Marine scientists have discovered the largest known deep-sea coral reefs and mapped them over an area reaching 6.4 million acres, an ecosystem hidden about the size of the state of Vermont, filled with new species. Researchers revealed that this discovery was the result of 23 dives and 31 surveys to map multibeam sonar, all while mapping the deep Blake Plateau in the Atlantic Ocean.
 
According to the British newspaper "Daily Mail," the deep-sea or cold-water coral ecosystem on the plateau extends for approximately 311 miles from Miami, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina, with a width from east to west reaching 68 miles in some areas.
 
Researchers stated that "just off the American coast, this hidden coral reef is expected to host a group of deep-sea marine creatures that are yet unknown to science."
 
The lead researcher of the new study, oceanographer Derek Soares, said, "We knew there would be many coral mounds to map here."
 
However, while marine biologists have been aware since at least the 1960s that the black depths of the Blake Plateau could be home to deep-sea coral reefs, Soares and his team only recently obtained the funding and equipment needed to properly survey the ocean depths.
 
He and his team expect there may be a larger number of deep-sea coral reefs hidden along similar ocean current paths in other parts of the world.
 
The full extent of this coral network reaches about 6.4 million acres, hundreds of thousands of acres larger than the state of Vermont, which is about 6.1 million acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said about the new research published this month in the journal Geomatics: "The study documents the vast scale of the coral province."
 
The agency added in a statement: "The results also highlight how different areas of the Blake Plateau show significant differences in the density, height, and pattern of coral mound formation."
 
While the deep coral mounds cover an area nearly the size of Florida and close to the Sunshine State, their local conditions are almost as cold as ice.
 
Although deep-sea corals are known to be vital hosts for complex ecosystems, providing shelter, food, and "nursery habitats" for crustaceans, fish, and other marine life, these invertebrates living in darkness remain mostly mysterious.