Science awed at coral reef discovery

Scientists investigating the destruction of coral in the US Virgin Islands were shocked to discover near-perfect reefs at depths never fully explored, writes Anna Fazackerley.

A team of ocean scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in America used an unmanned underwater vehicle to capture pictures of coral reefs up to 70m below the water's surface - beyond the grasp of scuba divers. While shallow-water coral reefs in the Caribbean have been hit hard by disease and pollution in the past few decades, these deep-water reefs had nearly 100 per cent living coral cover.

Hanumant Singh, who led the mission, said: "We went out and saw them in huge, huge abundance. That was really eye-opening."

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council, which assisted with the study, had expected to find further proof of the devastating affect man was having on coral reefs. "This was quite a shock," Dr Singh said. "The programme manager said, 'This is all wrong. We've been telling them back at home that the reefs are really hurting and we need action.'"

Dr Singh's vehicle, which operates without wires and can be launched from a small boat, conducted nine dives at night. The team used strobe lighting to take a series of 7,000 digital still images. The two banks - the Marine Conservation District Hind Bank which is south of St Thomas island, and the South Drop near St John - had never been mapped or imaged before. Other divers had glimpsed the reefs, but the diversity and abundance of coral species came as a great surprise. Dr Singh said: "Theories about why these reefs are better protected are hard to confirm."

Dr Singh is keen to go back and explore the areas that his vehicle missed.

Annual surveys are planned to assess change to the health of the reef and its inhabitants.