In this image provided by NOAA Ocean Exploration, an alfonsino fish swims above a thicket of Lophelia pertusa corals during a dive on a cold-water coral mound in the center of the Blake Plateau, off the coast southeastern United States, in June 2019. In January 2019. In 2024, scientists announced that they had mapped the largest deep-ocean coral reef, stretching hundreds of miles off the coast of the United States . Although researchers had known since the 1960s that some corals were present off the Atlantic coast, the size of the reef remained a mystery until new underwater mapping technology made it possible to construct 3D images of the ocean floor. . Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration via AP
Scientists have mapped the largest deep-ocean coral reef, stretching hundreds of miles off the US Atlantic coast.
Although researchers had known since the 1960s that some corals were present off the Atlantic, the size of the reef remained a mystery until new underwater mapping technology made it possible to construct 3D images of the ocean floor. .
The largest deep coral reef ever known “sits right before our eyes, waiting to be discovered,” said Derek Sowers, an oceanographer at the nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust.
Sowers and other scientists, including several from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, recently published maps of the reef in the journal Geomatics.
The reef extends approximately 310 miles (499 kilometers) from Florida to South Carolina and in some places is 68 miles (109 kilometers) wide. The total area is nearly three times the size of Yellowstone National Park.
“It’s eye-opening, it’s breathtaking,” said Stuart Sandin, a marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who was not involved in the study.
The reef has been found at depths ranging from 655 feet to 3,280 feet (200 meters to 1,000 meters), where sunlight does not penetrate. Unlike tropical coral reefs, where photosynthesis is important for growth, corals this far away must filter food particles out of the water for energy.
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In this image provided by NOAA Ocean Exploration, a stocky lobster perches on a healthy Desmophyllum pertusum coral about 100 miles east of Florida’s Atlantic coast in June 2019. Corals like these that make up the mounds the along the Blake Plateau provide important habitat for a variety of species. Marine life. In January 2024, scientists announced that they had mapped the largest coral reef in the deep ocean, stretching hundreds of miles off the coast of the United States. Although researchers had known since the 1960s that some corals were present off the Atlantic coast, the size of the reef remained a mystery until new underwater mapping technology made it possible to construct 3D images of the ocean floor. . Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration via AP
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This image provided by NOAA Ocean Exploration shows widespread and dense populations of corals on the Blake Plateau, off the southeast coast of the United States, in June 2019. In January 2024, scientists announced that they had mapped the most large coral reef on the ocean floor, stretching for hundreds. miles off the American coast. Although researchers had known since the 1960s that some corals were present off the Atlantic coast, the size of the reef remained a mystery until new underwater mapping technology made it possible to construct 3D images of the ocean floor. . Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration via AP
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In this image provided by NOAA Ocean Exploration, an oreo fish swims above mounds of coral Desmophyllum pertusum, formerly called Lophelia pertusa, found atop the Richardson Ridge on the Blake Plateau off the coast of South Carolina in June 2018. In January 2024, scientists announced that they had mapped the largest coral reef in the deep ocean, stretching hundreds of miles off the coast of the United States. Although researchers had known since the 1960s that some corals were present off the Atlantic coast, the size of the reef remained a mystery until new underwater mapping technology made it possible to construct 3D images of the ocean floor. . Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration via AP
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In this image provided by NOAA Ocean Exploration, a few large thickets of Lophelia pertusa coral grow along the edges of large rocky overhangs on the Blake Plateau, off the southeast coast of the United States, in July 2019. The white coloring is healthy, because deep-marine corals do not depend on symbiotic algae. In January 2024, scientists announced that they had mapped the largest coral reef in the deep ocean, stretching hundreds of miles off the coast of the United States. Although researchers had known since the 1960s that some corals were present off the Atlantic coast, the size of the reef remained a mystery until new underwater mapping technology made it possible to construct 3D images of the ocean floor. . Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration via AP
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This image provided by NOAA Ocean Exploration shows large quantities of hard coral Lophelia pertusa found atop the Richardson Ridge on the Blake Plateau off South Carolina in 2018. Rubble of this species also appears to form the mounds found in this region. In January 2024, scientists announced that they had mapped the largest coral reef in the deep ocean, stretching hundreds of miles off the coast of the United States. Although researchers had known since the 1960s that some corals were present off the Atlantic coast, the size of the reef remained a mystery until new underwater mapping technology made it possible to construct 3D images of the ocean floor. . Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration via AP
Deep coral reefs provide habitat for sharks, swordfish, starfish, octopus, shrimp and many other fish species, scientists said.
Tropical reefs are better known to scientists (and divers) because they are more accessible. The largest tropical coral reef system in the world, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, stretches approximately 1,430 miles (2,301 kilometers).
Sowers said it was possible that larger, deep reefs could be discovered in the future since only about 75 percent of the planet’s seafloor has been mapped in high resolution. Only 50% of the waters off the coast of the United States have been mapped. Maps of the seabed are created using high-resolution sonars on board ships.
Deep reefs cover more of the ocean floor than tropical reefs. Both habitat types are susceptible to similar risks, including climate change and disruption from oil and gas drilling, said Erik Cordes, a marine biologist at Temple University and co-author of the new study.
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