Incredibly tall coral reef found off the coast of Australia

An isolated coral reef measuring 1,640 feet high has been discovered off the coast of Australia. Known as a separate reef, the vertical blade-like structure could serve as habitat for a variety of undiscovered marine creatures.

At 500 meters (1,640 feet), the gigantic detached reef is taller than the 1,250-foot-tall reef (381-subway) Empire State Building. Researchers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute made the surprising discovery on October 20 while mapping the seafloor of the northern Great Barrier Reef. The team confirmed the find a few days later using a remotely operated vehicle., according to a statement released by the group.

Working on the research ship Falkor, researchers at the Schmidt Ocean Institute are participating in a year-long expedition to study the ocean around the Australian continent. The detached reef, the first of its kind discovered since the 19th century, was found about 80 miles (130 km) from Cape York, Queensland.

Following the initial detection on October 20, the team deployed the institute’s ROV SuBastian to investigate further (hmm, Falkor, SuBastian—Guess someone from the Schmidt Ocean Institute is a fan of The endless story). The event was broadcast live by the website Y Youtube, and the footage is still available in case you have two and a half hours to kill.

The base of the structure is almost a mile wide (1.5 km) and extends vertically such that the top is only 130 feet (40 meters) below the ocean. surface. At the top of the reef, where the blade-like structure measures 984 feet (300 meters) by 164 feet (50 meters), the team saw many fish, including sharks, such as ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) reports.

They are called separate reefs because they are independent structures that are not physically connected to the Great Barrier Reef and sit directly on the seafloor. The Guardian reports that The reef does not have many hard corals in its upper section, but it does have many sponges, sea fans, and soft corals, a sign that the strong currents and outcrops below are delivering rich currents to the structure.

The detached coral is believed to be around 20 million years old, and is one of seven detached reefs clustered within 93 miles (150 km) of each other. The other structures were mapped in the 1880s, including the reef in Raine Island—A crucial breeding ground for green sea turtles.

“Finding a new half-kilometer-high reef off the Cape York shoreline area of ​​the renowned Great Barrier Reef shows how mysterious the world is beyond our shoreline,” said Jyotika Virmani, executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, in your statement. “This powerful combination of cartographic data and underwater imagery will be used to understand this new reef and its role within the incredible Great Barrier Reef of the World Heritage Area.”

These isolated seamounts are of biological importance as they can give rise to unique communities of marine organisms. and even trigger the appearance of new species. This reef will likely be studied intensively for months and years to come.

In the last year alone, researchers at the Schmidt Ocean Institute have made a number of intriguing new findings, including a 148-foot-long (45-subway) siphonophore, various not described species of black coral and sponges, and upwards of 30 new species. The mind boggles at how much there is to learn about our oceans and the creatures that live in them..