650-mn-old reef found in southern Australia

Melbourne, Sept 22 (PTI) A 650-million-year-old
underwater reef found in southern Australia could unsolve the
mysteries of planet's climate change history, according to
scientists.

The reef, located in South Australia's Flinders
Ranges, has been discovered by the researchers of University
of Melbourne.

"The chemistry of the reef and other sediments forming
in the ocean at the same time show the ocean was poorly mixed,
and this may have had an effect on Earth's climate at that
time by allowing carbon to be trapped in the ocean's depths,"
Researcher Jonathan Giddings was quoted as saying by the 'The
Age' Monday.

The reef existed for 5 million to 10 million years
during a period of tropical conditions on Earth that occurred
between two ice ages known as the Snowball Earth events - when
ice is thought to have existed even at the Equator.

"This reef is an internationally significant discovery
because it provides a significant step forward in showing the
extent of climate change in Earth's past and the evolution of
ancient reef complexes," Giddings added.

The giant reef complex, 10 times higher than the Great
Barrier Reef, is the only one of its age found in the world.
Geologists suspect it could hold evidence of the earliest
examples of primitive animal life.