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Scientists have discovered a separate new coral reef at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef, and it is an impressive 500 meters (1,640 feet) tall, taller than the Empire State Building, Sydney Tower, and Petronas Twin Towers. in Malaysia.
It is the first such discovery in the region in 120 years, made by a team from the Schmidt Ocean Institute using underwater mapping technology, and then captured on camera by the SuBastian diving robot. Researchers are currently on a 12-month mission to map Australia’s underwater landscape.
The gigantic reef, separated from the Great Barrier Reef but still fixed to the ocean floor, joins several other tall reefs in the region, including that of Raine Island, an important habitat and breeding area for green turtles.
The research vessel Falkor. (Schmidt Ocean Institute)
“This unexpected discovery affirms that we continue to find unknown structures and new species in our ocean,” says Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of the Schmidt Ocean Institute. “The state of our knowledge about what is in the ocean has long been so limited.”
“Thanks to new technologies that function like our eyes, ears and hands in the depths of the ocean, we have the ability to explore like never before. New ocean landscapes are opening up to us, revealing the ecosystems and the various forms of life that share the planet with us. “
The researchers say the reef is about 1.5 kilometers (almost a mile) wide at its base and rises to 40 meters (131 feet) above the water’s surface. The initial photograph suggests that the natural phenomenon is home to a large number of sponges, net-shaped sea fans, and soft corals.
Many reef fish have also been seen around it, from small ax fish to gray reef sharks. It appears to be a huge cornucopia of life that has so far eluded detection, and the reef will likely take years to fully study.
There is also a four hour video available if you would like to witness SuBastian’s travels around the new reef in its entirety.
(Schmidt Ocean Institute)
The impressiveness of the discovery also comes with a tinge of sadness: We know that these majestic coral reefs, so essential to marine ecosystems, are under increasing threat from climate change. Spikes in sea temperature are not good for corals, and the new reef will be susceptible to them too.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute’s mission continues, having discovered up to 30 unknown species in its travels, including previously unidentified black corals and sponges, and having seen the longest marine creature on record – a 45-meter (148-foot) siphonophore. ). However, nothing can match this reef discovery.
“Finding a new half-kilometer-high reef off the Cape York coastal area of the renowned Great Barrier Reef shows how mysterious the world is beyond our coast,” says oceanographer Jyotika Virmani, executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
“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.”
