Detecting ancient primeval forest under the sea

A diver discovered a large primeval forest buried under a sediment off the coast of Alabama.

This forest is largely a marsh-tree that is protected in an oxygen-rich environment under the ocean's sediment for a period of 50,000 years, and it is possible that the forest was exposed by 2005 Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Ben Raines, one of the first divers to explore the underwater forest, and the executive director of the non-profit organization Bay Foundation, said the trees here are very well preserved and smell like Fresh plastic. The stumps of the primitive forest spread over an area of ​​about 0.8 km ² , about 18 meters deep below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.

The map with sonar scanning technology shows the location of the forest off the coast of Alabama.(Photo: Grant Harley / Kristine DeLong)

Mr. Ben Raine provided information for scientists to study. The team at the University of Mississippi and Louisiana State University created a map of the area using sonar navigation and analyzed two samples of trees collected by Mr. Raine.

Mr. Grant Harley, wood veneer researcher at the University of Southern Mississippi and Louisiana State University's Kristine DeLong, jointly worked on the study to create a diving plan to better explore the area later this year. However, due to the depth of the forest below the sediment, divers can only dive up to 40 minutes in this area.

Through carbon isotope analysis, the scientific community concluded that the plants were about 52,000 years old. The development of trees in the forest could reveal many of the Gulf's climate unknowns thousands of years ago, during the Wisconsin frost period, when sea levels were much lower than today.

According to Harley, the trees found can live up to 1,000 years and they will tell thousands of years of regional climate history. According to Harley, the stumps are very large with a diameter of up to 2 meters.

Currently, the scientific group has not published extensive research and is asking for funding to explore the area more thoroughly. Although recently discovered, scientists have only about 2 years to study before it is destroyed by marine organisms.