By Elishya Perera
SYDNEY (CWBN)_ Researchers have discovered a massive coral reef in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, for the first time in more than 120 years. Measuring 500 meters (about 1,600 feet), the detached reef is taller than the Empire State Building (381 meters to the top floor) and the Sydney Tower (305 meters).
It was discovered on 20th October, as researchers completed an underwater mapping of the Great Barrier Reef off Far North Queensland, using an underwater robot known as SuBastian.
The base of the “blade-like” reef measures 1.5 kilometers in width, rising 500 meters to its shallowest depth of 40 meters below the ocean surface.
It was explored on Sunday, and the footage of the exploration was live streamed.
Robin Beaman, who led the expedition, said that his team was “surprised and elated” by the discovery. “To not only 3D map the reef in detail, but also visually see this discovery with SuBastian is incredible,” he added.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and stretching for over 2,300 kilometres. However, the reef is facing a crisis, as recent studies have shown that it has lost 50% of its coral populations in the last three decades, as a result of coral bleaching and the significant drop in the birth of baby corals, mainly due to to climate change.
Edited By Chathushka Perera
