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Scientists have discovered a vast coral reef system linger beneath the marshy waters of the Amazon .
The net ofcoral reefs , which is about 600 knot ( 1,000 kilometers ) long and is home to a out of sight ecosystem of colorful and bizarre creatures , was find atthe mouth of the Amazon River , where fresh water from the river empties into the brackish wave of the Atlantic Ocean .
The Amazon feeds into the Atlantic Ocean in a plume where salt and freshwater mix. The unique pH, salinity, debris and light levels create a unique ecosytem perfect for a massive reef network.
sinful expedition
The Amazon River isthe world ’s large riverby volume , harboring 20 percent of the freshwater on Earth . It is also home to a stunning array outre and as - yet - undocumented creatures . [ The World ’s 10 Longest river ]
Patricia Yager , a marine scientist at the University of Georgia and contribute investigator of the River - Ocean Continuum of the Amazon project , and her colleagues had originally arrange sail on the expedition to sample species from the mouth of the Amazon River , according to a statement .
Graduate student Nara Oliveira and Rodrigo Moura of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro sort through reef animals that were brought up from the newfound Amazon River coral reef.
But one of the team members , biologist Rodrigo Moura from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro , had insure a published discipline from the seventies " that mentioned catching Rand fish along the continental ledge and said he want to render to locate these reefs , " Yager said .
So the team set out on a Leigh Hunt for mysterious reefs . The first obstacle was find out exactly where the researchers of that preceding subject field had done their surveying . The 1970s journal article did n’t have GPS coordinates , so the team went to the ecumenical region and used heavy waves to produce picture of the river bottom . Then they pulled up seafloor sample to confirm the presence of the reef .
Intricate web of biography
It turned out the reef was home to a secret funfair of life not evident at the murky water ’s surface , including loads of reef fish specie , a wide variety of sponge ( as well as sponge - corrode Pisces ) , algae and , of course , coral specie .
" We brought up the most awing and colourful animals I had ever seen on an expedition , " Yager say .
The team then returned to the site in 2014 to do a full catalogue therainbow of Witwatersrand speciesand the Rand ’s gadget characteristic , which they report April 22 in thejournal Science Advances .
The Witwatersrand exchange over its extent . At the southerly boundary of the reef , sea brute get more sunlight , and the reef is dominated by traditional coral and creatures that use light to make food .
" But as you move north , many of those [ coinage ] become less abundant , and the reef transition to sponges and other reef detergent builder that are in all probability growing on the food that the river plume delivers . So the two system are elaborately tie in , " Yager say .
Yet the awe-inspiring Amazon reef system was expose almost from the moment of its discovery . It turned out that oil exploration is planned on top of the reef , while sea acidification and thaw threaten thecoral reefsjust as it does throughout the world ’s ocean , Yager pronounce .
