Corals reefs and climate change is topic of Sept. 24 USGS public lecture

USGS Research Geologist and Oceanographer Curt Storlazzi will look at “Coral Reefs, Climate Change, and Atoll Sustainability” at the next USGS public lecture on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7:00 pm. Topics include:

• Sea level is rising, threatening low-lying atoll islands throughout the western Pacific Ocean.
• Climate change is degrading the coral reefs that atoll islands have developed upon, decreasing the reefs’ ability to reduce wave energy and thus wave-driven island flooding.
• Wave-driven island overwash events threaten the limited freshwater and agricultural resources on these low-lying islands.
• We are trying to assess the impact of climate change and sea-level rise on the infrastructure, freshwater availability, and natural and historic resources of atoll islands under a variety of scenarios to determine “tipping points” – when islands are no longer habitable.

The free lecture will take place at Rambo Auditorium Bldg. 3, at the USGS in Menlo Park.