News
January 2010
The final CORAMM group meeting will take place in the second week of January in Bremen, Germany. It is hoped the adverse weather conditions will allow travel for the various participants - from Sweden, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. The state of the work thus far and potential targets for future research will be addressed.
Animation showing potential design for a crawler investigation of Lophelia pertusa reef structure at Tisler Reef, Norway. At all locations, temperature, flow velocity, chlorophyll, oxygen, salinity and pressure monitored daily. Additional visual investigations also carried out:- Location 1 : Small reef - monitor growth rates. Location 2 : Large reef - monitor growth rates and establishment of new colonies over time on various substrates, including calcium carbonate blocks. Location 3 : Trawl damaged reef section. Monitor sponge / coral interactions and re-establishment rates of reef.
December 2009
The Jacobs University crawler is active on the seabed as part of the startup infrastructure of the Neptune Canada project. The crawler was tested in Sweden at the Sven Loven Centre with the aim of assessing its appliability for long-term deployment at cabled cold-water coral reef sites. Following the tests in Sweden, the crawler was tested at 800m depth offshore Canada in 2008 (footage HERE) prior to deployment for a year as part of the internet connected Neptune Canada project.
Image of Jacobs University crawler taken during Canada deployment tests, 2008.
November 2009
The majority of the experimental work to be carried out by the CORAMM group has been successfully completed. A great deal of new information has been gathered on the lifestyle and environmental sensitivity of Lophelia pertusa, and a number of papers are in preparation.
October 2009
Presentation entitled ' Insights from the Coral Risk Assessment, Modeling and Monitoring (CORAMM) project: Cold-water coral reefs and anthropogenic drilling waste.' will be given at the first HERMIONE workshop on anthropogenic impacts, held at CSIC, Barcelona 20th-21st October, 2009. A selection of papers have been recently submitted to journals, and all the work packages are preparing further submissions. Some titles of recently submitted papers are:- “Seasonal PCB bioaccumulation in an Arctic marine ecosystem: a model analysis incorporating lipid dynamics, food web productivity and migration" and “Uncertain food web structure and octanol-water partitioning determine bioaccumulation and ecological risk in freshwater enclosures",
September 2009
Lophelia pertusa long-term exposure experiments are underway in the Sven Loven Centre. These experiments are designed to assess the impact particle exposure may have on the respiration and growth rates of the coral, when exposure is constant over time at particular concentration thresholds. Further papers are now accepted by CORAMM partners:- Frederik De Laender, Dick Van Oevelen, Karline Soetaert and Jack J. Middelburg. Carbon transfer in a herbivore-dominated and a microbial loop-dominated pelagic food web: spring and summer in the southern Barents Sea. Accepted by MEPS, Frederik De Laender, Dick Van Oevelen, Jack J. Middelburg, and Karline Soetaert. 2009. Incorporating Ecological Data and Associated Uncertainty in Bioaccumulation Modeling: Methodology Development and Case Study. Environmental Science and Technology 43(7): 2620-2626
June - August 2009
A further summer campaign of field sampling, laboratory work and discussion carried out in Tjarno, at the Sven Loven Centre. A large volume of freshly delivered drill cuttings werre analysed for size classification and aggregation rates with marine surface particulates.
May 2009
The CORAMM project was represented at the OCEANS '09 IEEE conference in Bremen. The Jacobs University crawler was presented in a large aquaria several times during the meeting and a talk was given by Im Nattkemper on the development of the Biigle system within workpackage 1. A paper entitled “Automated cold-water coral habitat mapping from video transect data using machine-learning algorithms – A pilot study” was accepted for Marine Ecology Progress Series (MEPS) In May 2009. This paper presents work carried out mostly by WP1 partners with the following authors: Autun Purser, Melanie Bergmann, Tomas Lundälv, Jörg Ontrup and Tim W. Nattkemper. The final proof revisions have been made to this paper and it will form part of the MEPS special issue on Cold-Water Coral management.
March - April 2009
Lophelia pertusa spawning observed and monitored over time in a number
of the CORAMM experimental aquaria at the Tjarno laboratory! As far as we are
aware this is a unique event thus far in a well established laboratory, and an
excellent record of the spawning process has been collected by Ann Larson and
colleagues. Please check back soon for photographs and further information.
