Mystery Volcanic Reef Discovered Near Site of Titanic in Atlantic Ocean
A volcanic reef has been discovered near site of the Titanic, after years of being shrouded in mystery.
Nearly three decades ago, veteran Nautile submersible pilot and Titanic diver PH Nargeolet observed a mysterious object showing up on sonar near the famed shipwreck, at a depth of 9,514 feet.
Scientists believed it could be a geological feature or even another shipwreck.
Years later, the diver has now explored the area, on an expedition conducted by OceanGate Expeditions, and found a volcanic formation teeming with life.
Scientists found sponges, bamboo corals, cold water corals, squat lobsters and an abundance of fish surrounding the basalt volcanic formation. Nargeolet said in a press release that he had been "seeking the chance to explore" the large object that had appeared on the sonar for years.
"It was amazing to explore this area and find this fascinating volcanic formation teeming with so much life," Nargeolet said.
The RMS Titanic is one of the world's most famous shipwrecks. The ocean liner sank on April 15, 1912 after colliding with an iceberg in the North Atlantic, around 370 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It now lies at the bottom of the ocean, 400 nautical miles from Newfoundland, Canada.
OceanGate, a team of scientists and explorers, conduct expeditions to investigate shipwrecks and deep sea geological features.
The new discovery adds to the notion that the deep ocean is home to much more life and activity than expected.
The natural reef, which is separate from the Titanic shipwreck, will allow scientists to compare the marine life surrounding it. The Titanic itself is surrounded in marine life. The wreck has become its own ecosystem and acts as a reef for an abundance of organisms. Many plants and animals need a surface to cling to, and have attached themselves to the remains of the ship.
"Shipwrecks act as artificial reefs. They sit up above the surrounding seabed and provide a hard surface that animals like corals and sponges can fix onto. They're also complex structures that animals like fish can use as a habitat or refuge," Professor of Applied Marine Biology and Ecology in the School of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh, Murray Roberts told Newsweek.
"Because we discovered a natural deep-sea rocky reef close to the Titanic wreck, albeit a little shallower, we can compare and contrast what's living there with what we find on Titanic," he said. "There are many more deep-sea corals growing on Titanic now in 2022 than when the wreck was first filmed in the mid-1980s. As part of our work we're going back through the archives to see how things have changed."
Scientists from OceanGate will study video footage and photographs taken of the thriving volcanic formation. The unexplored rocky areas may be crucial in better understanding how sponges and corals spread across the ocean floor.
Computer simulations will now assess how oceanic organisms can disperse across "vast distances of the deep muddy seafloor, " Roberts said in a press release.
"There's evidence that other man-made structures, like oil/gas platforms, and shipwrecks attract marine life including fish," Roberts told Newsweek.
"We are still working on this using the Titanic videos from this summer so it's too early to say what we'll find but it's clear the corals are growing pretty well, and we saw them growing up from items across the wreck's debris field," Roberts said.
"It made us all stop and think to see these beautiful animals now growing on wreckage from this tragic sinking."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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