Ancient 52,000-Year-Old Underwater Forest Discovered off the Coast of Alabama

A team of scuba divers has found something interesting for all the nature lovers. The divers have discovered a primeval underwater forest off the coast of Alabama .

Ben Raines, executive director of the Weeks Bay Foundation, along with his team discovered the well preserved Bald Cypress forest lying in an oxygen free environment that was buried under layers of ocean sediments for more than 50,000 years.

It is believed that the 2005 Hurricane Katrina may have uncovered this long held ancient secret. The site was discovered by a local fisherman. He revealed his discovery to a dive shop owner who was apparently a friend of Raines.

The shop owner told Raines about the discovery and in 2012 Raines plunged into the deep waters with his team and re-discovered the ancient underwater forest.

The team found the forest at nearly 60 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. The forest spans an area of 0.8 kilometers.  

Raines and his team found the ancient Cypress swamp in perfect condition. The forest has become an artificial reef for numerous fish, sea anemones, crustaceans and several other underwater life burrowing between the roots of the dislodged stumps, report sLiveScience.

In order to learn more about this well preserved forest, Raines took the help of several scientists.  Grant Harley, a dendrochronologist at the University of Southern Mississippi, and geographer Kristine DeLong of Louisiana State University helped in revealing the secrets of the site.

They started by creating a sonar map and worked on two tree samples collected by the team. On studying the tree rings and carbon isotopes, the forest was dated back to 52,000 years.

"Swimming around amidst these stumps and logs, you just feel like you're in this fairy world," Raines told LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

At the moment the researchers are seeking grants to undertake a full scale exploration of the underwater forest before it deteriorates. They state that this discovery is significant as it offers great clues about the climate that existed in the Gulf of Mexico at that time.