A first predictive mechanistic model of cold-water coral biomass and respiration based on physiology, hydrodynamics, and organic matter transport

de Froe, Evert; Mohn, Christian; Soetaert, Karline; van der Kaaden, Anna-Selma; Reichart, Gert-Jan; De Clippele, Laurence H.; Maier, Sandra R.; van Oevelen, Dick

doi:10.5194/os-22-843-2026

Articles | Volume 22, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-843-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-843-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 22, issue 2

Research article

|

11 Mar 2026

Research article |

| 11 Mar 2026

A first predictive mechanistic model of cold-water coral biomass and respiration based on physiology, hydrodynamics, and organic matter transport

Evert de Froe, Christian Mohn, Karline Soetaert, Anna-Selma van der Kaaden, Gert-Jan Reichart, Laurence H. De Clippele, Sandra R. Maier, and Dick van Oevelen

Data sets

ATLAS Deliverable 2.5: Model code for the Rockall Bank case study area Evert de Froe et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4250150

Model code and software

ATLAS Deliverable 2.5: Model code for the Rockall Bank case study area Evert de Froe et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4250150

Video supplement

Supplemental videos to PhD thesis Evert de Froe: Dinner's Served in the Deep Sea Evert de Froe https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7510506

Short summary

Cold-water corals are important reef-building animals in the deep sea and are distributed globally. Until now, scientists have been mapping and predicting where cold-water corals can be found using video transects and statistical models. This study provides the first process-based model in which corals are predicted based on ocean currents and food particle movement. The results show that resupply of food by tidal currents near the seafloor is crucial for predicting where corals can grow.