They have discovered a so-called cold-water coral reef, which, according to the first studies, seems to take over the title of the world’s largest coral reef – many times larger than the previous record holder.
The discovery could be a milestone in the work of mapping the world’s oceans and, not least, reveal large amounts of new species.
Coral reef as big as Sicily
A large group of researchers at American universities and the agency NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) have made as many as 23 submarine dives and 31 sonar surveys to get an overview of the Blake Plateau in the Atlantic, where the newly discovered reef is located.
The reef stretches nearly 500 kilometers from Miami, Florida, to Charleston, South Carolina, and is up to 110 kilometers wide. NOAA estimates that the coral system covers almost 26,000 square kilometers, making it the size of Sicily.
2024-02-03 15:04:27
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