How reef-building corals got their bones

Coral reefs provide shelter, sustenance and stability to a range of organisms, but these vital ecosystems would not exist if not for the skeletal structure created by stony corals. Now, KAUST scientists together with an international ...

Jekyll and Hyde corals tell different warming story

(Phys.org) —Like the rings of a tree trunk, Strontium-to-calcium ratios (Sr/Ca) in coral skeletons have been widely used to determine past ocean temperatures from yearly banded corals. However, scientists have now found ...

How soft corals defy their environment

Many marine organisms, including corals, build skeletons from calcium carbonate -- in the form of calcite or aragonite. The current composition of seawater favors the formation of aragonite -- but soft corals have a specific ...

CO2 is messing with coral skeletons

(Phys.org) -- An international scientific team has carried out the world’s first analysis of the impact of ocean acidification on every gene in the coral genome, throwing new light on the likely fate of corals under ...

Coral skeleton crystals record ocean acidification

The acidification of the oceans is recorded in the crystals of coral skeletons. This is a new tool for studying past environmental changes and combating climate change. Such is the main conclusion of a study led by the Spanish ...

Seeing inside coral

Coral reefs sustain marine life all over the world and protect its vulnerable coastlines. But the reefs are increasingly endangered, mainly because of pollution and rising ocean temperatures. Scientists, including American ...

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