Marine explorers have discovered a pristine 3km coral reef at depths of 30m off the coast of Tahiti, French Polynesia.
- As per UNESCO, which led the mission, it is one of the largest discovered at that depth. The reef was found in November 2021, during a diving expedition to a depth known as the ocean’s “twilight zone” – part of a global seabed-mapping mission called the Seabed2030 Project.
About Twilight Zone
- Twilight zone is the lowest level of the ocean that light can penetrate. The twilight zone contains the largest and least exploited fish stocks of the world’s oceans.
- Spanning from just below 200 metres to 1,000 metres deep, it is an interface between the well-studied marine life in the sunlit zone above and the ecosystems of the abyss below.
About Coral reefs
- Coral reefs are among the ocean’s most threatened ecosystems – vulnerable to pollution, rising sea temperatures and the change in chemistry caused by carbon-dioxide emissions dissolving in the water.
- Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Coral polyps, the animals primarily responsible for building reefs, can take many forms: large reef building colonies, graceful flowing fans, and even small, solitary organisms.
About Tahiti
- Tahiti is the largest island of the Windward Islands of the Society Islands, French Polynesia, in the central South Pacific Ocean.
GS TIMES UPSC PRELIMS & MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS BASED BASICS DAILY ONLINE TEST CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ FOR STATE CIVIL SERVICES
