Australian scientists found a detached coral reef on the 🌊 Great Barrier Reef that exceeds the height of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower - the first such discovery in over 100 years reut.rs/3myKbz2 1/5 
📏 The 'blade like' reef is nearly 500 meters tall and 1.5 kilometers wide, said the Schmidt Ocean Institute. It lies 40 meters below the ocean surface and about six kilometers from the edge of Great Barrier Reef 2/5
A team of scientists from James Cook University, led by Dr. Robin Beaman, were mapping the northern seafloor of the Great Barrier Reef on board the institute’s research vessel Falkor, when they found the reef on Oct. 20 3/5
Beaman said it was the first detached reef of that size to be discovered in over 120 years and that it was thriving with a 🐠 'blizzard of fish' in a healthy ecosystem. A study earlier this month found the Great Barrier Reef lost more than half its coral in the last 30 years 4/5
Although the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef suffered from bleaching in 2016, Beaman said this detached reef didn’t display any evidence of damage. Read more about the discovery reut.rs/3myKbz2 5/5
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