Marine biologists found two pristine deep-sea coral reefs off the coast of the Galápagos islands this week, one in all which is over eight soccer fields lengthy. The reefs sit between 370 and 420 meters under the floor, and their discovery expands our understanding of deep, cold-water reefs within the Galápagos Marine Reserve, the primary of which had been discovered just six months ago.
“This info shouldn’t be solely useful from a scientific perspective, however it additionally gives a stable basis for decision-making that successfully protects these ecosystems, safeguarding the organic variety they harbor and guaranteeing their resilience in a continuously altering setting,” mentioned director of the Galápagos Nationwide Park Directorate Danny Rueda Córdova in an announcement.
The expedition of 24 scientists representing 13 organizations and universities started on September 18. The smaller of the 2 reefs found measures 250 meters, whereas the bigger is 800 meters lengthy. Each reefs exhibit a wealthy variety of stony coral species, suggesting they’ve been round for hundreds of years supporting marine biodiversity.
Laser scanning expertise mapped the coral reefs with extraordinarily excessive decision, capturing particulars as small as 2 millimeters. The scans had been able to figuring out animals residing on the ocean ground. This was a significant aim of the expedition, as most underwater mapping expertise can’t picture stay organisms due to the coarse decision.
The primary deep-sea coral reefs within the Galápagos had been found in April, revealing the traditional constructions not beforehand recognized to have existed within the area. The unique discovery was made by a human-occupied submersible simply over the ridge of a submerged volcano; high-quality nonetheless pictures and 4k video revealed the breathtaking marine life.
The analysis crew featured scientists from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, Galapagos Nationwide Park Directorate, Charles Darwin Basis (CDF) amongst others.
“Discovering such deep and long-lived reef takes us essential steps nearer to defending hidden dimensions of ocean variety and understanding the function that deep habitats play in sustaining our ocean’s well being,” mentioned CDF’s Stuart Banks in an announcement.
The crew additionally explored seamounts, elevated underwater mountains not fairly tall sufficient to be islands, inside the Isla del Coco Nationwide Marine Park. Researchers noticed a number of deep-sea coral species laden with eggs on these mounts.
Click on via for pictures of the newly found reefs and the weird life that calls them house.