Google Maps is no longer an app that is used for checking a route or staring at your own house. Johnny Gaskell, a marine biologist, took it to the next level and he managed to make an incredible discovery with the help of the application. Google Maps showed a “blue hole” situated in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef.
He investigated it in real life
While the Google Maps discovery was very impressive, it was not enough for this marine biologist. He decided to go out and take a look directly. Luckily for him, he lives right on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef, in the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland.
“After spotting this deep blue hole on google maps we decided to head far offshore, out further than our normal Reef trips to see what dwelled within. What we found inside was hard to believe considering five months ago a Cat 4 cyclone went straight over the top of it. At around 15m-20m deep there was [sic] huge Birdsnest Corals (Seriatopora) and super elongate Staghorn Corals (Acropora) both of which were among the biggest and most delicate colonies I’ve ever seen,” explained Johnny Gaskell.
Since he is probably the first one to discover it, Johnny named the hole after himself. “We may very well be the first to ever dive Gaskell’s Blue Hole as it was so far offshore and hidden deep within one of the Great Barrier Reef’s biggest lagoons,” he said.
The hole can be very valuable for many biologists since it managed to protect its coral for years. “Gaskell’s Blue Hole” was not affected by natural disasters either. “The position of this deep hole within the lagoon walls has obviously protected these corals for decades.”