A 4,000 ft ancient coral reef was discovered in the Nullarbor Plain in southern Australia.This area has now been transformed into a 76,000-square-mile desert with limestone bedrock. Slovenian researchers discovered it using new high-resolution satellite imagery.
The Ancient Coral Reef in Australia
Scientists from Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Perth identified these coral reefs as a bull's-eye shape in fresh and high-resolution satellite photos.
According to a study published in the journal Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, the coral reef structure consists of a circular raised rim and a central dome shape. The structure's diameter ranges from 3,950 to 4,250 feet.
Discovery of Sea-Bed Structure in the Australian Desert
Based on Newsweek, co-author and geologist Milo Barham said they discovered the clear remnant of an original sea-bed structure preserved for millions of years using high-resolution satellite imagery and fieldwork. He noted that it is the first of its kind discovered on the Nullarbor Plain.
However, the discovery has called into question their previous beliefs that the Nullarbor Plain lacked any features.
Barham said that unlike many parts of the world, large areas of the Nullarbor Plain have remained largely unchanged by weathering and erosion processes over millions of years, making it a unique geological canvas recording ancient history in remarkable ways.
The reef-like landform comprises an elevated circular ring approximately 4,265ft (1,300m) wide with a dome in the center. It could be the plain's first primary depositional structure discovered.
The landform has a ring-shaped hill. This shape is not caused by extraterrestrial effects or any known deformation processes. Yet, it does preserve original microbial textures and features found in the modern Great Barrier Reef.
Nullarbor Plain is More Than a Desert
According to the Daily Mail, around 14 million years ago, the ocean that covered the Nullarbor began to dry up, exposing the shallow-water limestones deposited during the middle Cenozoic.
Since then, very little has changed geologically on the plain. There has been no significant sediment deposition, nor have major upheavals resulted in mountain ranges or other features forming.
This means that the Nullarbor is a clean record of geological processes and features dating back to the Miocene.
According to Braham, evidence of long-gone river channels and sand dune systems imprinted directly into limestone preserve an archive of ancient landscapes and even a record of the prevailing winds.
He said that it was more than just landscapes. He cited the isolated cave shafts dotting the Nullarbor Plain, mummified remains of Tasmanian tigers, and complete skeletons of long-extinct wonders such as the marsupial lion, Thylacoleo.
Because of the relatively stable conditions at the surface, the Nullarbor Plain has preserved large quantities of meteorites, allowing us to peer back in time to the origins of our solar system.
When combined with the millions of year-old landscape features we have now identified, these features effectively make the Nullarbor Plain a land that time forgot, allowing for an intriguing deeper understanding of Earth's history.
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