October 21, 2021: Lophelia Coral
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Windows to the Deep 2018. Download larger version (jpg, 1.4 MB).
A mound of live Lophelia pertusa observed along the east side of Richardson Hills off the coast of South Carolina during the Windows to the Deep 2018: Exploration of the Southeast U.S. Continental Margin expedition. Throughout the expedition, scientists encountered coral and sponge communities in newly mapped areas, in previously unexplored areas, and in places they weren’t expecting to find such communities. Expedition remotely operated vehicle and mapping surveys, as well as previous mapping done in 2014 via NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, revealed one of the largest areas of deep-sea coral reef habitat ever discovered in U.S. waters, adding substantial evidence that previously mapped mounds of unknown origin are likely formed by the slow accumulation of Lophelia pertusa coral.