Climate drivers of the 2015 Gulf of Carpentaria mangrove dieback

Made available by the Northern Territory Library via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT)."ESCC Hub researchers investigated the oceanic and atmospheric conditions leading up to the major mangrove dieback in late 2015 to identify potential stressors that contributed to the tree deaths. They found that it was most likely a result of a combination of very dry conditions and lower than average sea level. In combination, it appears that these conditions were unprecedented since at least 1971, and linked to the strong El Ni?o of 2015/16. More detailed attribution studies are necessary to determine what role, if any, human-induced climate change played in the 2015 dieback event. This would help inform natural resource policy-makers, planners and associated decision-makers about the causes of such events and how they may change into the future." Executive summaryExecutive summary -- Introduction: Mangrove physiology and stressors - This study -- Examination of climate drivers: Method - Timing of the event - Climate drivers - Summary of the major climate drivers of the dieback - Have these conditions occurred before? -- Towards attribution: did climate drivers cause the dieback?: A Gulf of Carpentaria mangrove stress index - Why was the sea level low? - Was there a contribution from climate change? -- Appendix: Sea level attribution method -- References.Climate drivers of the 2015 Gulf of Carpentaria mangrove dieback is licensed by the Bureau of Meteorology for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia licence. For licence conditions see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0