TY - JOUR T1 - ENSO Drove 2500-Year Collapse of Eastern Pacific Coral Reefs JF - Science Y1 - 2012 A1 - Toth, L. T. A1 - Aronson, R. B. A1 - Vollmer, S. V. A1 - Hobbs, J. W. A1 - Urrego, D. H. A1 - Cheng, H. A1 - Enochs, I. C. A1 - Combosch, D. J. A1 - van Woesik, R. A1 - Macintyre, I. G. AB - Cores of coral reef frameworks along an upwelling gradient in Panamá show that reef ecosystems in the tropical eastern Pacific collapsed for 2500 years, representing as much as 40% of their history, beginning about 4000 years ago. The principal cause of this millennial-scale hiatus in reef growth was increased variability of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its coupling with the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The hiatus was a Pacific-wide phenomenon with an underlying climatology similar to probable scenarios for the next century. Global climate change is probably driving eastern Pacific reefs toward another regional collapse. VL - 337318333105323329353215234133898029327161272715118 119109123420422375802767219435149464823345354035608535771415 UR - http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.1221168 IS - 609058576041305910598912255331111-125-64469129166932A216274137112 ER -