Swedish marine biologist Toomas Lundalv and Lisbeth Jonsson arrive early at their research boat. Thery are taking advantage of the longer, warmer Scandinavian summer-days to sail off the Tisler Reefm, an area just one hour from the coast, near the maritime border between Sweden and Norway. They are looking for Europe's secret underwater gardens: deep-water coral reefs. They use this Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) to take pictures of the reef. And this is what they find: the largest onshore deep-water coral reefs discovered in Europe to date. The reefs is around 1200 meters long and some 200 meters wide. Unlike tropical corals, these deep water corals grow below the reach of sunlight, where temperatures never go above 13 degrees celsius. Much of its basic biology is still a mystery to scientists, whose priority is to chart the location, shape and dimensions of these reefs. This, Tomas Lundlav says, is the first sted to understand them better and find ways to protect them.
Interviews:Tomas Lundlav, Tjarno Marine biological Laboratory, Sweden With Lisbet Jonsson, Tjarno Marine biological Laboratory, Sweden Carle ANdre, Tjarno Marine biological Laboratory, Sweden Connie Maier, NIOZ, The NetherlandsGerard Duineveld, NIOZ, The NetherlandsMurray Roberts, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, Scotland
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