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Sea-level rise (SLR) is predicted to elevate water depths above coral reefs and to increase coastal wave exposure as ecological degradation limits vertical reef growth, but projections lack data on interactions between local rates of reef growth and sea level rise. Here we calculate the vertical growth potential of more than 200 tropical western Atlantic and Indian Ocean reefs, and compare these against recent and projected rates of SLR under different Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. Although many reefs retain accretion rates close to recent SLR trends, few will have the capacity to track SLR projections under RCP4.5 scenarios without sustained ecological recovery, and under RCP8.5 scenarios most reefs are predicted to experience mean water depth increases of more than 0.5 m by 2100. Coral cover strongly predicts reef capacity to track SLR, but threshold cover levels that will be necessary to prevent submergence are well above those observed on most reefs. Urgent action is thus needed to mitigate climate, sea-level and future ecological changes in order to limit the magnitude of future reef submergence.

Sea-level rise (SLR) is predicted to elevate water depths above coral reefs and to increase coastal wave exposure asecological degradation limits vertical reef growth, but projections lack data on interactions between local rates of reefgrowth and sea level rise. Here we calculate the vertical growth potential of more than 200 tropical western Atlanticand Indian Ocean reefs, and compare these against recent and projected rates of SLR under different RepresentativeConcentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. Although many reefs retain accretion rates close to recent SLR trends, few willhave the capacity to track SLR projections under RCP4.5 scenarios without sustained ecological recovery, and underRCP8.5 scenarios most reefs are predicted to experience mean water depth increases of more than 0.5 m by 2100. Coralcover strongly predicts reef capacity to track SLR, but threshold cover levels that will be necessary to prevent submergenceare well above those observed on most reefs. Urgent action is thus needed to mitigate climate, sea-level and futureecological changes in order to limit the magnitude of future reef submergence.

Sea-level rise (SLR) is predicted to elevate water depths above coral reefs and to increase coastal wave exposure asecological degradation limits vertical reef growth, but projections lack data on interactions between local rates of reefgrowth and sea level rise. Here we calculate the vertical growth potential of more than 200 tropical western Atlanticand Indian Ocean reefs, and compare these against recent and projected rates of SLR under different RepresentativeConcentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. Although many reefs retain accretion rates close to recent SLR trends, few willhave the capacity to track SLR projections under RCP4.5 scenarios without sustained ecological recovery, and underRCP8.5 scenarios most reefs are predicted to experience mean water depth increases of more than 0.5 m by 2100. Coralcover strongly predicts reef capacity to track SLR, but threshold cover levels that will be necessary to prevent submergenceare well above those observed on most reefs. Urgent action is thus needed to mitigate climate, sea-level and futureecological changes in order to limit the magnitude of future reef submergence.

Sea-level rise (SLR) is predicted to elevate water depths above coral reefs and to increase coastal wave exposure as ecological degradation limits vertical reef growth, but projections lack data on interactions between local rates of reef growth and sea level rise. Here we calculate the vertical growth potential of more than 200 tropical western Atlantic and Indian Ocean reefs, and compare these against recent and projected rates of SLR under different Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. Although many reefs retain accretion rates close to recent SLR trends, few will have the capacity to track SLR projections under RCP4.5 scenarios without sustained ecological recovery, and under RCP8.5 scenarios most reefs are predicted to experience mean water depth increases of more than 0.5 m by 2100. Coral cover strongly predicts reef capacity to track SLR, but threshold cover levels that will be necessary to prevent submergence are well above those observed on most reefs. Urgent action is thus needed to mitigate climate, sea-level and future ecological changes in order to limit the magnitude of future reef submergence.

This study contributed to improving our understanding of how disinfectants, applied to control biofouling of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, result in membrane performance degradation. We investigated changes in physicochemical properties and permeation performance of a RO membrane with fully aromatic polyamide (PA) active layer. Membrane samples were exposed to varying concentrations of monochloramine, bromide, and iodide in both synthetic and natural seawater. Elemental analysis of the membrane active layer by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) revealed the incorporation of bromine and iodine into the polyamide. The kinetics of polyamide bromination were first order with respect to the concentration of the secondary oxidizing agent Br2 for the conditions investigated. Halogenated membranes were characterized after treatment with a reducing agent and heavy ion probes to reveal the occurrence of irreversible ring halogenation and an increase in carboxylic groups, the latter produced as a result of amide bond cleavage. Finally, permeation experiments revealed increases in both water permeability and salt passage as a result of oxidative damage.