Cold water corals conference to be held in ...(are useful to scientists studying past c...)

Date:10/22/2008

are useful to scientists studying past climate conditions on Earth, as well as for those seeking to understand how the planet will respond to climate change. The corals contain a unique archive of ocean climate history in their calcium carbonate skeletons. "We are able to use the skeletons of cold-water corals to provide a historic record of how the temperature and chemistry of the deep ocean has changed in the past," said Laura Robinson, Assistant Scientist in the WHOI Biology Department. "This type of record is tremendously important in building models to estimate the impact of future climate change."

In an era of concern over climate change, cold-water corals may be among the first ocean species to be affected by increases in deep-water temperature and chemistry. They use calcium carbonate to create their stony skeletons. The ocean is the primary sink on earth for increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. More carbon dioxide lowers the pH of the ocean making it more acidic and more difficult to precipitate calcium carbonate skeletons. This threat is doubled for deep corals that rely on plankton for food, many of which also have calcium carbonate shells.

To accomplish the TRACES science mission, state of the art deep-submergence technologies and future advances will be needed. Autonomous underwater robots (AUVs), Remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) and Hybrid ROVs outfitted with new sensor technologies will be instrumental in the exploration and research planned by TRACES. The international group meeting at Woods Hole will be able to see exciting new technological developments including innovative Hybrid ROVs capable of working to very deepest portions of the ocean.

The TRACES meeting at Woods Hole is sponsored by the British Consulate in Boston with further support from the European Commission, UK Natural Environment Research Council, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Canadian Department of Fisherie
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Contact: Stephanie Murphy samurphy@whoi.edu 508-289-2271 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Source:Eurekalert

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