Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons

Journal Article · Mon Aug 28 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1707890114 · OSTI ID:1377090

Mass, Tali ^[1]; Giuffre, Anthony J. ^[2]; Sun, Chang-Yu ^[2]; Stifler, Cayla A. ^[2]; Frazier, Matthew J. ^[2]; Neder, Maayan ^[3]; Tamura, Nobumichi ^[4]; Stan, Camelia V. ^[4]; Marcus, Matthew A. ^[4]; Gilbert, Pupa U. P. A.  ^[5]

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1. Marine Biology Department, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel,
2. Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706,
3. Marine Biology Department, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel,, H. Steinitz Marine Biology Laboratory, The Interuniversity Institute of Marine Science, Eilat 88103, Israel,
4. Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720,
5. Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706,, Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706,, Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706

Significance Whether coral skeleton crystals grow by attachment of ions from solution or particles from tissue determines ( i ) corals’ growth rate, ( ii ) how they survive acidifying oceans, and ( iii ) the isotopes in the crystals used for reconstructing ancient temperatures. Our data show that two amorphous precursors exist, one hydrated and one dehydrated amorphous calcium carbonate; that these are formed in the tissue as ∼400-nm particles; and that they attach to the surface of coral skeletons, remain amorphous for hours, and finally crystallize into aragonite. Since these particles are formed inside tissue, coral skeleton growth may be less susceptible to ocean acidification than previously assumed. Coral bleaching and postmortem dissolution of the skeleton will occur, but a calcification crisis may not.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: FG02-07ER15899; AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1377090
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 37 Vol. 114; ISSN 0027-8424
• Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English