www.lophelia.org

s.hennige@hw.ac.ukj.m.roberts@hw.ac.uk

Contact

For more information

Cold-water corals reefs are among the most three-dimensionally complex deep-sea habitats known. Predicted rises in atmospheric CO2 concentration which result in a drop in ocean pH (Ocean Acidi�-cation), and predicted rises in sea temperature place these key ecosystems at considerable risk. These systems support a vast array of associated bio-diversity, so in order to predict their future fate, increased biological understanding has to be coupled with accurate in situ mapping and sensing.

AcknowledgementsHeriot-Watt University’s Environment and Climate Change theme.Heriot-Watt University FLEDGE III ProgrammeThe UK Ocean Acidi�cation Research Programme.EPOCAHERMIONERoyal Society of Edinburgh

Changing Oceans: Working in Deep Marine Environments

Cold Water Coral Reefs

Hennige SJ, Wicks LC , Henry L, Navas JM, Roberts JM

Ecohydrodynamic modelling

Sensing technology

These coral ecosystems are between 40 and 3000m deep, and as such, specialist equipment is needed to inspect and sample from these habitats. This in-cludes submersibles, such as JAGO, or Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs). These vehicles are equipped with multibeam echosounders, high de�-nition cameras and manipulator arms, to measure and collect samples on a broad or �ne-scale.

Accurate, quick and robust sensors are a key aspect of ongoing research in deep-sea habitats. However, commerically avavilable sensors are often not suitable for deployment in conjunction with an ROV due to their size, slow reaction times and sensor platform. A recent review by Heriot-Watt on current state of the art technology identi-�ed Ion Sensitive Field E�ect Transistors (ISFETs) as a potential route to improve upon current tech-nologies to rapidly assess in situ carbonate chemis-try.

Ecohydrodynamic approaches are being used to de-scribe the physical constraints which e�ect biologi-cal and chemical conditions over the Mingulay Coral Reef Complex, Outer Hebrides. Thse communities rely on the delivery of food from the sea surface, so a 3D ocean model coupled to a particle tracking model is being used to assess water exchange and renewal in this Reef complex.

Mapping Biodiversity in Marine Protected Areas

Accessing deep habitats

Acoustic remote sensing technology is vital to cold-water coral biodiversity research at Heriot-Watt. Multibeam echosounder, sidescan sonar and seismic surveys provide information about seabed bathymetry, texture and composition, data which are then used to model relationships between biodiversity and environmental settings on estab-lished or proposed marine protected areas in areas including the Darwin Mounds, Hatton Bank and the Mingulay Reef Complex.

The sophisticated vehicles needed to access and observe these deep ecosystems

An ecohydrodynamic model of the Mingulay Reef Complex, Outer Hebrides

Centre for Marine Biodiversity &

Biotechnology, School of Life

Sciences, Heriot-Watt University,

Edinburgh, Scotland, EH14 4AS

T: +44 (0) 131 451 3463

F: +44 (0) 131 451 3009

Roberts et al. (2006) Reefs of the deep: the biology and geology of cold-water coral ecosystems. Science 312: 543Roberts et al. (2009) Cold-water Corals: The Biology and Geology of Deep-sea Coral Habitats. Cambridge Uni. Press

Lophelia pertusa polyps and reef forming coloniesA multibeam scan showing a 3D image of coral mounds at Mingulay (left) and a picture

of the typical diversity observed on such reefs (right)