Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Oceanography and Coastal Sciences
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
The rapid progression of climate change is driving changes in marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, with resulting decline in ecosystem function and services. Coastal and inland communities are dependent on marine ecosystems for nutritional, economic, and cultural benefits as well as for coastal protection. Current levels of emissions are significantly higher than the goal of the Paris Agreement to reduce warming to well below 2℃, which could lead to further decline and potential collapse of ecosystems. Solar Radiation Management (SRM) has been suggested as a tool to mitigate climate impacts and ecosystem collapses while emission reduction efforts are underway. Global dependence on marine ecosystems motivates a global assessment of impacts of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI), the most studied SRM strategy. In this dissertation, I present three studies where I assess impacts of SAI on global marine ecosystems, with a focus on coral reefs and develop a model to improve model projections of impact assessments for coral bleaching by incorporating co-occurring stressors.
In the first study, I generated projections of coral thermal bleaching and assessed ocean acidification impacts for three scenarios of SAI and compared them to a moderate emissions future climate scenario without intervention. The study found that SAI limits the impacts of warming but slightly worsens the long-term stress from acidification. In the second study, I expanded the impact assessment to all marine ecosystems by generating projections of climate exposure risk under a SAI scenario and comparing it to a no intervention scenario. The study showed that SAI reduces the fraction of marine species at critical risk across the global ocean but to different extents. Additionally, we find that local stressors need to be mitigated to derive any long-term benefits even with SAI driven mitigation of climate exposure. To improve model projections of coral bleaching, I developed the first global observation-driven predictive coral bleaching model incorporating both thermal and light stress. My goal with these studies is to provide policy relevant data and tools to improve our understanding of marine ecosystem impacts of SAI.
Date
7-15-2026
Recommended Citation
Anil, Gouri, "Stratospheric Aerosol Injection and Marine Ecosystems: Impacts with an Emphasis on Coral Reefs" (2026). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 7163.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/7163
Committee Chair
Harrison, Cheryl S.
LSU Acknowledgement
1
LSU Accessibility Acknowledgment
1