HONG KONG – For at least three centuries it grew secretly on the seabed of the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Now the largest coral ever has been discovered, scientists said Thursday, and it’s so big it can be seen from space.
It was found by a National Geographic team conducting an expedition in October to the Solomon Islands to study the health of the oceans.
From the surface, “it looked like a shipwreck,” said Molly Timmers, chief scientist of the Pristine Seas expedition. But the team’s cameraman dived for a closer look and found a “mega coral hidden in plain sight.”
“It was a very exciting discovery,” Timmers told NBC News in an email on Thursday.
A diver swims over the coral reef, recently discovered on the seabed of the Solomon Islands.
Using measuring tape, scientists discovered that the coral colony is about 35 meters wide, 30 meters long and 5.5 meters high – large enough to fit on two large basketball courts side by side and longer than the world’s largest animal, the blue whale.
The coral, estimated to be about 300 to 500 years old, is three times larger than the previous record-breaker named ‘Big Momma’ in American Samoa, researchers said, but it had never been recorded and the local community was unaware of its existence. .
“While Big Momma looked like a huge scoop of ice that had crashed onto the reef, this newly discovered coral is as if the ice had begun to melt and spread across the seabed forever,” Timmers said in a statement.
Enric Sala, founder of Pristine Seas, said in the statement that it was like finding “the tallest tree in the world” just when scientists thought “there is nothing left to discover on planet Earth.”
The large coral can be seen on the seabed.
Small organisms called coral polyps come together in complex networks to form colonies that then form even larger coral reefs.
It is mostly brown with bright yellow, blue and red splashes, and the rippled surface resembles ocean waves, according to the team.
In addition, the mega coral is “in excellent condition” and provides essential habitat, shelter and breeding grounds for a range of species, from shrimp and crabs to fish, Timmers said.
However, this coral faces both local and global challenges.
“Overfishing removes organisms that have essential functions in maintaining the health of the ecosystem,” says Timmers, noting that every organism on a coral reef plays a crucial role, such as sea cucumbers that clear the sediment and giant clams that carry bacteria from the filter water. column.
Global warming is another challenge that could cause this coral to bleach and eventually die, she said, as the oceans warm due to climate change.
National Geographic diver Inigo San Felix uses a measuring line around the massive coral.
David M. Baker, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong who studies coral reefs, said the discovery was “remarkable.”
Corals are “effectively immortal,” said Baker, who was not involved in the expedition. “The fact that this coral has persisted through significant environmental changes is a testament to its adaptability – in addition to the excellent conditions it has to enjoy.”
But even the most remote coral reefs are not immune to climate change, he said.
“The existence of large and ancient corals is a sign of hope – that it is not too late to protect, preserve and restore the oceans as we battle climate change,” he said.
Divers swim above the beautiful reef.
The Solomon Islands have the second highest coral diversity in the world, with more than 490 species of hard and soft corals.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the world is currently experiencing a fourth global coral bleaching event, with mass bleaching confirmed in at least 62 countries and territories worldwide from 2023 to early 2024.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
