Corals record long-term Leeuwin current variability including Ningaloo Niño/Niña since 1795

Recent extreme sea level and temperature anomalies off Western Australia, including Ningaloo Niño events, are unprecedented in severity since 1795. Coral records reveal strong interannual and decadal variability in the Leeuwin Current (LC) and sea surface temperatures (SSTs), with post-1980 events likely exacerbated by global ocean warming and sea-level rise. The study links La Niña and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events to LC strength, providing a 215-year reconstruction of historical SSTs and current dynamics using coral SST data and ENSO reconstructions.

Zinke, J., Rountrey, A., Feng, M., Xie, S.-P., Dissard, D., Rankenburg, K., Lough, J. M., & McCulloch, M. T. (2014). Corals record long-term Leeuwin current variability including Ningaloo Niño/Niña since 1795. Nature Communications, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4607