Cold-Water Coral Mound Development Related to INtermediate WAter DEnsity Gradient (INWADE)
Final Report Abstract
The project Cold-water coral mound development related to INtermediate WAter DEnsity gradient - INWADE - is based on the discovery that the density of seawater plays an important role in the distribution of cold-water coral (CWC) reefs along the European continental margin at water depths between 250-400 m along Norway to 600-900 m off Ireland. In these water depths the CWC reefs are able to build carbonate mounds and profit from currents supplying their food and nutrition. With the possibility to reconstruct past seawater densities, INWADE developed a method to determine past seawater densities for the last 3 million years (Ma) for this area. The results highlight that also the first coral reefs developed at ~2.7 to 3 Ma offshore Ireland were influenced by similar intermediate water conditions as the Recent coral reefs in that area. The use of climate models reconstructing past environmental settings (temperature, salinity) for the Last Glacial Maximum (21 thousand years ago) were used to test the established method where CWC reefs were not growing. The results clearly show that the environmental settings were off the preferred density range during this glacial period confirming the hypothesis of Dullo et al. (2008). Overall, CWC carbonate mound growth portrays prolific marine benthic ecosystem development and is linked to small changes in ambient bottom water characteristics (i.e., density). These results show that marine benthic ecosystems occupy very narrow and specific ecological niches, which are very sensitive and even at risk to the actual global environmental changes, such as bottom water warming and ocean acidification. As a consequence, our findings have led to a robust diagnostic key tool for the interpretation of basin-wide sudden onset or shutdown of carbonate mound growth. The main results were promoted to news blogs like DEEPWAVE, dedicated to the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems and the species they sustain, through the development of innovative technologies, and conservation action based on scientific developments (in German: https://deepwaveblog.wordpress.com/category/meeresforschung/page/2/).
Publications
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(2014) Facies and benthic foraminiferal fauna from cold-water coral mounds and reefs: Tools for paleoceanographic reconstructions. 19th International Sedimentological Congress 2014, 18.-22.08.2014 Geneva, Switzerland
Spezzaferri, S., Stalder, C., Rüggeberg, A., Vertino, A.
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(2014) Seawater density reconstruction of intermediate waters along the European continental margin. 2nd Deep-Water Circulation Congress, 10.-12.09.2014, Gent, Belgium
Rüggeberg, A., Flogel, S., Raddatz, J., Dullo, C.
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(2015) Of Mounds And Water Masses - Oceanic Controls On Carbonate Mound Settings Along The NE Atlantic Margin. 1st International Carbonate Mound Conference, 01.-05.11.2015, Monte Verita, Ascona (Switzerland)
Rüggeberg, A., Flogel, S., Foubert, A., Martins, I.M., Raddatz, J., Vandorpe, T., Vitorino, J., Van Rooij, D., Dullo, W.-Chr., Henriet, J.-P.
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(2016) Paleo-seawater density reconstruction and its implication for cold-water coral carbonate mounds in the northeast Atlantic through time. Paleoceanography 31(3): 365-379
Rüggeberg, A., Flogel, S., Dullo, W.-Chr., Raddatz, J., Liebetrau, V.
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(2016) Pleistocene seawater density reconstruction in the northeast Atlantic - implications for intermediate water mass circulation and carbonate mound development. 24th Meeting of Swiss Sedimentologist, 27.02.2017, Fribourg, Switzerland
Rüggeberg, A., Flogel, S., Dullo, W.-Chr., Raddatz, J., Liebetrau, V.
