The largest documented coral colony in the world found on the Great Barrier Reef
The discovery was made by a mother and daughter who are part of the Citizens of the Reef, a charitable organization in Australia.
The largest documented coral colony in the world discovered by a mother and daughter
A mother and daughter taking part in the Great Reef Census, run by Citizens of the Reef, have identified the largest known coral ever documented on the Great Barrier Reef. The coral colony is roughly the size of a soccer field.
The world's largest coral colony was uncovered on the Great Barrier Reef by citizen scientists taking part in the Great Reef Census.
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The discovery was made by a mother, Jan Pope, and daughter, Sophie Kalowski-Pope, who are part of the Citizens of the Reef, a charitable organization in Australia. They were surveying reefs from their family vessel when they made the discovery.
"I knew right from the minute we dropped in that it was something special," Sophie Kalkowski-Pope, Marine Operations Coordinator at Citizens of the Reef, said.
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Image 1 of 5Citizen scientists identify the largest documented and mapped coral colony in the world. (Jan Pope)
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Image 2 of 5The citizen scientist that uncovered the coral colony. (Citizens of the Reef )
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Image 3 of 5The largest known coral was discovered by a mother and daughter surveying reefs from their family vessel. (Citizen of the Reef)
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Image 4 of 5Citizen scientists taking part in the Great Reef Census have identified the largest known coral ever documented on the Great Barrier Reef. (Richard Fitzpatrick)
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Image 5 of 5The boat that the mother and daughter were on when surveying the reef. (Citizens of the Reef)
The coral was then verified and mapped through coordinated in-water measurements, surface-based photogrammetry, and three-dimensional spatial modeling.
The measurements showed that the coral colony was over 364 feet and covers 42,765 square feet, which is roughly the size of a soccer field.
This makes it one of the most significant coral structures ever recorded on the Great Barrier Reef.
"When I got in the water, I’d never seen coral growing like this before," Jane Pope said. "It looked like a meadow of coral. It just went on and on."
The coral colony is over 364 feet and covers 42,765 square feet, which is roughly the size of a soccer field.
(Serena Mou / FOX Weather)
Following the initial sightings, the Citizen of the Reef worked to confirm the coral’s dimensions. Manual underwater measurements were combined with high-resolution imagery captured from surface-based platforms, and the resulting data were used to generate a detailed 3D model.
In collaboration with the Queensland University of Technology Center for Robotics, the team verified the reef’s dimensions to enable long-term monitoring of the site.
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"The benefit of this kind of spatial data is that we can take measurements at very high resolution," Serena Mou, Research Engineer at the QUT Center for Robotics said. "It also means we can return in future months and years and make direct, one-to-one comparisons to understand how the coral changes over time."
The scientists also discovered that the site has a strong tidal current and low wave exposure. Teams are exploring these environmental conditions to better understand how large coral structures can be preserved.
Citizen scientists discover the largest known coral ever documented on the Great Barrier Reef
Citizen scientists taking part in the Great Reef Census, run by Citizens of the Reef, have identified the largest known coral ever documented on the Great Barrier Reef. The discovery was made by a mother and daughter surveying reefs.
Researchers say that finding this large coral does not mean reefs are recovering, or that climate impacts are diminishing, but it does show ways the reef is responding to environmental pressures.
The data that is collected will be used to identify areas of ecological value, including reefs that help support surrounding systems.
Sea creatures seen living on the coral colony.
(Jan Pope / FOX Weather)
As for right now, the exact location of the coral colony is being withheld to reduce the risk of impacts.
"Discoveries like this are significant because the reef still holds so many unknowns, and we don’t know what we stand to lose," Kalkowski-Pope said. "I think this shows why reef conservation efforts like the Great Reef Census matter now more than ever."