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