Abstract
Widespread coral bleaching and mortality associated with global warming has occurred frequently since the phenomenon was first documented in the early 1980s. One such episode occurred in 1991 over the tropical Pacific-Indian Ocean region, has been attributed to high summer sea surface temperatures (SST). However, SST values from South China Sea (SCS) region do not provide a comprehensive explanation for the event. Time series records of rare earth elements, trace element Al/Ca ratios, and micro-domain images from corals in the SCS, suggest that this coral mortality event was exacerbated by heavy ash fallout from the cataclysmic 1991 volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo. The findings highlight the profound impact of a volcanic eruption on the modern vulnerable coral reef ecosystems, already under the stress of global warming.
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