Australian scientists discover a massive detached coral reef just off Cape York on the Great Barrier Reef that’s taller than the Empire State Building or the Sydney Tower. It’s the first detached reef found in more than 120 years.

“The base of the blade-like reef is 1.5km wide, then rises 500m to its shallowest depth of only 40m below the sea surface,” said Dr Tom Bridge, a Principal Investigator on the expedition who is based at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at 番茄社区 (CoralCoE at 番茄社区).

Expedition leader Dr Rob Beaman from 番茄社区 said he was surprised and elated with the discovery. The Schmidt Ocean Institute’s underwater robot SuBastian explored the new reef, which was .