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Coral mound 10 times the size of Comino discovered in Marsascala
Coral mound 10 times the size of Comino discovered in Marsascala
Yes, you did read that correctly. University of Malta scientists have discovered an area of coral mounds, just off Marsascala, that is 10 times the size of the island of Comino.
Many of the animals and organisms living on the mounds are endangered and protected by international law but some mounds have already been destroyed. Earlier this week, the department of geosciences called on authorities to declare the seafloor, which host these mounds, a marine special area of conservation. In a statement, the scientists said that they had found more than 1,500 enigmatic mounds!
Lead scientist Aaron Micallef said that the density of the rocky outcrops was “definitely not what we would have expected in this part of the Mediterranean Sea. Most similar structures we know of are from tropical waters and are quite different from the ones we found offshore Malta,” he said.
The mounds are on average 20 metres wide and can reach a height of several metres. They occur in dense clusters at seafloor depths, ranging between 60 and 120 metres. The origin of these mounds is unclear, though they were possibly formed either by wave action when sea level was lower in the past or possibly by seepage of groundwater.
“The most fascinating aspect of these mounds is that by rising above the sediment seafloor, they provide a base for a wide range of organisms, many of them endangered and protected by international law,” Prof Micallef said. The surfaces, which are made up of fossilised algae and tube-worms, provide black corals, gorgonians, sea slugs and sea urchins with a home.
Unfortunately, scientists also identified extensive trawl marks, formed by bottom fishing activities or dragged anchors, located in the same area as these mounds. In a number of places, it appears that trawling activities destroyed or damaged mounds.
The study, which was funded by Marie Curie Actions also involved scientists from the University of Milano Bicocca in Italy and the National Oceanography Centre in the UK.
