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Updated
July 18, 2018 07:18:30
Photo:
The thin film (photo) would sit on the surface of the ocean, letting in less sunlight. (Provided: Australian Institute of Ocean Sciences)
A film floating 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, a device that projects salt into the clouds and machines that churn seawater. The Great Barrier Reef at a first Australian conference in the far north of Queensland
Andrew Negri of the Australian Institute of Ocean Sciences said That a biodegradable solar shield was one of the ideas discussed at the Great Barrier Rehabilitation Symposium. Cairns this week
He said that the project, led by AIMS and the University of Melbourne, had only been tested in laboratories up to now, but he hoped test the film on the reef in the next two years. What's great about the movie is that it only contains one molecule of thickness, so you can swim all right and it's just going to continue to self-do. " , he said.
"He basically uses a half-bucket of calcium carbonate a whole hectare of co For the film-forming component, we need less than a teaspoon of material to maintain this carbonate on the surface of the ocean. "The next step would certainly be to try it in very large tanks of the Sea Simulator, we will ask for permits to take on the Great Barrier Reef and do small-scale trials."
" But we have to talk to the public to get a social license for an experiment like this. "19659005] Mr. Negri stated that if the film was not designed to cover the entire reef, it could help to prevent coral bleaching at key sites
"Like a snow cannon projecting salt into the clouds"
Another idea discussed by hundreds of experts, scientists and Symposium engineers is the concept of lightening clouds. .
The project is part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program conducted by the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences.
Program Director David Mead said that although climate change was vital, there was a change in the scientific community. He said that the lightening of the clouds was to encourage the clouds above the reef to send the sun back into space, so that less heat and light reached the coral underneath. .
Photo:
David Mead, organizer of the symposium, says that more and more scientists are studying creative ways to help corals survive climate change. (Far North ABC: Anna Hartley)
"At first it seemed to me [like a whacky concept] that the team was planning to use a very thin nozzle to pump small droplets of water at a rate of several billion "The water vaporizes and you have a particle of salt that will float, and if you can introduce these in the system, you can increase the amount of light reflected by the sun. 19659017] "This is what is called lightening clouds because, from above, the cloud looks brighter. "
Mr. Mead said that the process was similar to a snow cannon and that he would use the same device with a modified nozzle to pump seawater." Apply it as Great Barrier Reef method is a new idea and it's early, "he said.
" We have to look at whether this influences weather conditions, and that tests need to take place.
"The reef is bruised and bruised, but it is beautiful, and Australia has a wide range of scientists that can be brought"
"Climate mitigation must be a priority, but some of the techniques presented here [in Cairns] can help us save time. "
photo:
Hundreds of experts, scientists and engineers are located in northern Queensland and are exploring innovative ways to combat coral bleaching. (Peter Harrison: Southern Cross University)
Restoration test of a reef this summer
A machine that mixes water on the reef is another proposed solution
Suzanne Long Reef and Rainforest Research Center said that a slow paddlewheel would mix water vertically to lower its temperature.
"We are planning to try it on the reef this summer, so in December," she said. at a time when none of the old ways will work anymore.
Photo:
Suzanne Long is in Cairns this week to present new ideas at the symposium. (Far North ABC: Anna Hartley)
"We have had a very pbadive approach to reef management in the past, but we no longer have that luxury."
While a lot of ideas Ms. Long said that thinking outside the box was the key to saving the reef.
"Some of the ideas really sound there until you talk to the scientist who defends it and you realize" We have to find ways to help the reef survive and be safe. adapt to the increasing temperatures that will continue to occur over the next few decades. "
Photo:
Coral fragment hanging from a tree & # 39; as part of a study to replant coral on the Great Barrier Reef.
The Coral Nursery is expected to double after the first signs of success
Those proposing unusual ideas at the symposium are invited to visit Fitzroy Island off the coast of Cairns to see a similar innovative project succeed to save Rob Giason, of the Reef Restoration Foundation, said the coral nursery project, which consisted of hanging small pieces of coral to a tree structure under water, would almost double in size after the first signs . He says the project involved resilient coral cultivation on trees replanted on damaged reefs.
"We are very encouraged by what we see, we started with about 24 corals and in seven months we are" Some of these corals grow up to 90% of their original size, so it's really encouraging. "
Four more corals will be built on the week site, your Mr. Giason said that was another example of how a seemingly important jump from one year to the next. idea could help save the reef, and he hoped that he would encourage scientists working on equally creative projects to continue. [19659052] Topics:
science and technology,
Earth Science,
Government and politics,
environment,
oceans-and-reefs
double barrier reef
activism and lobbying,
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Australia
Published
July 18, 2018 07:02:50
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