Video Description:
The NSF NCAR Explorer Series brings world-class science directly to the public through free-of-charge presentations, videos, and participatory science initiatives led by our research scientists. The Explorer Series touches on pivotal areas of NSF NCAR research such as climate science, natural disasters, ocean currents, air pollution, and the behavior of our sun.
In this Explorer Series lecture, we discuss: what is the future we want for America’s largest coral reefs? These delicate ecosystems support marine life and human endeavors but climate change is threatening their existence. There are several climate models addressing marine life impacts, however barriers prevent access to the communities who need them most. Current research addresses this problem by presenting a novel type of collaborative research that works closely with people who make their living on coral reefs while integrating climate metrics from the NCAR Community Earth System Model version 2 large ensemble (CESM2-LE), to predict what will happen to the coral ecosystem while providing adaptation techniques.
Scientist Kelly Dunning addresses the gap between the existence of complex, high-resolution models and their utility for those who are seeing the most drastic effects of climate change on coral reefs. She will also discuss ongoing adaptation efforts, including livelihood shifts and novel restoration techniques.