Spot the 'coral garden' under an underground canyon

University of Western Australia explorers found an unprecedented coral ecosystem under the Bremer Gorge 4,000m deep.

The discovery was made by the Falkor research vessel, led by explorer Julie Trotter, with the aid of a SuBastian remote-controlled diving device developed by the Schmidt Oceanographic Institute, capable of photographing and collecting. specimens under the deep sea to 4,500m.

Coral ecosystems in the Bremer gorge.(Video: Newsweek).

Bremer Marine Park has long been recognized as a biodiversity hotspot by providing habitat and breeding for a variety of marine life, including whales, sharks and dolphins. However, this is the first time scientists have known about the existence of coral gardens in the Bremer gorge.

"The ridges and cliffs create conditions for coral growth, provide habitat for a variety of organisms and form a small ecosystem. The new discovery is very important to the Park. Bremer Ocean , " stressed Trotter.

Many new species of coral and coral fossil mines are found here.

According to Dr. Paolo Montagna from the Institute of Polar Science, who co-led the research, many new corals and coral fossils were found by SuBastian diving equipment during the expedition, including one type of coral. Special cups live alone.

The data collected will provide more insight into physical changes in the Southern Ocean, including temperature, water pH and nutrients. This is important for the global climate system because the Antarctic Ocean completely surrounds Antarctica. In addition, fossil analyzes can help scientists recreate deep-sea habitat records for decades, centuries and even millennia.

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