December 2008
October 2009
Presentation entitled ' Insights from the Coral Risk Assessment, Modeling and Monitoring (CORAMM) project: Cold-water coral reefs and anthropogenic drilling waste.' will be given at the first HERMIONE workshop on anthropogenic impacts, held at CSIC, Barcelona 20th-21st October, 2009. A selection of papers have been recently submitted to journals, and all the work packages are preparing further submissions. Some titles of recently submitted papers are:- “Seasonal PCB bioaccumulation in an Arctic marine ecosystem: a model analysis incorporating lipid dynamics, food web productivity and migration" and “Uncertain food web structure and octanol-water partitioning determine bioaccumulation and ecological risk in freshwater enclosures",
September 2009
Lophelia pertusa long-term exposure experiments are underway in the Sven Loven Centre. These experiments are designed to assess the impact particle exposure may have on the respiration and growth rates of the coral, when exposure is constant over time at particular concentration thresholds. Further papers are now accepted by CORAMM partners:- Frederik De Laender, Dick Van Oevelen, Karline Soetaert and Jack J. Middelburg. Carbon transfer in a herbivore-dominated and a microbial loop-dominated pelagic food web: spring and summer in the southern Barents Sea. Accepted by MEPS, Frederik De Laender, Dick Van Oevelen, Jack J. Middelburg, and Karline Soetaert. 2009. Incorporating Ecological Data and Associated Uncertainty in Bioaccumulation Modeling: Methodology Development and Case Study. Environmental Science and Technology 43(7): 2620-2626
June - August 2009
A further summer campaign of field sampling, laboratory work and discussion carried out in Tjarno, at the Sven Loven Centre. A large volume of freshly delivered drill cuttings werre analysed for size classification and aggregation rates with marine surface particulates.
May 2009
The CORAMM project was represented at the OCEANS '09 IEEE conference in Bremen. The Jacobs University crawler was presented in a large aquaria several times during the meeting and a talk was given by Im Nattkemper on the development of the Biigle system within workpackage 1. A paper entitled “Automated cold-water coral habitat mapping from video transect data using machine-learning algorithms – A pilot study” was accepted for Marine Ecology Progress Series (MEPS) In May 2009. This paper presents work carried out mostly by WP1 partners with the following authors: Autun Purser, Melanie Bergmann, Tomas Lundälv, Jörg Ontrup and Tim W. Nattkemper. The final proof revisions have been made to this paper and it will form part of the MEPS special issue on Cold-Water Coral management.
March - April 2009
Lophelia pertusa spawning observed and monitored over time in a number
of the CORAMM experimental aquaria at the Tjarno laboratory! As far as we are
aware this is a unique event thus far in a well established laboratory, and an
excellent record of the spawning process has been collected by Ann Larson and
colleagues. Please check back soon for photographs and further information.
December 2008
June - August 2009
A further summer campaign of field sampling, laboratory work and discussion carried out in Tjarno, at the Sven Loven Centre. A large volume of freshly delivered drill cuttings werre analysed for size classification and aggregation rates with marine surface particulates.
May 2009
The CORAMM project was represented at the OCEANS '09 IEEE conference in Bremen. The Jacobs University crawler was presented in a large aquaria several times during the meeting and a talk was given by Im Nattkemper on the development of the Biigle system within workpackage 1. A paper entitled “Automated cold-water coral habitat mapping from video transect data using machine-learning algorithms – A pilot study” was accepted for Marine Ecology Progress Series (MEPS) In May 2009. This paper presents work carried out mostly by WP1 partners with the following authors: Autun Purser, Melanie Bergmann, Tomas Lundälv, Jörg Ontrup and Tim W. Nattkemper. The final proof revisions have been made to this paper and it will form part of the MEPS special issue on Cold-Water Coral management.
March - April 2009
Lophelia pertusa spawning observed and monitored over time in a number
of the CORAMM experimental aquaria at the Tjarno laboratory! As far as we are
aware this is a unique event thus far in a well established laboratory, and an
excellent record of the spawning process has been collected by Ann Larson and
colleagues. Please check back soon for photographs and further information.
