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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Trade wind regimes during the Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching season
Weather and climate dynamics, Vol.7(1), pp.109-127
16/01/2026
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Abstract
The trade winds over the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) dominate the local weather in the region, bringing cooler and drier air over the Reef, which promotes ocean cooling. The absence of the trade winds is often marked by periods of weaker winds and higher humidity, known as the doldrums, which cause ocean temperatures to spike and can develop into marine heatwaves that lead to coral bleaching. As the shallow waters of the GBR are strongly tied to the local meteorology, studying the evolution and structure of the trade winds during the austral warmer months is essential for understanding the development of thermal bleaching events. Through a K-Means cluster analysis on reanalysis soundings at Davies Reef from December–April 1996–2024, we find the formation of the doldrums is linked to the passage of a Rossby-wave train over eastern Australia. Years with mass thermal bleaching are linked with more doldrums days and weakened trade winds during December and April which can promote early-summer warming and allow warmer temperatures to persist later into the season.
Details
- Title
- Trade wind regimes during the Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching season
- Creators
- Lara S. Richards - Monash UniversitySteven T. Siems - Monash UniversityYi Huang - The University of MelbourneDaniel P. Harrison - Southern Cross UniversityWenhui Zhao - The University of Melbourne
- Publication Details
- Weather and climate dynamics, Vol.7(1), pp.109-127
- Publisher
- Copernicus Publications
- Number of pages
- 19
- Grant note
- This work was supported by the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program. The Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program is funded by the partnership between the Australian Governments Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. This research is also supported by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes (grant no. CE170100023) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century (grant no. CE230100012).
- Identifiers
- 991013345518802368
- Copyright
- © Author(s) 2026.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; National Marine Science Centre; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article