The Ocean's Empire State Building

Earth's creations succeed in reaching greater heights than human-made structures.

When scrolling through news sources and reviewing what I might share in a post this week, I came across article after article emphasizing the environmental issues present today. While it certainly is important to focus on how we as a society can come together to find innovative and sustainable solutions, I figured I would shine light on a positive topic this week.

Whether or not you have been able to catch a glimpse of it in person, most are aware of the Empire State building. This building, standing at 1,250 feet tall, is an incredible symbol of New York's ingenuity and aspiration. Generally when imagining the world largest structures, large architectural pieces made by the most prominent designers come to mind. But perhaps what may go unmentioned is the incredible constructions our Earth itself organically contains.

Recently, a group of scientists were able to discover a large structure that separated from the Great Barrier Reef of Cape York while preforming 3-D mapping. This detached reef at 1,640 feet high is larger than the Empire State building. The mapping technique used to locate this is anticipated to allow for further exploration and understanding of deep sea composition. The Great Barrier reef, stretching a distance of 1,400 miles and containing an assortment of fish and coral species is one structure that can be inspected with this technology.