Oops! Canadian Researchers Accidentally Discover New Coral Reef In Greenland (PHOTO)

Coral from the newly discovered reef. Credit: Bedford Institute of Oceanography

Finding new, unexpected things in the world always generates huge interest, and today’s announcement from Canada has the science world turning to the southern coast of Greenland. It’s here that Canadian researchers found a huge deposit of cold-water coral reef, a reef that had never been discovered.

The discovery took the researchers completely by surprise, as it came completely by accident.

The researchers were taking water samples off the coast, from 900 meters down. When they retracted their instrument, it was smashed and pieces of coral were stuck to it, proving the existence of the reef.

Researchers are surprised and happy to discover the reef, but remark it may not bring the kind of tourism boost to Greenland that other reefs have brought to countries like Australia. The currents near the reef are too strong and dangerous for diving.

This cold water reef lives in total darkness under the waves. These types of reefs are more rare than warm water ones, but aren’t unusual. Cold water reefs have been found near Norway and Finland. However, the existence of such a reef near Greenland is exciting for the scientific community. Further scientific studies into the reef are an inevitability.

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http://www.torontosun.com/2014/01/28/canadian-researchers-discover-coral-reef-off-greenlands-southern-coast