SYDNEY, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have discovered and mapped over 1,000 previously uncharted coral reefs in northern Australia, vastly expanding known marine habitat in the region.
The reefs, stretching from Houtman Abrolhos in the state of Western Australia through to western Cape York in the state of Queensland, have until now been mostly invisible and overlooked in conservation and development planning, said a statement of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) released Monday.
The Marine and Coastal Hub project, led by AIMS in partnership with the University of Queensland, unveiled the reefs which are typically hidden in sediment-rich waters, it said, adding they were revealed not by sea expeditions but through advanced analysis of satellite imagery.
Combining around 200 satellite images of the area, the team created a composite image, which allowed them to "peek deeper into the water column" and map the reefs, researchers said.
The work revealed that northern Australia had a similar quantity of reefs as the Great Barrier Reef, though many were much smaller, said AIMS e-Atlas Project Manager Eric Lawrey.
"It's a vast set of reefs that's been largely unknown about," Lawrey said, adding that the reefs, being a habitat for a wide range of marine life, were possibly known by locals.
Previously, most of the northern Australian coastline was unsurveyed. The best mapping could be found in the marine charts, which did not distinguish between coral reefs and rocky reefs as they were simply designed to warn vessels to stay clear.
The team mapped and classified over 3,600 coral and 2,900 rocky reefs, creating the first comprehensive view of northern Australia's reef boundaries, with final datasets available through public data portals, bolstering marine ecosystem protection. ■