Galapagos Environment Minister José Dávalos has announced that a scientific expedition exploring the deep waters of the Galapagos Marine Reserve has discovered a new, totally untouched coral reef, the existence of which had been unknown.
The uniqueness of the discovery revolves around the fact that the Wellington Reef, off the coast of Darwin, was until now thought to be the only one that had survived the effects of the El Niño phenomenon of 1982-1983.
The discovery of the new reef was made using a vehicle called the Alvin, capable of descending to a depth of 3,000 metres from the ship Atlantis.
Galapagos Environment Minister José Dávalos announced that a scientific expedition exploring the deep waters of the Galapagos Marine Reserve had discovered a new, totally untouched coral reef, the existence of which was unknown.
The exceptionality of the discovery revolves around the fact that the Wellington coral reef, off the coast of Darwin, was hitherto believed to be the only one that survived the effects of the 1982-1983 phenomenon of El Niño.
The discovery of the new reef was made using a vehicle called Alvin, capable of descending to a depth of 3,000 meters from the ship Atlantis.
According to Environment Minister Dávalos: 'This is encouraging news. It reaffirms our willingness to establish new marine protected areas in Ecuador and to continue promoting the creation of a regional area in the eastern tropical Pacific'.
Stuart Banks, a Charles Darwin Foundation researcher who participated in the expedition, claimed that: "The fascinating thing about these Galapagos reefs is that they are ancient, undisturbed for centuries or thousands of years, and essentially untouched, unlike those found in many other parts of the world's oceans."