Articles | Volume 15, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-105-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-105-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Review article
| 
16 Jan 2019
Review article |
| 16 Jan 2019
| 16 Jan 2019
The 4.2 ka event, ENSO, and coral reef development
US Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science
Center, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
Richard B. Aronson
Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences, Florida Institute
of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA
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Short summary
We explore the hypothesis that a shift in global climate 4200 years ago (the 4.2 ka event) was related to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). We summarize records of coral reef development in the tropical eastern Pacific, where intensification of ENSO stalled reef growth for 2500 years starting around 4.2 ka. Because corals are highly sensitive to climatic changes, like ENSO, we suggest that records from coral reefs may provide important clues about the role of ENSO in the 4.2 ka event.
We explore the hypothesis that a shift in global climate 4200 years ago (the 4.2 ka event) was...
