Coral reef
Scientists Map Largest Deep-Sea Coral Reef off US Atlantic Coast
The article
Map the coral reef
Scientists have mapped the largest coral reef off America’s Atlantic coast.
Researchers say the reef stretches about 500 kilometers from Florida to South Carolina. At some points, it is 109 kilometers wide. The researchers measured the reef using 3D mapping technology.
“It’s eye-opening – it’s breathtaking in scale,” Stuart Sandin told The Associated Press. He is a marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanographythe Scientific study of Ocean. Sandin was not included in the research.
Ocean scientists have known since the 1960s that some coral life was present off the Atlantic Coast. But the reef’s exact size had remained a mystery. New underwater mapping technology made it possible to construct images of the ocean floor in three dimensions.
Deep coral reef
The largest yet known deep coral reef “has been right under our noses, waiting to be discovered,” said Derek Sowers. He is an oceanographer at the nonprofit group Ocean Exploration Trust.
Sowers and other scientists recently released maps of the reef in the publication Geomatics(在这里是一种出版物).
The reef was found at ocean depths from 200 to 1,000 meters. Deep-sea life cannot use sunlight to carry out photosynthesis. Instead, reef corals at extreme depths must filter food particlesa small piece of something out of the water for energy.
Deep coral reefs are known to contain animals such as sharks, swordfisha large fish with a sword on its head, sea stars, octopusa creature with eight tentacles, shrimp and many kinds of fish.
Tropical coral reefs
Unlike deep coral reefs, tropicalcoming from the hottest parts of the world reefs are better known to scientists and sea explorers alike because they are easier to reach. The world’s largest tropical coral reef system, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, stretches for 2,300 kilometers.
Sowers said it is possible larger deep-sea reefs will be discovered in the future since only about 25 percent of the world’s ocean floor has been mapped in 3D. Only 50 percent of U.S. offshore waters have been mapped. Maps of the ocean floor are created using high-technology sound equipment, called sonar, on ships.
Erik Cordes is a marine biologist at Temple University and a co-writer of a study on the mapping operation. He said deep reefs cover more of the ocean floor than tropical reefs. But both are currently facing similar risks, including climate change and damage from oil and gas exploration activities
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Words in This Story
coral – n. a hard, usually pink or white substance produced by a type of small sea animal
reef – n. a collection of rocks or sand that sits below the surface of the ocean
3D (three dimensional) –adj. showing the height, width and length of something rather than just two dimensions
scale – n. the size or level of something
photosynthesis – n. the process by which a plant uses carbon dioxide from the air, water from the ground, and the energy from the light of the sun to produce its own food and oxygen
filter – v. to pass a substance through a piece of equipment in order to remove solid pieces or other substances
Chinese Translation
科学家们绘制了美国大西洋沿岸最大的珊瑚礁的地图。
研究人员说，珊瑚礁从佛罗里达延伸到南卡罗来纳州约500公里。在某些地方，它是109公里宽。研究人员使用3D测绘技术测量了珊瑚礁。
“这是大开眼界-它的规模惊人，”斯图尔特桑丁告诉美联社。他是斯克里普斯海洋研究所的海洋生物学家。桑丁没有被包括在研究中。
自20世纪60年代以来，海洋科学家就已经知道大西洋沿岸存在一些珊瑚生命。但珊瑚礁的确切大小仍然是个谜。新的水下测绘技术使绘制海底三维图像成为可能。迄今为止已知的最大的深海珊瑚礁“就在我们的鼻子底下，等待着被发现，”德里克·索沃斯说。他是非营利组织海洋探索信托基金会的海洋学家。
Sowers和其他科学家最近在Geomatics出版物中发布了珊瑚礁的地图。
珊瑚礁是在200至1,000米的海洋深处发现的。深海生物不能利用阳光进行光合作用。相反，在极端深处的珊瑚礁必须过滤水中的食物颗粒以获取能量。
众所周知，深海珊瑚礁中有鲨鱼、旗鱼、海星、章鱼、虾和许多种类的鱼。
与深海珊瑚礁不同，热带珊瑚礁更容易被科学家和海洋探险家所了解，因为它们更容易到达。世界上最大的热带珊瑚礁系统，澳大利亚的大堡礁，绵延2,300公里。
Sowers说，未来可能会发现更大的深海珊瑚礁，因为世界上只有大约25%的海底被绘制成3D地图。只有50%的美国近海沃茨被绘制成地图。海底地图是使用船上的声纳绘制的。
Erik Cordes是坦普尔大学的海洋生物学家，也是一项关于测绘工作的研究的合著者。他说，深海珊瑚礁比热带珊瑚礁覆盖更多的海底。但两者目前都面临着类似的风险，包括气候变化和石油和天然气勘探活动造成的损害.
