What caused the world’s largest die-off of mangroves? A wobble in the moon’s orbit is partly to blame

While evidence clearly implicates El Niño, we found this climate cycle had a very large accomplice: the moon.

In our study, published in Science Advances today, we mapped the expansion and contraction of mangrove forest cover over the past 40 years, and found clear evidence that the moon’s orbital wobble had an effect.

Our mapping also shows mangroves are expanding and their canopy thickening across the entire continent, which is most likely due to higher carbon dioxide levels. Spectacular though it was, the Gulf of Carpentaria mangrove dieback event was entirely natural….When we mapped the extent and distribution of Australian mangrove forests over the past 40 years, we found clear signs of the moon’s wobble at work. This 18.6-year orbital cycle turns out to be the main reason why mangrove canopy expands and contracts around most of Australia’s coastlines—and explains the patterns of mangrove mortality in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

2015 Gulf of Carpentaria mangrove die-off, from space [image credit: NASA] Even the type of local tides was involved. Researchers conclude: we can chalk the 2015 mass death up to „natural causes.“ – – – Over the summer of 2015, 40 million mangroves died of thirst, says Phys.org. This vast die-off—the world’s largest ever recorded—killed […]

What caused the world’s largest die-off of mangroves? A wobble in the moon’s orbit is partly to blame