Articles | Volume 15, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-105-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-105-2019
Review article
 | 
16 Jan 2019
Review article |  | 16 Jan 2019

The 4.2 ka event, ENSO, and coral reef development

Lauren T. Toth and Richard B. Aronson

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AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
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AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision
ED: Publish as is (13 Dec 2018) by Harvey Weiss
AR by Lauren Toth on behalf of the Authors (15 Dec 2018)  Author's response    Manuscript
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Short summary
We explore the hypothesis that a shift in global climate 4200 years ago (the 4.2 ka event) was related to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). We summarize records of coral reef development in the tropical eastern Pacific, where intensification of ENSO stalled reef growth for 2500 years starting around 4.2 ka. Because corals are highly sensitive to climatic changes, like ENSO, we suggest that records from coral reefs may provide important clues about the role of ENSO in the 4.2 ka event.