Isle Of Palms Magazine Spring/Summer 2019

18 www.IsleOfPalmsMagazine.com | www.ILoveIOP.com | www.IOPmag.com years. If pieced together, the mounds would be about 85 miles in length. Research team leader Dr. Eric Cordes called one area they explored, the Richardson Ridge, “a huge feature,” adding, “It’s incredible that it stayed hidden off the U.S. East Coast for so long.” Dr. Michael Rasser, a marine ecologist with BOEM, was among the scientists traveling aboard Alvin to another area on the excursion. He described it as “beautiful.” “The color palette is unique, really different from that of tropical coral. It was amazing to get ‘up close and personal’ to witness the colors of the lophelia coral and to see its little polyps alive and moving at such a tremendous depth,” he related. “Other types of corals provide color variety. … In some of the places we dove to, we were literally ‘going where man has never gone before,’ and all the scientists on the expedition were really excited about what we found. “Scientists live for these discoveries and what new things they can teach us about our world. It’s especially gratifying to see that people outside the scientific community are equally excited about what we found.” Is the deep-water coral that was discovered different Map of the newly discovered reef complex off the coast of South Carolina. Image courtesy of Deep Search 2018 - BOEM, USGS, NOAA. Vacation Rentals | Long-Term Rentals | Property Management 1304 Palm Blvd., Isle of Palms, SC 29451 • islandrealty.com • (843) 242-1076 Service you deserve. Partnership you trust.