For a 2010 paper in the journal Global and Planetary Change, researchers studied the land areas of 27 central Pacific coral reef islands measured over 19 to 61 year periods. They found that the islands' overall area increased by 7%. Per the paper, the "results of this study contradict widespread perceptions that all reef islands are eroding in response to recent sea level rise." Pacific coral reef islands are widely considered to be endangered by sea-level increases caused by global warming.