UID:
almahu_9949195359202882
Format:
XXXII, 1243 p. 361 illus., 116 illus. in color.
,
online resource.
Edition:
1st ed. 2005.
ISBN:
9783540276739
Series Statement:
Erlangen Earth Conference Series
Content:
Following the exciting exploration of hot vent and cold seep ecosystems, the rediscovery of cold-water coral ecosystems with high-technology instrumentation is currently another hot topic in multidisciplinary marine research. Conventionally, coral reefs are regarded as restricted to warm and well-illuminated tropical seas, not associated with cold and dark waters of higher latitudes. However, ongoing scientific missions have shed light on the global significance of this overlooked ecosystem. Cold-water coral ecosystems are involved in the formation of large seabed structures such as reefs and giant carbonate mounds, and they represent unexploited paleo-environmental archives of earth history. Like their tropical cousins, cold-water coral ecosystems harbour rich species diversity. Despite the great water depths, commercial interests overlap more and more with the coral occurrences. Human activities already impinge directly on cold-water coral reefs causing severe damage to this vulnerable ecosystem. In this volume, the current key institutions involved in cold-water coral research have contributed 62 state-of-the-art articles from geology and oceanography to biology and conservation.
Note:
The paleoenvironmental context -- Distribution -- Mapping -- Exogenic and endogenic controls -- Coral Biology -- Diversity -- Environmental archive -- Conservation.
In:
Springer Nature eBook
Additional Edition:
Printed edition: ISBN 9783540806264
Additional Edition:
Printed edition: ISBN 9783540241362
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1007/3-540-27673-4
URL:
https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27673-4