News and views from the world of marine heritage and conservation
Giant among corals
Good migrations ?
Sicilian wreck discovery
ENVIRONMENT
Protect Our Seas
News and views from the world of marine heritage and conservation
PHOTO : MANU SAN FELIX , NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PRISTINE SEAS PHOTO : BRYCE GROARK
Giant among corals
The largest single coral head ever recorded has been discovered by a National Geographic expedition in the Solomon Islands . Scientists say the vast coral head could be more than 300 years old . It was found by a videographer working on a National Geographic ship visiting remote parts of the Pacific to see how it has been affected by climate change . “ I went diving in a place where the map said there was a shipwreck and then I saw something ,” said expedition photographer Manu San Felix . Scientists on the expedition measured the coral , finding it to be 34m wide , 32m long and 5.5m high .
Good migrations ?
A humpback whale has made one of the longest and most convoluted migrations ever recorded , possibly driven by climate change . It was seen in the Pacific Ocean off Colombia in 2017 , then popped up several years later near Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean - a distance of at least 13,000 km . The experts think this epic journey might be down to climate change depleting food stocks or potentially in search of a mate .
PHOTO : UNIVERSITY OF UDINE
Sicilian wreck discovery
A 2,500-year-old shipwreck discovered off the coast of Sicily could offer new insights into ancient Greece , which colonized the Italian island for hundreds of years . Underwater archaeologists discovered the shipwreck during a three-week excavation project off the southern tip of Sicily . It was buried beneath six metres of substrate , according to Sicily ’ s Superintendent of the Sea . Researchers say the wreck dates to the 5th or 6th Century BCE , during the period of Greek colonization . The ship ’ s hull was constructed using a technique that involves connecting beam boards to create a selfsupporting structure .
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