[18] Kleypas uses multiple venues to engage the general public including serving as a scientific advisor for the Netflix movie, Chasing Coral,[19][20][21] and founding a coral reef restoration project in Costa Rica[22][23] Kleypas is one of the scientists highlighted in Nancy Baron's book, Escape from the Ivory Tower,[24] which describes how scientists can share their research with the general public.
[25] Kleypas' early research used sea surface temperature measured with satellites to define water circulation patterns in the Great Barrier Reef.
[26] She used modeling to estimate the extent of the reef habitat since the Last Glacial Maximum[27] and under future climate scenarios.
This research was a key component in discussions[32][33][34] on how the ocean, especially coral reefs, will respond to future climate change.
In 2008, Kleypas's research revealed that the western Pacific warm pool is warming less than other parts of the global ocean and corals there are experiencing fewer bleaching events,[35] research that was covered in the press because it was a piece of potential good news with respect to the state of coral reefs in the Pacific.