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Experts from the University of Queensland are experimenting with a new way to save the Australian Great Barrier Reef – one of the most endangered natural environments on the planet – and their strategy might surprise you. Researchers from the Department of Civil Engineering and Biological Sciences at the university have recovered parts of dead coral and recycled them into new structures. They hope that the project will not only protect the still active parts of the reef, but will restore it with a new life.
University scientists collaborate with engineering, science and technology consulting firm BMT to create mesh structures containing unstable rubble composed of dead coral, with the aim of transforming them into bombora. Bombora, or "bommies" as the Australians have dubbed them, are great pillars of coral that serve as habitat for a myriad of fish species and – when strategically positioned – can help to repair the reef in a natural and non-invasive way.
Related: Australia invests more than $ 377 million to save the Great Barrier Reef
The team has received funding from the Australian and Queensland governments that will allow it to begin testing pilots on the project. If the reef is not helped by external forces, it might not survive coral bleaching episodes of 2016 and 2017. Other projects have been suggested, including the use of giant fans to try to cool the reef waters or develop films to protect the coral from increased sun exposure, the bommies would represent a more sustainable and natural venture.
Professor Tom Baldock, who is working on the project, explains: "On a healthy reef, the wave energy is reduced by the coral structure, allowing broken corals to bind naturally to form a stable layer, first through the growth of coralline crustacean algae, or CCA .CCA helps bind the coral rubble to create the reef setting and releases chemicals that attract coral larvae swimming freely. "L & # The research team is working hard in their race against the clock to establish this organic foundation and protect one of the finest endangered habitats
+ University of Queensland
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