Deep Water Ocean Discoveries off Australia

Deep ocean investigations to the southwest of Tasmania have discovered previously unknown fields of 10,000-year-old fossilized corals at depths below 4,500 feet. The collaborative research project by U.S. and Australian scientists was led by Dr. Jess Adkins from the California Institute of Technology and Dr. Ron Thresher from CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation and Wealth from Oceans Flagship.

“We set out to search for life deeper than any previous voyage in Australian waters,” Thresher said. “Our sampling documented the deepest-known Australian fauna, including a bizarre carnivorous sea squirt, sea spiders and giant sponges, and previously unknown marine communities dominated by gooseneck barnacles and millions of round, purple-spotted sea anemones.”