Enormous coral reef discovered - 9th November 2020

An enormous coral reef has been discovered in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

The 500 metre high reef is taller than New York's Empire State Building and Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Twin Towers.

Scientists came across the reef while they were creating a 3D map of the seafloor around Australia. The team used an underwater robot to explore the reef. The moment of the discovery was livestreamed on the internet. The scientists described the reef as "blade-like". It rises half a kilometre high and measures 1.5 kilometres wide. Lead scientist Dr Jyotika Virmani said the find "shows how mysterious the world is".

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system. It is formed of almost 3,000 reefs and 900 islands. More than 1,500 species of fish and over 400 types of coral can be found there. In 1981, the reef was given World Heritage site status because of its importance.

Unfortunately, the reef has been damaged in recent years. Climate change is warming the waters, which has killed off coral. A recent study found that over 50 per cent of Great Barrier Reef corals have been lost since 1995.

A reef of this kind hasn't been found in the region for over a hundred years, but there are several other tall reefs in nearby locations. There are lots of aquatic creatures living in the reef, which means the area has a lot of nutrients.