Resistance of Lophelia pertusa to coverage by sediment and petroleum drill cuttings

•Sedimentation on Lophelia pertusa branches resulted in low coverage rates.•After 7–9 days of sediment coverage, anoxia had developed on coral surfaces.•Short periods of complete burial did not lead to visible damage for L. pertusa.•Complete burial for >24h in anoxic sediment resulted in suffocation of the coral.•Sulfate reduction rates in natural Tisler Reef sediments were low. In laboratory experiments, the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa was exposed to settling particles. The effects of reef sediment, petroleum drill cuttings and a mix of both, on the development of anoxia at the coral surface were studied using O2, pH and H2S microsensors and by assessing coral polyp mortality. Due to the branching morphology of L. pertusa and the release of coral mucus, accumulation rates of settling material on coral branches were low. Microsensors detected H2S production in only a few samples, and sulfate reduction rates of natural reef sediment slurries were low (24h in reef sediment resulted in suffocation.