The Hidden World of Cold-Water Corals Rises to the Surfac...

What’s Happening

Not gonna lie, As increased industrial activity puts fragile deep-sea ecosystems at risk, one artist is raising awareness about imperiled corals through scientific model making Art Meets Science The Hidden World of Cold-Water Corals Rises to the Surface With These Glass Sculptures That Are Resurrecting a took an L Craft As increased industrial activity puts fragile deep-sea ecosystems at risk, one artist is raising awareness about imperiled corals through scientific model making Christian Elliott Get our !

In Depicting Dark Waters, British sculptural model maker Alice Baker collaborated with marine biologists from the Netherlands and Sweden to depict European cold-water corals in glass and raise awareness about deep-sea ecosystems. Pierre Castignola Four hours off the Swedish coast, the R/V Skagerak dropped its robotic submarine into the North Sea. (yes, really)

Rhian Waller, the research cruise’s lead scientist, and Alice Baker, her artist collaborator, watched on a monitor as the underwater camera feed brought an alien world into view.

The Details

In a canyon some 1,600 feet below them, a garden of sea pens—cold-water octocorals named for their resemblance to old-fashioned feather quills—waved in the current. The experience was, Baker says, like “flying to a different planet.

” Deep-sea or cold-water corals like these might not be what most people imagine when they think about a reef. “I had this preconception that corals only exist in tropical places, and they’re quite exotic and far away,” says Baker , a British sculptural model maker based in the Netherlands.

Why This Matters

But these hidden species make up 65 percent of all known corals. They thrive in near-darkness, endure freezing-cold temperatures and live for thousands of years, all while providing critical habitat on the seabed for crustaceans, fish, sea stars and other creatures. Deep-sea corals Researchers have identified more than 3,500 species of deep-sea corals, which dwell anywhere from 150 to more than 10,000 feet below the ocean s surface.

Scientists and researchers are watching this development closely.

The Bottom Line

Deep-sea corals Researchers have identified more than 3,500 species of deep-sea corals, which dwell anywhere from 150 to more than 10,000 feet below the ocean s surface. Some are a single polyp, while others can grow dozens of feet tall , looking more like an underwater forest.

What do you think about all this?