An underwater mapping project recently took an unexpected twist off the coast of Tahiti, where deep sea explorers said this week that they had discovered a coral reef resembling a bed of roses that appeared to be largely unscathed by climate change.
According to those involved in the mapping project, the reef is among the largest ever found at its depth and is remarkably well preserved.
The condition of the reef, hidden at depths between 30 meters and 100 meters in the South Pacific, was described aspristine by some.
The reef lived up to what he had imagined when he first explored it, according to an underwater photographer from France.
The dream is the same as the reality, according to Mr. Rosenfeld.
The French National Centre for Scientific Research and UNESCO collaborated with Mr. Rosenfeld to photograph the reef as part of a deep sea exploration project called 1 Ocean.
The mesophotic zone is where the coral depends on for survival and where light penetration is less than ideal.
Unlike coral reefs found at shallow depths, which are often shaped like branches and are more susceptible to being damaged by rising ocean temperatures, mesophotic reefs form their floral shape to gain more surface area and receive more light. Mr. Rosenfeld said he used a Sony Alpha 1, a full-frame camera.
The head of the Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission at UNESCO said on Thursday that he was blown away by the expanse of rose petals captured in the photos.
He said that you can see them as far as the eye can see. When they showed the pictures, we were amazed by the quality of the ecosystems there.
It is a image.
The coral reef was discovered in November.
Mr. Barbire said that climate change posed a significant threat to coral reefs, especially those at shallow depths, like the ones damaged in recent years in the South Pacific in what is known as bleaching. Coral loses its color and its skeleton is exposed as part of that process.
He said that that can destroy or impact the coral reef.
The challenge of reaching the coral reef was presented to scientists and photographers by its depth. They said it required them to use breathing equipment and a mixture of gases.
John Jackson, a film director with 1 Ocean who is involved with the project, compared the reef's shape to lacework. In an interview on Thursday, he said that there was still a lot of work to be done when it came to underwater exploration.
Mr. Jackson said that they know every detail of Mars, the moon, and certain planets.
The professor at the University of California, San Diego who was not involved with the project said on Thursday that the discovery was gratifying.
It is nice that Tahiti is far from land where the water could end up being cloudy and making it harder for the algae to grow in these deep water reefs.
He likened the relationship between coral and algae to that of the human body and yeast, saying that it was critical to maintain a delicate balance.
If they get stressed by warm temperatures, the relationship between the algae and the coral is damaged and the coral gets rid of them.
Once the reef and the marine species that call it home are better understood, those involved in the project said that they would seek to adopt measures to protect the environment.
Mr. Rosenfeld said that without exploration you can't have science.
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