# Highest ocean heat in four centuries places Great Barrier Reef in danger

*PRI Rank #4 · Topics and Trends in Most Cited Marine and fisheries research Papers, Class of 2026*

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/marine-and-fisheries-research/2026/rank-4*

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rank | #4 |
| 18m citations | 68 |
| Journal | Nature |
| Year | 2024 |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41586-024-07672-x |
| Corresponding authors | Benjamin J. Henley |
| Institution | University of Wollongong, Australia |

**Ranking page:** [Topics and Trends in Most Cited Marine and fisheries research Papers, Class of 2026](https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/marine-and-fisheries-research/2026)

**Paper link:** [10.1038/s41586-024-07672-x](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07672-x)

## Topics

Great Barrier Reef · Coral bleaching · Sea surface temperature · Coral Sea · 400-year temperature reconstruction · January–March heat extremes · historical baseline · anthropogenic climate change attribution · climate model analysis · human influence on climate · post-1900 warming trend · near-annual bleaching trajectory · Ecosystem services · outstanding universal value · ecological function threat

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Marine and fisheries research Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/marine-and-fisheries-research/2026. Accessed 2026-07-17.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```