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Scientists have discovered a massive detached reef in the Great Barrier Reef that is taller than the Empire State Building.
It is the first reef to be discovered in over 120 years, the Schmidt Ocean Institute announced Monday.
The base of the blade-shaped reef is 1.5km wide, so it rises 500m to its minimum depth of just 40m below the sea surface.
It is 500 meters taller than New York’s Empire State Building (443m) and also towers over Sydney Tower (305m) and Petronas Twin Towers (452m).
It was discovered by Australian scientists aboard the Falkor research vessel, currently engaged in a 12-month exploration of the ocean surrounding Australia.
Watch: Check out these never-before-seen underwater creatures
It is the first coral reef discovered in over 120 years. (Schmidt Ocean Institute)
The reef was first discovered on October 20, when a team of scientists led by Dr. Robin Beaman of James Cook University was conducting an underwater 3D mapping of the northern sea floor of the Great Barrier Reef.
The team then conducted a live streaming dive on Sunday using the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s underwater robot SuBastian.
This newly discovered detached reef joins the seven other detached reefs in the area, which have been mapped since the late 1800s, including the reef at Raine Island, the most important green sea turtle nesting area in the world.
Schmidt Ocean Institute co-founder Wendy Schmidt said, This unexpected discovery states that we continue to find unknown structures and new species in our ocean.
“The state of our knowledge of what’s in the ocean has long been so limited.
“Thanks to new technologies that work like our eyes, ears and hands in the deep ocean, we have the ability to explore like never before.
“New ocean landscapes are opening up to us, revealing the ecosystems and different life forms that share the planet with us.”
Dr Beaman added: “We are surprised and elated by what we have found.”
Read more: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef may lose its ability to recover from warming
Schmidt Ocean Institute’s RV Falkor ship outside Ribbon Reef. (Schmidt Ocean Institute)
Read more: Half of the corals on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have died, killed by climate change
In April, scientists from the Schmidt Ocean Institute discovered the longest recorded marine creature – a 45m siphonophore in Ningaloo Canyon – plus up to 30 new species.
In August, they found five undescribed species of black coral and sponges and recorded Australia’s first observation of rare scorpionfish in the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef marine parks.
And the year began with the discovery, in February, of deep-sea coral gardens and cemeteries in Bremer Canyon Marine Park.
The northern depths of the journey into the Great Barrier Reef will continue until November 17 as part of a broader year-long campaign in Australia.
Watch: Marine researchers spot the ‘tornado’ underwater
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