Scientists explored a stunning deep-water coral reef off Tahiti that was in 'pristine' condition. It's a rare find, considering that from 2009 to 2018, the world lost roughly 13% of its hard coral.
Technological advancements that allow scuba divers to reach deeper waters helped a team of scientists find and study a rare coral reef in the South Pacific. It stretches across about 2 miles and appears to be in robust health.
The reef is a valuable discovery that will yield new information about the state of coral growth in a previously unmapped part of the ocean, according to Unesco, who supported the dive expedition.Divers had to be equipped with special tanks and other equipment to reach the flourishing, rose-petal-shaped corals some from 100 feet to 230 feet beneath the ocean’s surface.The reef might have been protected because it is growing in an area of the ocean that scientists call the “twilight zone.” Its deeper waters mean more-consistent temperatures and less exposure to human activity.Laetitia Hédouin, a scientist from France’s National Center for Scientific Research who was present on the mission, said she first learned of the reef’s existence from a local diving club that took her to see it.“I am a little more hopeful for the future of the reefs, when I discover areas like that.”While coral reefs cover about 0.2% of the seafloor, they support at least 25% of marine species, and they offer protection from coastal erosion.From 2009 to 2018, the world lost roughly 13% of its hard coral, mainly because of overfishing, pollution and warmer waters, the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network said in its 2020 report.Until recently, divers could only spend about 10 minutes at a depth of 100 feet. The deeper the water, the longer it takes for a diver to descend and then slowly return to the surface. That leaves little time for work on the ocean floor if a diver is using a regular tank, according to Mark Eakin, a former oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.said Audrey Azoulay of Unesco.She said the reef’s condition suggests that there could be other coral ecosystems waiting to be found.Unesco said its team was able to spend a combined 200 hours studying the corals, including watching some of them spawn.
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