When people think of coral reefs, they typically picture warm, clear waters with brightly colored corals and fishes. But other corals live in deep, dark, cold waters, often far from shore in remote locations. These varieties are just as ecologically important as their shallow water counterparts.
The Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, on the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) coast in north Florida, is a beautiful place. It is not uncommon there to see ospreys and bald eagles eyeing the coastline, pelican formations flying low, dolphins churning the water in a feeding frenzy or sharks cruising the shallows seeking out their next meal. It is also a place where a clear view of the horizon when standing on the beach is the rule, rather than the exception.
FSUCML’s Dr Sandra Brooke is part of a research team that discovered a giant coral reef about 160 miles off of Charleston, South Carolina. The reef is a half mile below the ocean surface and is estimated to run for at least 85 linear miles. These corals could be hundreds of thousands of years old. “It’s kind of thrown my mental image of what the reef out here looks like for a loop” says Dr. Brooke. Dr. Brooke was among team members on Friday-8/24- who dove in the sub Alvin to see this new reef. She stated it was an “incredible” surprise to find so much live coral in the area. A reporter for the Huffington Post is aboard the R/V Atlantis. To read his article, click the title above to learn more about this amazing discovery. Also, to learn more about the ongoing research trip and live blogs from the scientists click here: https://marinelab.fsu.edu/news-around-the-lab/deep-search-2018-deep-sea-exploration
Read FSUCML's Dr. Sandra Brooke's August 25th Mission Log from aboard the R/V Atlantis about how Deep-sea corals grow.
From August 19 to September 2, 2018, FSUCML's Dr. Sandra Brooke is part of a research expedition sailing on the R/V Atlantis (Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst.) with the submersible ALVIN. The cruise is led by Erik Cordes (Temple University) and includes participants from several universities, the US Geological Survey, NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as well as media representatives. The cruise will collect critical baseline data on deep-water coral, canyons and cold seep habitats offshore the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern US, to inform management and conservation of these sensitive deep-water ecosystems. At the link below, follow this expedition with daily mission logs and amazing pictures taken from ALVIN’s eyes on the seafloor.
Unlike shallow corals reefs, which are restricted to warm clear waters, deep or cold-water corals are found in almost all the world’s oceans. In the Atlantic, the most abundant cold-water reef-building coral is Lophelia pertusa, a branching stony coral that can form structures over a hundred meters tall and several kilometers long. Some of the largest and most stunning of these ecosystems occur in the frigid waters off the coast of Norway, as far north as the Arctic Circle. So yes, there are indeed corals in the Arctic!
The beauty and importance of these teeming underwater habitats by Dr. Sandra Brooke.
FSUCML Faculty, Dr. Sandra Brooke’s discovery of the first colony of Lophelia pertusa in the mid-Atlantic contributed to the White House decision to protect the region from drilling.
Dr. Sandra Brooke has been instrumental in the process of protecting deep sea corals in the Mid-Atlantic. NOAA Fisheries just announced the final rule for the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s action to designate a large offshore protected area, >38,000 sq miles of canyon and slope habitat from bottom tending gear.
Dr. Brooke is researching the changing environmental conditions on cold-water coral reefs located in Norway.
