When people think of coral reefs, they typically picture warm, clear waters with brightly colored corals and fishes. But other corals live in deep, dark, cold waters, often far from shore in remote locations. These varieties are just as ecologically important as their shallow water counterparts. They also are just as vulnerable to human activities like fishing and energy production. Earlier this year there was a research expedition conducted by the Deep Search project, which is studying little-known deep-sea ecosystems off the southeast U.S. coast. Shallow corals get much of their energy from sunlight that filters down into the water. Like plants on land, tiny algae that live within the corals’ polyps use sunlight to make energy, which they transfer to the coral polyps. Deep-sea species grow below the sunlit zone, so they feed on organic material and zooplankton, delivered to them by strong currents.Yet another growing concern is deep sea mining for materials such as cobalt, which is used to build batteries for cell phones and electric cars. The International Seabed Authority, a United Nations agency, is working with scientists and non-government organizations to develop a global regulatory code for deep sea mining, which is expected to be completed in 2020 or 2021. However, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has warned that not enough is known about deep sea life to ensure that the code will protect it effectively. There is also deep-sea corals are not immune to climate change. Ocean currents circulate around the planet, transporting warm surface waters into the deep sea. Warming temperatures could drive corals deeper, but deep waters are naturally higher in carbon dioxide than surface waters. As their waters become more acidified, deep-sea corals will be restricted to an increasingly narrow band of optimal conditions.

This article relates to environmental science because many coral reef communities are still being discovered in all of United States, yet humans do not seem to care enough by not providing the help needed in order for all these coral reef communities to recuperate. This also shows the extent of our mistakes. Although these coral reefs were barely discovered the researches state that they are not in good conditions and so far have not shown any type of recuperation. Although they are in a different location. In other words sea level, they are still getting harmed by humans. Humans are using what is around these corals as a resource for batteries. Again, demonstrating the long term effects of our high demands. Coral reefs are used by the marine life to live in and depend on in order to have a healthy lifestyle, yet they have to constantly fight with humans to maintain a healthy habitat and have a simple home. Because, of the multiple negative effects that coral reefs are facing as a whole, the marine life is being impacted as well and are having to suffer the consequences of humans actions. It seems as though humans disregard that the marine life exists and that they also need a habitat in order to survive. These organisms are being restricted to a healthy life under the sea and are finding much difficulty to be able to survive and exist in the ocean itself.