• Australia - The Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half of its corals since 1995

A group of scientists has discovered a coral

500 meters high

, taller than the New York

Empire State

skyscraper

, in the Great Barrier Reef, off the northeast coast of Australia.

"The base of this blade-shaped coral is

1.5 kilometers wide

. It rises to 500 meters (high) and its shallowest depth is 40 meters below the sea surface," said Tom Bridge, Principal Investigator of the scientific expedition aboard a ship from the Scmidt Ocean Institute (USA).

The discovery of this gigantic disconnected coral, which is found off the coast of Cape York, is the first of its kind in more than a century, according to the statement issued this Wednesday by the Australian James Cook University, which participated in discovery.

"This new discovery joins

seven other high-altitude corals

that have been detected in the area" of the Great Barrier Reef and that were mapped more than a century ago, added Bridge, a coral expert at James Cook and the Queensland Museum.

In that collection is Raine Island, a gigantic coral about 620 kilometers off the coast of the Australian city of Cairns and which is considered the most important nesting area for green turtles on the planet.

A surprising discovery

For his part, the expedition leader, scientist Rob Beaman, from James Cook University, has commented that the discovery was as surprising as the possibility of using the SuBastian robot, which allowed the discovery to be recorded and broadcast live.

"It is incredible to be able to make a

detailed three

-

dimensional map

of the place and make this discovery with SuBastian," said Beaman, referring to these underwater investigations and discoveries from the Schmidt Ocean Institute in Australia.

Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, has emphasized that there are still many unknown structures and species in the marine world waiting to be discovered.

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