A new coral reef off the Atlantic coast of America, South Carolina. During an exploration aboard the research ship Atlantis, half a mile below the surface of the ocean, there is a dense forest of coral never seen before.
A new coral reef off the Atlantic coast of America, South Carolina. During an exploration aboard the research ship Atlantis, half a mile below the surface of the ocean, there is a dense forest of coral never seen before.
A surprise that left the research team of the progetto Deep Search, led by Erik Cordes. The team of scientists is headed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is currently exploring unexplored canyons and coral ecosystems off the Atlantic coast.
Based on the latest observations and the recent sonar mapping of the ocean floor, the researchers estimated that the newly discovered reef has a considerable length, equal to at least 135 km. A real expanse of coral so far remained hidden from man.
"It's huge. It's amazing that she has been hiding off the east coast of the United States for so long " he said strings. “
The reef's existence was confirmed during a series of dives that were part of a two-week expedition to explore canyons and coral ecosystems off the Atlantic coast.
Just before Cordes prepared to board the famous submarine Alvin on Thursday morning, he announced that he was thrilled to take a first look at a site called Richardson Ridge. His hope and his goal were to find corals. Seven hours later, Cordes, scientist Cathy McFadden and Alvin's pilot Bruce Strickrott returned to the surface with the front of the submarine filled with Lophelia pertusa, a species of coral, along with another wide variety of hard corals. and soft. A spectacular white carpet of coral had appeared in their eyes.
Cordes, a deep-water ecologist and professor at Temple University, called it an incredible ecosystem, unlike anything I've seen before. Yet he has worked extensively in the Gulf of Mexico, where Lophelia coral is common.
This summer, scientists aboard Okeanos mapped hundreds of deep mounds and found corals about 25km southeast of the recent dive sites.
The ongoing project, called Deep Search, comes just as the Trump administration is proposing a vast offshore drilling plan that, if approved, will open vast swaths of the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans to oil exploration.
Cordes said the goal of the expedition, funded by NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the US Geological Survey, is to identify and ultimately safeguard sensitive habitats in an ocean belt that remains largely unexplored. .
Cordes said this complex and diverse coral habitat needs to be protected from oil and gas development.
READ also:
- Sharks, friends and protectors of the coral reef
- The sunken ferry will become an artificial habitat for the coral reef
Francesca Mancuso
Gallery
