Divers Discover Important Coral Reef Off S.C. Coast

From WRAL Reports

A major discovery this month could significantly change the currently dire status of the world’s coral reefs. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) discovered a huge series of coral reefs that spanFlickr | USFWS Headquarters nearly the length of Delaware and are in deep water 160 miles off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. The giant reefs, which are located half a mile below the ocean surface, were initially discovered through sonar mapping.

It’s a big deal to scientists who believe that the discovery could be just the beginning of uncovering new reefs filled with live coral. According to WWF Global, the world has already lost 27 percent of our coral reefs. If nothing changes, an estimated 60 percent of the world’s reefs will be destroyed over the next 30 years.

“This finding changes where we thought corals could exist off the East Coast,” Erik Cordes, a Temple University biology professor and the expedition’s chief scientist, told The Washington Post. “This discovery is already changing our predictive models for coral. This will undoubtedly lead to new discoveries in the region once we can digest all of the information. That will take months to years.”

The discovery of this 85-mile-long deep water reef was all thanks to DEEP SEARCH, a five-year project whose goal is to explore “the deep sea offshore of Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia,” according to the Post. Ultimately the project hopes to uncover the vast diversity of habitats in this region.

Full Story at WRAL.COM