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Scientists Discover Hidden Deep-Sea Coral Reef Off South Carolina Coast (cnn.com)

Posted by msmash on from the hidden-gem dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Little is known about the natural resources of the deep ocean off the United States' Southeast coast from Virginia to Georgia, so Deep Search 2018 was created to learn more by exploring the deep sea ecosystems. The project, consisting of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the US Geological Survey, is nearing the end of its 15-day voyage aboard the research vessel Atlantis. A pair of dives in a submersible called Alvin confirmed the existence of the coral reef last week, and based on observations, researchers estimate the reef is at least 85 miles long. "This is a huge feature," expedition chief scientist Dr. Erik Cordes told HuffPost. "It's incredible that it stayed hidden off the US East Coast for so long." Cordes said the ecosystem is unlike anything he has seen, with "mountains" of corals.

9 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. Hidden from whom? by divide+overflow · · Score: 2, Interesting

    >"This is a huge feature," expedition chief scientist Dr. Erik Cordes told HuffPost. "It's incredible that it stayed hidden off the US East Coast for so long."

    I bet the U.S. Navy knew it was there but wasn't about to let the rest of the world know about it.

    1. Re:Hidden from whom? by SqueakyMouse · · Score: 3, Funny

      You mean you think that something fishy is going on here?

    2. Re:Hidden from whom? by MrMr · · Score: 4, Informative

      It wasn't hidden from wikipedia.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-water_coral
      There's even a picture from a coral from South Carolina dating to 2002

  2. Well off course by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 2

    "It's incredible that it stayed hidden off the US East Coast for so long."

    Well off course it stayed hidden. It did not want to be destroyed like most other coral reefs around the world. If I was treated like that, I would stay hidden as well.

    --
    Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
  3. What depth are these coral reefs? by ZombieEngineer · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Apparently the Great Barrier Reef has moved in and out from the Australian coast line as the sea levels have risen and fallen with each ice age. From memory the difference in sea levels is about 30 meters.

    This reef could very well be a remanent coral reef from the last ice age and has evolved / adjusted to continue surviving at about 30 meters depth (which could also be the limit of light penetrating the ocean).

    The largest ships (oil tankers / cruise ships) have a draft between 12 to 20 meters so there is sufficient clearance that if these reefs are indeed in 30+ meters depth of water that no-one would of paid any attention.

    1. Re:What depth are these coral reefs? by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 3, Informative

      and has evolved / adjusted to continue surviving at about 30 meters depth (which could also be the limit of light penetrating the ocean).

      Apparently the coral growing here is a little different to the ones nearer the water surface. They don't have a symbiotic relationship with algae like other coral- they feed on wee-beasties in the water so don't need sunlight. It is possible there is a lot more of this type of coral in the oceans than we know about.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    2. Re:What depth are these coral reefs? by dargaud · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yes, there are actually deep water corals down to 2000m.

      --
      Non-Linux Penguins ?
  4. Alvin by careysub · · Score: 3, Interesting

    One thing I thought interesting about this was something mentioned in the story in passing, the use of the submersible Alvin which has been in use longer than most /. readers have been alive. It was launched in 1964. It is something like the Ship of Theseus though, it has been through many upgrades and replacements including a new titanium pressure hull in 1973.

    --
    Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
    1. Re:Alvin by CaptnCrud · · Score: 2

      I got a little nostalgic too seeing Alvin still in operation. When I was a kid I was fascinated with the titanic ship wreck and the technology used to investigate it (and seeing pictures of Alvin associated with it).

      Just for grins I looked up the wiki...all these years I had no idea the titanium pod could separate from the rest of the submersible in an emergency....cool.