Physical and visual effects of ocean acidification on cold-water coral (Lophelia pertusa) skeleton samples from the Southern California Bight, USA (2010-2015) and the Mingulay Reef Complex, UK (2012).

This dataset contains visual and physical analyses of the impacts of ocean acidification on the skeletons of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa. Visual analysis includes synchrotron images from the Diamond Light Source and electron back scatter diffraction images on polished coral skeletons. Physical analyses include Raman spectroscopy data. Skeletal samples analysed were from the Southern California Bight (SCB), USA, and the Mingulay Reef Complex (MRC), UK. SCB samples were collected in 2010, 2014 and 2015. MRC samples were collected in 2012. Samples from the SCB cover an environmental gradient with respect to aragonite saturation, and corals from Mingulay were subjected to long-term experimentation in projected future conditions. SCB carbonate chemistry and sample metadata is included here, and conditions for MRC samples are outlined in Hennige et al. 2015. Ocean acidification is a threat to cold-water coral reefs in terms of dissolution to their skeletons, and their subsequent structural stability. This will likely determine the stability of the habitats they form. Work in the Southern California Bight was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. The study was supported by Diamond Light Source (DLS) experimental campaigns MT19794 and MT20412. This work was supported by an Independent Research Fellowship from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to Sebastian Hennige (NE/K009028/1 and NE/K009028/2) and the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland, funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions. Experimental incubations for N. Atlantic corals were supported by the UK Ocean Acidification programme (NE/H017305/1 to John Murray Roberts). Imaging analysis by Uwe Wolfram and Alexander Groetsch were supported by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK under grant number EP/P005756/1. Fieldwork in Southern California was supported by NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science project "Vulnerability of Deep Sea Corals to Ocean Acidification", with additional funds from South Carolina Sea Grant Graduate Consortium R556, and the PADI Foundation 2013 Grant Award #7904. In kind support was provided by Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, National Marine Fisheries Service, the College of Charleston, SC, USA. Work done by Leslie Wickes and Peter Etnoyer at the Grice Marine Laboratory was also supported by NOAA.