For years we’ve been worried about our planet’s coral reefs disappearing, bleaching or being destroyed by human interaction. That is still very much a concern, but at least for the moment conservationists might be able to breathe a small sigh of relief.
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00:00 [Music]
00:03 For years we've been worried about our planet's coral reefs disappearing,
00:07 bleaching, or being destroyed by human interaction.
00:09 That is still very much a concern, but at least for the moment,
00:12 conservationists might be able to breathe a small sigh of relief.
00:15 That's because, according to a new analysis using satellite imagery and AI,
00:20 our planet's reef systems are actually around 25% larger than we previously thought.
00:24 The team of researchers were looking specifically at shallow reefs,
00:28 or those that reside only up to a depth of around 65 feet.
00:31 A team of around 500 marine researchers then poured over 100 trillion pixels worth of data
00:36 to identify every coral inch in satellite images.
00:39 The new methodology allowed them to account for a whopping 24,700 new square miles of extra,
00:45 never-before-catalogued reefs.
00:47 That brings our planet's total shallow reef system up to more than 134,000 square miles,
00:53 or what the researchers equate to around the size of Germany.
00:56 These side-by-side images show exactly where the reefs were hiding as well,
00:59 with the newly discovered reef mass noted in red.
01:02 And while reefs are still very much in peril,
01:04 the experts say these new maps will greatly help conservation efforts
01:08 and saving these oceanic ecosystems.
01:11 [music]