Dr Sebastian Hennige, a researcher in the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences has secured a joint award from the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Brazil’s São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) to pioneer a new way of forecasting how deep, cold-water coral reefs could crumble as the ocean becomes more acidic. Image credit: Sebastian Hennige The project titled, “Coralporosis of cold-water coral ecosystems - in silico reefs to model habitat loss,” brings together biologists, materials scientists and engineers to understand how ocean acidification weakens the foundations of these fragile habitats. While past research has focused on the impacts on living corals, this team will examine what happens to the dead coral skeletons that underpin reef structures. As seawater absorbs more carbon dioxide and becomes more acidic, those skeletons dissolve and grow more porous, a process referred to as coralporosis. As they weaken, they can no longer support the living corals above, leading to the slow crumbling of the reef’s three-dimensional framework and loss of habitable areas where many species live.To study this systematically, the team will 3D-print “mini-reefs” made entirely from calcium carbonate - the same material as real coral skeletons - and expose them to projected future ocean conditions. By measuring how fast and in what ways these mini-reefs collapse, the researchers will quantify how much habitable space is lost and over what timescales.The experimental results will feed the first computer-based (“in silico”) model of cold-water coral reefs - effectively a digital twin built from simple 3D images - to test different climate scenarios and estimate the risk and timing of habitat loss. The model will be validated with structural and mechanical data from the new experiments along with existing evidence on coralporosis. Deep cold-water coral ecosystems are hugely important but difficult to access and experiment on - by using these new methods to print 3D mini-reefs, we can bring the reef to the lab and understand how these fragile habitats will collapse under different future conditions. Sebastian Hennige Lead scientist from the University of Edinburgh By creating a digital twin of deep-sea coral reefs from simple 3D images, we will be able to estimate the risk of habitat loss and predict the crumbling of these habitats due to ocean acidification, driving the development of future conservation plans. Marta Peña Fernández Co-investigator from Heriot-Watt University The interdisciplinary team includes researchers from the University of Edinburgh, the University of São Paulo, Heriot-Watt University, and Clausthal University of Technology. Their approach aims to reveal what cold-water coral reefs may look like in the future, when changes are likely to occur at ecosystem scale, and how quickly those changes could unfold, providing a new evidence base for conservation and management. Related links View Dr Sebastian Hennige's research profile Publication date 16 Oct, 2025
