Scientists of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and the University of Warsaw (UW) discovered a coral with a different, mixed aragonite-calcite skeleton occurring at the depths of the Southern Ocean. The research results were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The scientists led by Prof. Jarosław Stolarski, Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences discovered that a certain species of coral, living at the depths in the Southern Ocean, has an unusual skeleton structure. It consists of two different types of calcium carbonate. One is aragonite- a typical compound for these organisms, the other variety is calcite, unknown to modern corals. The chemical analysis of the skeletons was undertaken by Dr Maciej Mazur, Faculty of Chemistry UW.

The research of Polish scientists shows that if the aquatic environment changes to such an extent that aragonite will no longer be easy to produce by corals, e.g. as a result of progressive acidification of the oceans, some corals will cease to exist, but other corals will adapt to the new conditions and survive.