nature of the technology and the risk of submerging such expensive electronics. Here, we examine the use of low-cost (<5000 GBP) hyperspectral...
Despite the traditional view of coral reefs occurring in oligotrophic tropical conditions, water optical properties over coral reefs differ substantially from nearby clear oceanic waters. Through an extensive set of optical measurements across the tr...
The high importance of bathymetric character for many processes on reefs means that high-resolution bathymetric models are commonly needed by marine scientists and coastal managers. Empirical and optimisation methods provide two approaches for derivi...
The Ningaloo Reef, Australia’s longest fringing reef, is uniquely positioned in the NW region of the continent, with clear, oligotrophic waters, relatively low human impacts, and a high level of protection through the World Heritage Site and it...
The persistence and resilience of marginal shallow coral reefs at their limits of environmental tolerance have declined due to chronic environmental degradation and climate change. However, the consequences for the natural recovery ability of reefs o...
Coral reefs globally are impacted by natural and anthropogenic stressors that are compounded by climate change. Understanding past reef responses to natural stressors (cyclones, sea-level change, freshwater inputs, and sedimentation) can provide impo...
Decision making for the conservation and management of coral reef biodiversity requires an understanding of spatial variability and distribution of reef habitat types. Despite the existence of very high-resolution remote sensing technology for nearly...
The South Pacific region is characterised by steep shelves and fringing coral reef islands. The lack of wide continental shelves that can dissipate waves makes Pacific Island countries vulnerable to large waves that can enhance extreme total water le...
There is a growing need for improved techniques to monitor coral reef restoration as these ecosystems and the goods and services they provide continue to decline under threats of anthropogenic activity and climate change. Given the difficulty of fine...
Coral reefs are susceptible to climate change, anthropogenic influence, and environmental stressors. However, corals in Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaiʻi have repeatedly shown resilience and acclimatization to anthropogenically-induced rising temperatures and in...
This study investigates the shoreline dynamics of a Caribbean reef-lined beach by utilizing a long-term satellite dataset spanning 75 years and a short-term, high-frequency dataset captured by a fixed camera over 3 years. An array of statistical meth...
Coral reefs in the Anthropocene are being subjected to unprecedented levels of stressors, including local disturbances—such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution—and large-scale destruction related to the global impacts of climate change...
Coral reefs off the coast of the Republic of Sudan are still considered to be among the most pristine reefs in the central Red Sea. The complex coastal fringing reefs, offshore banks, and shoals of Dungonab Bay in the north and Sanganeb atoll situate...
Microbes in coral reef sediments are thought to play an important role in organic matter remineralization and nutrient recycling. Microbial communities also reflect the environmental conditions, such as nutrient status, of an ecosystem. This study in...
Coral reefs in Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman waters of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have historically been dominated by Acropora corals. By early 2021, however, extensive Acropora cover remained at only two UAE locations: the fringing reefs of Sir...
A comparison of the community structure of juvenile hermatypic corals of 2 to 37 m depth at the fringing reefs of Curaçao between 1975 and 2005 shows a decline of 54.7% in juvenile coral abundance and a shift in species composition. Agaricia species...
Rochia nilotica is a tropical Pacific gastropod inhabiting shallow coral reef habitats and supporting important marine resources in Pacific island nations. In this study, we analyzed specimens collected from Weno Island, Chuuk Atoll, Federation State...
Numerous physical, chemical, and biological factors influence coral resilience in situ, yet current models aimed at forecasting coral health in response to climate change and other stressors tend to focus on temperature and coral abundance alone. To...
Great Barrier Reef catchments are under pressure from the effects of climate change, landscape modifications, and hydrology alterations. With the use of remote sensing datasets covering large areas, conventional methods of change detection can expose...
16 October 2018
In marine environments, microplastics have become a focus in scientific research in the last decade due to the global threat this pollutant poses to the marine environment. Corals in Hong Kong are under threat due to the degradation of the marine env...
Wind-wave contributions to tropical cyclone (TC)-induced extreme sea levels are known to be significant in areas with narrow littoral zones, particularly at oceanic islands. Despite this, little information exists in many of these locations to assess...
In this study, six basic Quaternary landform series (LFS) and their sedimentary deposits (LFS1 aeolian, LFS 2.1 to 2.2 mass wasting, LFS 3 cryogenic-glacial, LFS 4.1 to 4.6 fluvial, LFS 5.1 to 5.2 coastal-marine, LFS 6.1 to 6.3 lacustrine) are subdiv...