Temperature control of cold-water coral (Lophelia) mound growth by climate-cycle forcing, Northeast Gulf of Mexico

Present average bottom-water temperatures at the mound crest range between 9 and 10.5 °C, ideal for L. pertusa growth in the Gulf of Mexico. Experimental work indicates that relatively short periods (weeks) of L. pertusa exposure to water of ~ 12-14 °C results in mortality. At periods of lowered sea level, the mound is projected to have been immersed in ocean water of ~ 12-14 °C for millennial scale time periods.