Remarkable Discovery of a Detached Coral Reef in Australia

A 500-meter detached coral reef has been discovered in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and it is taller than the Empire State Building, the Sydney Tower, and the Petronas Twin Towers.

This incredible reef was discovered by Australian scientists aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor, which is currently engaged in a 12-month exploration of the ocean surrounding Australia. The reef was located on 20 October during a detailed underwater mapping of the northern Great Barrier Reef seafloor. The team further explored this new reef with a live-streamed dive conducted by the institute’s underwater robot SuBastian on 25 October.

Key Features of the Detached Coral Reef

Upon exploration, scientists uncovered that the base of the blade-like reef spans 1.5 kilometers, rising 500 meters to a shallowest depth of only 40 meters below the sea surface. Moreover, this newly discovered reef adds to the eight other tall detached reefs documented in the area since the late 1800s. The combination of advanced mapping data and vivid underwater imagery will provide critical insights into this new reef’s function within the larger Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. Additionally, the maps created during this voyage will be accessible through AusSeabed, a national Australian seabed mapping initiative.

“This unexpected discovery affirms that we continue to find unknown structures and new species in our ocean,” stated Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Ocean Institute. “The state of our knowledge about what’s in the ocean has long been so limited. Thanks to new technologies that work as our eyes, ears, and hands in the deep ocean, we have the capacity to explore like never before. New oceanscapes are opening to us, revealing the ecosystems and diverse life forms that share the planet with us.”