Coral reefs are seriously threatened by ocean acidification and climate change impacts like coral bleaching. Importantly though, the degree of threat varies for different coral reef areas due to differences in local and regional climate drivers. Climate models are based on the scientific community’s understanding of climate drivers and were used during this project to look forward or ‘project’ conditions in coral reef areas. The projections are global maps that depict changes in acidification and the frequency and severity of the temperature stress events that cause coral bleaching. The project team found that the date by which really severe bleaching is projected to occur annually varies with latitude. Beyond this date it is not likely that reefs would persist as coraldominated systems. Reefs in higher latitudes are projected to experience severe bleaching annually later than lower-latitude reefs. Under the fossil-fuel aggressive emissions scenarios that characterize the current situation and emissions growth, all reefs are seriously threatened by annual bleaching by the mid 2050’s; most a decade or two earlier. Refugia from temperature stress are temporary in nature; locations have more time to be exposed to the effects of ocean acidification; there are no refugia from both threats. The projections produced are the subject of two papers in important scientific journals and form the current global standard for this type of research. For the first time, this project resulted in climate projections for coral reef areas being made available to the public via an interactive tool. The climate projections formed the focus of engagement with 2 native Hawaiian communities. Both communities expressed great interest in more personal interaction with researchers and managers and a preference for word-‐of-‐mouth type communication when climate impacts occur on coral reefs.
