A coral reef from Lago Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic.

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A coral reef from Lago Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic.

The reef and corals are well preserved as a result of the dry climate. Data from corals obtained from this reef — which has been dated to between 5,000–9,000 years old — have been used to interpret palaeoclimate.

This image is linked to the following Scitable pages:

Coral Reefs: Canaries of the Sea, Rainforests of the Oceans

Coral reefs are very much the rainforests of the oceans. Not only are they diverse communities, but the coral skeletons - like trees - contain potentially long term records of climate.