Massive coral skeletons preserve a rich history of the multivariate ways in which their environment, the tropical ocean, has changed over their lifetime. In this talk I’ll highlight what we have learned from corals about past climate variability and recent trends. My lab’s work on paleorecords from tropical Pacific corals has extended our knowledge of influential climate phenomena, including El Niño, recent warming, and multidecadal variability that is poorly captured in the limited instrumental record. We are also examining how the Pacific influences extratropical climate on these scales, including drought. Coral reefs are experiencing major declines worldwide, and paleoclimate records can help us understand the history – and document the unprecedented nature – of these stresses. To address solutions to this ecological crisis, and expand public understanding of the ocean and coral reefs, I am working to revitalize the ocean at the Biosphere 2 to create an experimental reef where solutions to the coral reef crisis can be developed and tested.