NOAA researchers have found a record-breaking Porites coral colony in the Mariana Islands, spanning the size of three basketball courts and growing inside a volcanic crater where CO₂ vents simulate future ocean acidification conditions.
Deep inside the submerged caldera of the Maug Islands , a remote volcanic cluster roughly 450 miles north of Guam , NOAA scientists have confirmed what may be the largest Porites coral colony ever recorded on Earth. Standing over 100 feet tall and stretching nearly 200 feet wide at its base, the ancient reef formation is not only a world record in coral biology; it is a living archive of ocean history that could reshape how marine conservationists and climate scientists understand coral reef survival.