December 2008
March - April 2009
Lophelia pertusa spawning observed and monitored over time in a number of the CORAMM experimental aquaria at the Tjarno laboratory! As far as we are aware this is a unique event thus far in a well established laboratory, and an excellent record of the spawning process has been collected by Ann Larson and colleagues. Please check back soon for photographs and further information.
December 2008
The work of the CORAMM group was presented at the 4th International Symposium on Deep Sea Corals, in Wellington , New Zealand.
September 2008
A presentation of early findings was made at the 43rd European Marine Biology Symposium in the Azores.
July - August 2008
Lab experiments and extensive field campaign carried out at Tisler reef.
March 2008
CORAMM members will participate in the annual HERMES conference in Faro, Portugal. Early findings will be presented.
February 2008
Work commenced at Jacobs University with a large racetrack recirculating flume. Experiments are underway to determine the extent to which Cold Water Coral structure can influence flow rates and particle deposition in bottom waters. The impact on oxygen utilisation rates by infauna around the coral structure will also be investigated using marine sediment and oxygen optodes.
January 2008
CORAMM partners from Jacobs University, NIOO and StatoilHydro met in Trondheim to discuss the experimental plans for 2008.
December 2007
November 2007
The 1st Annual meeting of the CORAMM group was held 19th - 21st November at Tjarno Marine Biological Laboratory (TMBL), Sweden. In attendence were members from TMBL, University of Bielefeld, Jacobs University, StatoilHydro, NIOO, Max Plank Institute of Marine Microbiology & the Alfred Wegener Institute of Polar and Marine Research. Preliminary data from the various workgroups was presented and discussed, and plans made for the forthcoming years of the project.
Lophelia pertusa maintained in the Tjarno Marine Biological Institute public aquarium.
Can be viewed throughout the day via webcam, with increased illumination between 1pm and 4pm CET - http://130.241.163.109/view/index.shtml
October 2007
CORAMM PhD student Autun Purser was interviewed by 'The Times' newspaper , from the United Kingdom on working in biological oceanography. The CORAMM work was discussed:-
Analysis of data collected during August - September 2007 is underway. The first annual CORAMM report has also been produced and can be found in the members area.
There is a Web GIS map up and running on the Jacobs University servers, (access information found on the members page), into which CORAMM members can add any datasets they want to share or visualise from their monitoring work.
August - September 2007
A four week field and laboratory campaign was carried out at the Tisler Reef and Tjarno Marine Biological Laboratory (TMBL). The field campaign was conducted primarily by 'Norppa', a small research boat operated by Jacobs University, Bremen, with support from the TMBL vessel 'Lophelia'. Numerous instruments were deployed and retrieved, including in-situ water pumps, transmissometers, current meters, oxygen sensors, flurometers, temperature sensors, particle cameras and video cameras. Water samples were collected for later amino acid, CN, and chlorophyll analysis.
Two large landers and two current meters were deployed to collect data over the beginning of winter, with retrieval being scheduled for mid-January.
Sediment trap approaching the surface after a successful deployment at the Tisler Reef.
Laboratory work focused on attempting to determine the rates of food uptake by Lophelia pertusa corals. Several flumes were used in this investigation, and work was carried out in the TMBL temperature controlled laboratory.
The data from this campaign is currently being analysed.
July 2007
A field and lab campaign commences in Tjarno, Sweden in mid-July. The focus of the fieldwork will be to measure turbidity and oxygen across the Tisler Reef with a new sensor array and with the assistance of a small ROV. The lab work will focus on developing the picture of the change in microbial community across Lophelia pertusa following sediment coverage - building on the work carried out in May.
June 2007
A number of CORAMM scientists took part in the ARK XXII Polarstern cruise to a selection of Norwegian coral reefs. Reefs visited included the large Rost Reef and the Traena Reef complex. In addition to the sensor equipment and benthic lander systems brought on the cruise by CORAMM scientists, we were able to make use of the excellent 'JAGO' submersible - operated by IFM - Geomar.
