“During a research trip to Palmyra Atoll, we made a surprising discovery: a whole network of rhodolith beds, says Lena Li, a recent graduate of KAUST. “No one knew rhodolith beds even existed in the tropical central Pacific.”

Despite years of research, there are still many mysteries to uncover in and around the world’s coral reefs. Rhodolith beds are one example. Scientists have limited understanding of these calcareous nodules made by coralline red algae, which accumulate in shallow seas close to coral reefs.

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