CORALS thought to be at risk from oil exploration have been found thriving on the legs of oil platforms. The discovery, made on a recent survey in the North Sea, raises new questions about how rigs should be decommissioned.
Marine biologists found the coral
Roberts and his colleagues used a remotely operated mini-submarine to examine and sample the corals. "From the size of the colonies, many are likely to be about 20 years old," he says. The coral usually lives in deeper water and needs bare rock on which to anchor itself. "These oil platforms seem to provide ...
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