Postglacial carbonate production by cold-water corals on the Norwegian Shelf and their role in the global carbonate budget

Research Article| July 01, 2005 Postglacial carbonate production by cold-water corals on the Norwegian Shelf and their role in the global carbonate budget Björn Lindberg; Björn Lindberg 1Department of Geology, University of Tromsø, 9037 Tromsø, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jürgen Mienert Jürgen Mienert 1Department of Geology, University of Tromsø, 9037 Tromsø, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2005) 33 (7): 537–540. https://doi.org/10.1130/G21577.1 Article history received: 08 Feb 2005 rev-recd: 23 Feb 2005 accepted: 25 Feb 2005 first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share MailTo Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Björn Lindberg, Jürgen Mienert; Postglacial carbonate production by cold-water corals on the Norwegian Shelf and their role in the global carbonate budget. Geology 2005;; 33 (7): 537–540. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G21577.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Cold-water coral reefs have been neglected in calculations of global carbonate production. We present the first calculations of the amount of CaCO3 produced by cold-water corals on the Norwegian Shelf in postglacial time, showing that the reef-building Lophelia pertusa in Norwegian waters contributes ∼54–188 g/m2/ yr locally, or 0.03–0.38 g/m2/yr averaged over the entire shelf. These estimates indicate that cold-water reef CaCO3 flux is 4%– 12% of the tropical reefs. A first tentative global estimate indicates that cold-water coral CaCO3 production could add >1% to the total marine CaCO3 production. The spatial and temporal evolution of cold-water reefs, and thus their influence on atmospheric CO2, is difficult to reconstruct, but factors that dominantly influence the rate of coral growth include sea-level and oceanographic changes, submarine slides, and anthropogenic activity. The results show that other shelf and slope environments should be assessed in a similar manner to further constrain and evaluate the global CaCO3 production by cold-water corals and their possible contribution to the CaCO3 budget. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.