World’s largest coral “the size of two basketball courts” discovered by chance

Scientists have discovered one of the largest known marine creatures, a coral the size of two soccer fields, off the coast of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.

The coral is believed to be centuries old and is “so huge that it can be seen from space,” said National Geographic’s Pristine Sea team, which made the discovery.

This is almost three times larger than the previous record holder.

Unlike coral reefs, which are built on a symbiotic relationship between corals and sea anemones, corals are independent structures.

Mammoth corals belonging to this species pavona kraus It was discovered by a research vessel in the southwest Pacific Ocean in October.

The brown mound, 34 meters wide and 32 meters long, is a community of about 1 billion animals called polyps that form a larger structure “the size of a cathedral.” new scientist. Genetically identical polyps function together as if they were a single organism.

Given its size and the slow rate of coral growth, researchers suspect the mound is at least 300 years old. “Just when you think there’s nothing left to discover on Earth, you discover a gigantic coral made of nearly a billion tiny polyps, pulsing with life and color.” said National Geographic explorer Enric Sala, founder of the Pristine Seas Project.

“This is an important scientific discovery, like discovering the world’s tallest tree.”

The giant structure has survived decades of environmental change and appears to be thriving even as global oceans warm.

But scientists are concerned about the fate of these giant corals as climate change causes oceans to become more acidic.

Corals use calcium carbonate in seawater to form their skeletons. As the world warms and oceans become more acidic due to excessive global carbon dioxide emissions, it is becoming increasingly difficult for these creatures to stay healthy, the researchers said.

As global temperatures rise by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, coral bleaching events become more frequent and severe, potentially eradicating large portions of the world’s coral reefs.

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But researchers are hopeful that giant corals can remain healthy despite these changes.

“We now have information stored on how to survive for centuries. The genetic code of these simple polyps is like a giant encyclopedia of how to survive multiple climate conditions.” said Manu Saint-Félix, an oceanographer of the primordial seas.

Eric Brown, a coral scientist who took part in the expedition, said: “Nearby shallow coral reefs have deteriorated due to rising sea temperatures, but being able to witness this large, healthy coral oasis in somewhat deeper waters is a ray of hope.” ” he said.