'Detached' reef bigger than Empire State building discovered in 500 metres of water off Queensland
ABC Science / By environment reporter Nick Kilvert
Posted 1hour ago, updated 1hour ago
The reef rises from about 500 metres deep up to 40 metres.(Supplied: Schmidt Ocean Institute)
Researchers have found a new reef that is as tall as a skyscraper in the waters off Cape York in North Queensland.
The 'detached' reef is — the first to be discovered in more than 120 years — is around 1.5 kilometres long, and rises from over 500 metres deep up to 40 metres below the surface.
Researchers discovered the reef, which is estimated to be 20 million years old at its deepest part, on October 20 during a 12-month mapping project of Australia's oceans.
A "detached" reef refers to a reef bedded to the ocean floor and not part of the main body of the Great Barrier Reef.
The newly-found reef sits among a cluster of seven other detached reefs that were mapped in the 1800s, however the marine ecosystem on the top of this latest find appeared to be more vibrant than the others, according to research leader Robin Beaman from James Cook University (JCU)
More:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-10-27/reef-detached-discovered-cape-york/12816760
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