At the global level, current greenhouse gas emissions correspond most closely to the IPCC Regional Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5. Within the Azores ecoregion, this scenario projects a 2.5°C warming above mean conditions for the years 2050–2099. There is little spatial variability in projected warming across this relatively small ICES ecoregion (see Figure 6).
Human-induced climate change and ocean acidification may be expected to have a significant influence on the ecoregion in the future. There is, however, little or no information at present on existing or predicted future changes in the biology of the ecoregion as a consequence of climate change.
This ecoregion is a hotspot for cold-water corals, and laboratory studies have demonstrated that cold-water corals are vulnerable to ocean acidification.