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Researchers suggest that natural processes appear to be regulating sea surface temperatures in a region of the western Pacific Ocean.

Reefs in the area had only suffered relatively few episodes of bleaching because the naturally warm waters had remained stable, they observed.

The findings appear in the Geophysical Research Letters online journal.

The study, carried out by scientists from the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (Ncar) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (Aims), appears to support a theory that natural processes prevent ocean sea surface temperatures exceeding 31C (88F).

A limit on the amount that water can warm, the team argues, will help protect reefs that have evolved in warm waters.

And reefs found in cooler waters will experience a larger degree of warming, it says.

"Global warming is damaging many corals," lead author Joan Kleypas explains, "but it appears to be bypassing certain reefs that support some of the greatest diversity of life on the planet.

"In essence, reefs that are already in hot water may be more protected from warming than reefs that are not; this is rare hopeful news for these important ecosystems."