Tropical coral reefs dazzle divers and television audiences alike with their colourful beauty and high productivity. Yet amazingly, corals are even more diverse in the deep, cold oceans.

In the late 1990s, SAMS researchers were the first to observe cold-water corals colonising North Sea oil platforms and, in 2003, discovered the only known inshore cold-water coral reef in the UK. These long-lived cold-water reefs contain more coral species than tropical coral reefs and are important hotspots of marine biodiversity in deep waters. However these habitats are sensitive and threatened by deep-water trawling and ocean acidification.

Dr J Murray Roberts, a deep-sea ecologist from SAMS, is the lead author of a beautiful new book on the biology, ecology, palaeontology and geology of cold-water coral habitats for students and marine scientists.

Click here to read more about cold-water corals and this fascinating new book...