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Reef-Forming Cold-Water Corals

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Ocean Margin Systems

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Abstract

Coral reefs are something we usually associate with warm, tropical waters and exotic fish, but not with the cold, deep and dark waters of the North Atlantic, where corals were regarded as oddities on the seafloor. It is now known that cold-water coral species also produce reefs which rival their tropical cousins in terms of their species richness and diversity. Increasing commercial operations in deep waters, and the use of advanced offshore technology have slowly revealed the true extent of Europe’s hidden coral ecosystems. This article reviews current knowledge about the reef-forming potential and the environmental controls of the scleractinian Lophelia pertusa along different deep-shelf and continental margin settings with special reference to NE Atlantic occurrences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Universität Tübingen, Herrenberger Str. 51, 72070, Tübingen, Germany

    A. Freiwald

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  1. A. Freiwald
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Correspondence to A. Freiwald .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Universität Bremen, Klagenfurter Straße 2, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Gerold Wefer  & Dierk Hebbeln  & 

  2. DEEPSEAS Benthic Biology Group George Deacon Division for Ocean Processes, Southampton Oceanography Centre, European Way, Empress Dock, SO14 3ZH, Southampton, UK

    David Billett

  3. Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Celsiusstraße 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Bo Barker Jørgensen

  4. Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Michael Schlüter

  5. Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands

    Tjeerd C. E. van Weering

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Freiwald, A. (2002). Reef-Forming Cold-Water Corals. In: Wefer, G., Billett, D., Hebbeln, D., Jørgensen, B.B., Schlüter, M., van Weering, T.C.E. (eds) Ocean Margin Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05127-6_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05127-6_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-07872-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-05127-6

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