American scientists have successfully mapped the Atlantic Ocean’s largest deep-sea coral reef, known to exist since the 1960s. The reef spans approximately 25,900 square kilometers.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), along with nonprofit organizations and university partners, announced that they have completed the mapping of the world’s largest deep-sea coral reef located near Florida’s coast on the Blake Plateau.
Derek Sowers, the Mapping Operations Manager, stated on January 17:
‘This multi-year and multi-institutional strategic effort to systematically map and characterize the stunning coral ecosystem just off the East Coast of the US is an excellent example of what we can achieve when we pool resources and focus on exploring the approximately 50% of US territorial waters that remain unmapped.’
As large as the state of Florida
Scientists highlight that 75% of the world’s oceans are still uncharted. By synthesizing bathymetric data from 31 multi-beam sonar mapping surveys, they produced an almost ‘complete’ map of the seabed located about 100 miles off the southeast coast of the US. The area is about 25,900 square kilometers, nearly the size of Florida, and extends approximately from Florida to South Carolina.
