Coral reefs are a diverse ecosystem that safeguards the lives of thousands of people around the world by providing coastal protection. The degradation of coral reefs and rising sea levels due to climate change and anthropogenic influences has raised concerns about the protection of tropical coastlines in the near future. We calculated future increases in wave height behind reefs using a wave dissipation model calibrated with empirical wave data. We found that in the near future, the structural complexity of coral reefs is more important than sea level rise, as it determines the coastal protection provided by coral reefs. We also found that if the structure of deep-sea coral reefs continued to deteriorate, the average wave height at the current sea surface would also increase significantly. Our conclusions strongly suggest that maintaining the complex structure of coral reefs is a key to future tropical shoreline protection.
Source: "Science"