Articles | Volume 22, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2201-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2201-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
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09 May 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 09 May 2025
| 09 May 2025
Cold-water coral mounds are effective carbon sinks in the western Mediterranean Sea
Luis Greiffenhagen
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Jürgen Titschack
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Claudia Wienberg
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Haozhuang Wang
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Dierk Hebbeln
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
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Biogeosciences, 17, 5883–5908, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5883-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5883-2020, 2020
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We explore the sensitivity of cold-water corals (CWCs) to environmental changes utilizing a multiproxy approach on a coral-bearing sediment core from off southeastern Brazil. Our results reveal that over the past 160 kyr, CWCs flourished during glacial high-northern-latitude cold events (Heinrich stadials). These periods were associated with anomalous wet phases on the continent enhancing terrigenous nutrient and organic-matter supply to the continental margin, boosting food supply to the CWCs.
Ulrike Hanz, Claudia Wienberg, Dierk Hebbeln, Gerard Duineveld, Marc Lavaleye, Katriina Juva, Wolf-Christian Dullo, André Freiwald, Leonardo Tamborrino, Gert-Jan Reichart, Sascha Flögel, and Furu Mienis
Biogeosciences, 16, 4337–4356, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4337-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4337-2019, 2019
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Along the Namibian and Angolan margins, low oxygen conditions do not meet environmental ranges for cold–water corals and hence are expected to be unsuitable habitats. Environmental conditions show that tidal movements deliver water with more oxygen and high–quality organic matter, suggesting that corals compensate unfavorable conditions with availability of food. With the expected expansion of oxygen minimum zones in the future, this study provides an example how ecosystems cope with extremes.
Martin Bartels, Jürgen Titschack, Kirsten Fahl, Rüdiger Stein, Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz, Claude Hillaire-Marcel, and Dierk Hebbeln
Clim. Past, 13, 1717–1749, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1717-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1717-2017, 2017
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Multi-proxy analyses (i.a., benthic foraminiferal assemblages and sedimentary properties) of a marine record from Woodfjorden at the northern Svalbard margin (Norwegian Arctic) illustrate a significant contribution of relatively warm Atlantic water to the destabilization of tidewater glaciers, especially during the deglaciation and early Holocene (until ~ 7800 years ago), whereas its influence on glacier activity has been fading during the last 2 millennia, enabling glacier readvances.
Max Wisshak, Jürgen Titschack, Wolf-Achim Kahl, and Peter Girod
Foss. Rec., 20, 173–199, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-173-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-173-2017, 2017
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The ongoing technical revolution in non-destructive 3-D visualisation via micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) finds a valuable application in the studies of bioerosion trace fossils, since their three-dimensional architecture lies hidden within hard substrates. Selected examples of such cases are illustrated by reference to bioerosion trace fossils preserved in Late Cretaceous belemnite guards from the European Chalk Province, including the description of two new trace fossil ichnospecies.
Quentin Dubois-Dauphin, Paolo Montagna, Giuseppe Siani, Eric Douville, Claudia Wienberg, Dierk Hebbeln, Zhifei Liu, Nejib Kallel, Arnaud Dapoigny, Marie Revel, Edwige Pons-Branchu, Marco Taviani, and Christophe Colin
Clim. Past, 13, 17–37, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-17-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-17-2017, 2017
Claudia Färber, Jürgen Titschack, Christine Hanna Lydia Schönberg, Karsten Ehrig, Karin Boos, Daniel Baum, Bernhard Illerhaus, Ulla Asgaard, Richard Granville Bromley, André Freiwald, and Max Wisshak
Biogeosciences, 13, 3461–3474, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3461-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3461-2016, 2016
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In this study we present results from the first long-term bioerosion experiment (1–14 years of exposure) outside the tropical realm. A novel micro-CT approach was used to visualise and to quantify the development of macrobioerosion traces. After 14 years, 30 % of the original substrate volume was excavated chiefly by sponges. High spatio-temporal variability prohibited clear conclusions about the onset of macrobioerosion equilibrium conditions, calling for further long-term experiments.
D. Hebbeln, C. Wienberg, P. Wintersteller, A. Freiwald, M. Becker, L. Beuck, C. Dullo, G. P. Eberli, S. Glogowski, L. Matos, N. Forster, H. Reyes-Bonilla, and M. Taviani
Biogeosciences, 11, 1799–1815, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-1799-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-1799-2014, 2014
C. Wienberg, P. Wintersteller, L. Beuck, and D. Hebbeln
Biogeosciences, 10, 3421–3443, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-3421-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-3421-2013, 2013
T. Morato, K. Ø. Kvile, G. H. Taranto, F. Tempera, B. E. Narayanaswamy, D. Hebbeln, G. M. Menezes, C. Wienberg, R. S. Santos, and T. J. Pitcher
Biogeosciences, 10, 3039–3054, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-3039-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-3039-2013, 2013
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Ashley E. Van Beusekom, Grizelle González, Sarah Stankavich, Jess K. Zimmerman, and Alonso Ramírez
Biogeosciences, 17, 3149–3163, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3149-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3149-2020, 2020
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B. M. Rogers, J. T. Randerson, and G. B. Bonan
Biogeosciences, 10, 699–718, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-699-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-699-2013, 2013
Y. Xia and X. Yan
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R. Sulpizio, G. Zanchetta, M. D'Orazio, H. Vogel, and B. Wagner
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This paper discusses the carbon capture by poorly studied cold-water corals. These coral mounds represent a lesser known part of the carbon cycle and the outcomes of the study highlight the importance of these structures for natural carbon capture and storage at the sea floor.
This paper discusses the carbon capture by poorly studied cold-water corals. These coral mounds...
Short summary
Cold-water coral mounds are large structures on the seabed that are built by corals over thousands of years. They are regarded as carbonate sinks, with a potentially important role in the marine carbon cycle, but more quantitative studies are needed. Using sediment cores, we calculate the amount of carbon that has been stored in two mounds over the last 400 000 years. We provide the first numbers and show that up to 19 times more carbon is accumulated in mounds than on the common seafloor.
Cold-water coral mounds are large structures on the seabed that are built by corals over...
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