“…Beuck et al, 2010) and/or a change in ambient chemistry associated with burial leading to partial dissolution of aragonite, which was also related to the strong alteration and dissolution of coral fragments sampled at various sites in the Gulf of Cadiz (Kopf et al, 2004;Foubert et al, 2008). The basic requirements for the settlement and growth of cold-water corals are suitable substrates, supply of nutrients and low sedimentation rates in a hydrodynamic environment with long and stable (cool) water temperature conditions (e.g., Frederiksen et al, 1992;Rogers, 1999;De Mol et al, 2002;Freiwald, 2002;Freiwald et al, 2004;Alvarez-Péréz et al, 2005;Roberts et al, 2006). Recently, Dullo et al (2008) documented that cold-water corals in the Atlantic can adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen) but they only thrive in seawater densities (sigma-theta, σ Θ ) between 27.35 and 27.65 kg m − 3 .…”