The FS Polarstern -during loading and before emarkation from a wet Bremerhaven.
Laurenz Thomsen boards the 'JAGO'.
For CORAMM scientists, there were two focuses for work:-
1. To take video footage via submersible and video-sled for use in mapping and developing auto-mapping techniques.
2. To determine the turbidity, current flow regimes, oxygen concentration, available nutrients and particle flux across the reefs in early summer. This was carried out by deploying various lander systems, and by attaching sensors to the 'JAGO' submersible - these sensors adding data with each dive on a reef structure. A positioning system allowed for the position of the submersible to be known to within a metre at any time, and by combining this information with the sensor data a 3D picture of flow conditions, oxygen concentrations, turbidity, salinity and temperature accross the reefs was produced. Nutrient samples were also taken from various points across the reefs, for later analysis.
HD video was taken throughout each dive, and the images below show species diversity across the Rost reef.
Image showing various colours of coral on the Rost Reef, and some fish. (Image taken from compress HD video, courtesy of IFM-GEOMAR)
Image showing corals, some sponges, and an investigative fish. (Image taken from compress HD video, courtesy of IFM-GEOMAR)
May 2007
A two week laboratory campaign was conducted at the Tjarno Marine Biological Laboratory (TMBL). The focus of study was to determine whether the coverage of Lophelia pertusa by various types of sediment leads to anoxic conditions developing at the coral / sediment interface. Behavioural responses by the corals to various types of sediment load were also observed.
Dr Raeid Abed of the Max Plank Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, examining oxygen concentration within sediment on Lophelia pertusa in the Tjarno Laboratory.
Strands of mucus produced by Lophelia pertusa in the laboratory after sediment coverage.
April 2007
Lander recovered from the vicinity of the Tisler reef. Sediment trap samples sent to Jacobs University, Bremen for analysis.
Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) used in the recovery of the Tisler lander. The ROV claw placed a hook on the lander for retrieval.
Sediment trap samples from the Tisler lander. Hopefully recording the onset and development of the 2007 spring bloom in the Skagerak waters.
March 2007
Lander deployed at Tisler reef to measure sediment transport rate, sediment type, temperature, flow conditions and salinity at the reef during the forthcoming spring algal bloom. Samples will be collected throughout April for lability analysis and algal species identification.
Plans are made for the first set of laboratory Lopheia pertusa studies, to commence late April. Attempt will be made to quantify the rates of respiration, ingestion etc. in healthy corals. The Tjarno Marine Biological Laboratory (TMBL) will be the base of these experiments. During April experimental work will also be conducted to determine whether or not smothering by sediment, drill cuttings or drill cutting aggregates leads to increased bacterial attack on Lophelia pertusa. This work will be carried out by representatives from The Max Plank Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPI) in conjunction with THML and Jacobs University, Bremen.
February 2007
Ongoing sediment behaviour and aggregation formation experiments carried out at Jacobs University, Bremen.
January 2007
Sediment behaviour and aggregate formation experiments commenced in Jacobs University, Bremen.
December 2006
Work commenced early in the month on the construction of three small benthic landers for the deployment of various measurement devices to the Tisler Reer region. Each lander was designed to carry a single piece of equipment, such as a sediment trap or current meter. The advantage over larger landers is that they can be deployed from smaller, more easily managed and more often available vessels. Deployment of the small landers is expected to take place early in 2007.
Initial studies of the bacterial community of the Norwegian Shelf 'Drill cuttings' commenced on December 11th at the Max Planck Institute of Marine Microbiology.
November 2006
The kickoff meeting of the CORAMM project was held at the Tjarno Marine Biological Laboratory (TMBL), Sweden, from 14th - 16th November. Representatives from the various CORAMM member organisations were present and an initial plan of action determined. Also at the meeting a large scale benthic lander was constructed for deployment at the Tisler Reef in December 2006 / January 2007. The lander was provided with equipment to measure the current velocity, particle transport, turbidity, temperature and salinity of the bottom waters in the region.
Samples of 'Drill cuttings' were provided for initial flume and benthic resuspension chamber experiments at Jacobs University, bremen.
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