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Lightening the clouds to better reflect the sun or covering the sea with a protective film are some of the avenues the Australian government has been working on to protect the Great Barrier Reef, a world heritage gem threatened by climate change.
The immense reef that is the size of Japan or Italy has undergone two severe whitening episodes in 2016 and 2017 due to rising water temperatures.
2,300 kilometers long zone could have suffered irreparable damage.
The government promised to fight climate change in general but also to study shorter-term measures to give some relief to the largest coral complex
In January, Canberra called on researchers to unlock two million Australian dollars to fund innovative ideas to save the site.
It is also threatened by industrial and agricultural activities, as well as by the purple acanthaster, an invasive coral-eating starfish.
Six projects selected out of a total of 69 proposals will be tested to verify Feasibility, the government announced on Friday.
One of them plans to clear up the clouds by injecting sea salt crystals, which increases their reflective abilities.
David Mead, Researcher at the Institute Australian Marine Science, said that the proposal had real potential even if it could appear at first sight farfetched.
"Our team is studying the use of a very fine tip to inject small droplets of seawater at a rate of several billion per second, the water vaporizes and there are still particles of salt that will float in the air.If we can inject them into the system, we can increase the rate of sunlight that is thoughtful, "he told ABC media group
Another idea is an ultra-thin, biodegradable film that contains reflective particles and would cover some of the reefs to protect them from heat.
"What's good about this film is that it's just the thickness of a molecule, you can swim through it and it will reform itself," Andrew Negri said on ABC. scientist of the Institute.
Among other selected tracks, the mbadive production of coral larvae through 3D printing of surfaces to support their growth, or the collection and relocation of larvae.
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