Great Barrier Reef : 500 metre high Coral Reef discovered in Australia.

The scientists have discovered a 500 metre high coral reef in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. This is the first Coral Reef that has been discovered in 120 years. The discovered reef is taller than the Empire State Building of the United States.

Highlights

The reef has been discovered by the Australian Scientists from the Schmidt Ocean Institute.  The scientists discovered the reef while they were on an exploration in the Falkor vessel around Australia. The team of scientists were conducting underwater mapping of the Great Barrier Reef Seafloor.

About the Discovered reef

The newly discovered blade like reef have a base of 1.5 km. Out of total length, only 40 metres of the reef is under the sea surface. This reef is an addition to  seven other tall detached reefs of the world including the Raine Island. The marine ecosystem found on the top of the reefs are more vibrant than the rest of the ecosystem.

Detached reefs

The reefs that are bedded on the ocean floor and does not make a part of the main body of the Reef  (Great Barrier Reef, in this case) are called as the Detached reefs. Till now, there have been eight detached reef that has been discovered.

Significance

The newly discovered detached reef has great potential for the new species to evolve there. The reason for this is, because there is a lot of deep water in between the discovered reef and the next coral community.  From the ecosystem, various new species have already been discovered. One of the discovered specie is a 45-metre long Siphonophore. Siphonophore is a colonial organism that comprise of zooids.

Zooids

Zooids are the multicellular organisms. This organism allow the colony to float, reproduce and move through water.