Estimates of past, present, and future reef growth in the Florida Keys
Detailed Description
This plot compares reef accretion (growth) in millimeters per year across the Holocene (8,500 years ago to present or “0”), the recent past (1996-2019), and a potential future under coral restoration. Reef accretion peaked ~7000 years BP during the Middle Holocene and nearly stopped ~3000 BP (Late Holocene). From 1996 to present, reef accretion has been steadily declining, leading at least two-thirds of reefs in the Florida Keys to fall into a state of net erosion.
If future restoration targets of NOAA’s Mission: Iconic Reefs initiative are met, however, reef growth could once again be as high, or higher, than its peak growth period 7000 years ago.
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.
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