Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Microns2Reefs (From microns to reefs: mechanistic insights into coral biomineralisation and the fate of coral reefs)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2020-08-01 al 2022-01-31
Microns2Reefs will produce a step change by integrating a raft of new and innovative scientific techniques to provide a mechanistic understanding of coral biomineralisation and hence coral reef resilience. Microns2Reefs has four objectives: 1) to develop a novel multimodal imaging technique to reconstruct the nature of the calcifying fluid and the biomineralisation process in 3D; 2) use this to build a detailed model of coral biomineralisation; 3) develop a mechanistic understanding of the relationship between environment and skeleton construction; 4) quantify the future resilience of corals and coral reefs in the face of multiple anthropogenic stressors. Microns2Reefs is only now feasible due to recent analytical developments, exchange of knowledge and ideas from biomedical sciences, and advances in geochemistry and coral genomics.