All articles tagged with #reef
Surfline breaks down Teahupo'o's iconic, barreling wave—showing how the reef’s abrupt bathymetry, swell direction and period, and local winds align to create the world’s most captivating and fearsome wave.
Scientists using side-scan sonar and deep-sea cameras off Benin, West Africa, detected a living mesophotic coral garden about 54 meters deep, overturning decades of belief that this reef system was dead; the site hosts six octocorals, two black corals, and at least eight reef fish species with no observed bleaching, marking the first confirmed mesophotic reef on the Gulf of Guinea shelf. Researchers plan to collect samples to assess health and resilience amid climate-driven warming.
High-tech surveys using AI tools and high-definition video are being conducted off the coast of Lahaina, Hawaii, to assess the devastating impact of the recent fires on the marine life and health of the shoreline. Scientists fear that the ash and toxins from the fires could have catastrophic effects on the near-shore environment, with the potential for chemicals from burned vehicles and buildings to contaminate the coral reefs. Efforts are being made to prevent runoff from reaching the ocean, but the long-term effects on the shoreline remain uncertain.