Development of coral banks in Porcupine Seabight: do they have Mediterranean ancestors?

Benthic megafaunal community structure of cobalt-rich manganese crusts on Necker Ridge

“…The southern sites tend to have higher percent sediment cover than the northern pinnacles, and sediment cover was highly correlated with community structure in the DistLM models (Table 3), supporting this hypothesis. In general filter feeders are thought to be highly sensitive to sedimentation (De Mol et al, 2005;Tompkins-MacDonald and Leys, 2008), but the high numbers of crinoids at locations with more sediment suggests a decreased sensitivity to sedimentation in the crinoids compared to the octocorals. Corals use mucus-covered polyps to filter-feed while crinoids use specially arrayed tube feet (Meyer, 1979).…”

Lipids and nitrogen isotopes of two deep-water corals from the North-East Atlantic: initial results and implications for their nutrition

“…The deep-water corals (DWCs) often grow on carbonate mounds (e.g., Hovland et al 1994;Henriet et al 1998;Freiwald et al 1999De Mol et al 2002;Huvenne et al 2002 amongst others). They normally occur between 50 and 2000 m depth, typically at temperatures of 4-12ºC (Wilson 1979;Kenyon et al 1998Kenyon et al , 2003Rogers 1999;De Mol et al 2002, 2005, although they can tolerate sub-zero water temperatures for short periods of time (Bett 2000). L. pertusa, the dominant DWC, sometimes forms extensive reefs (e.g., Sula Ridge -Norwegian Shelf; Freiwald et al 1999, but more often occurs as small colonies of a few centimetres to a few metres across (e.g., Darwin Mounds -Northern Rockall Trough; Masson et al 2003).…”

Site U1317

“…These clinoforms are frequently characterized by a highamplitude top sigmoid reflector. This seismic facies is interpreted as migrating drift bodies (Van Rooij et al, 2003;De Mol et al, 2005). The high amplitude and the reversals of signal polarity of these top sigmoidreflectors indicate that these clinoforms could have contained traces of gas (Henriet et al, 2002) or a remarkable change in lithology (De Mol et al, 2005).…”

“…However, an important observation is that the reflectors underneath the mounds show reduced amplitudes, although the reflectors do not completely disappear. Thus, not all the seismic energy is absorbed or dispersed inside the mound facies (De Mol et al, 2005). Analysis of velocity pull-ups of single-channel seismic indicates that the seismic facies of the coral banks is homogeneous and transparent with an estimated internal velocity of 1850 ± 50 m/s (De Mol et al, 2002).…”

“…Strong bottom currents in the Belgica mound province that result from internal tidal wave effects at the boundary between MOW and ENAW provides suspended food for filter-feeding cold-water corals, sweeps the polyps clean of detritus, and prevents burial of the corals by sediment. Initiation and development of coral growth can be related to major oceanographic changes in the Pliocene subsequent to the closure of the Isthmus of Panama (De Mol et al, 2002, 2005Von Rooij et al, 2003).…”