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Lightening the clouds to better reflect the sun or covering the sea with a protective film are among the avenues studied by the Australian government to protect the Great Barrier Reef, a world heritage jewel threatened by climate change. The immense reef that is the size of Japan or Italy suffered in 2016 and 2017 two serious bleaching episodes because of rising water temperatures.
An area of 2,300 kilometers long could have suffered irreparable damage. Experts estimate that an area of 2,300 kilometers long could have suffered irreparable damage. The government has pledged to fight climate change in general, but also to look at shorter-term measures to give some relief to the world's largest coral reef. In January, Canberra appealed to the researchers, unblocking two million Australian dollars to fund innovative ideas to save the site.
Six projects tested to verify their feasibility. It is also threatened by industrial and agricultural activities, as well as the purple acanthaster, an invasive coral-eating starfish. Six projects selected out of a total of 69 proposals will be tested to verify their feasibility, announced the government Friday. One of them plans to thin the clouds by injecting sea salt crystals, which increases their reflective abilities.
"We can increase the rate of sunlight that is reflected." David Mead , a researcher at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, said the proposal had real potential even though it might seem far-fetched. "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 reflected, "he told the ABC media group.
A mbadive production of coral larvae through printing 3D? Another idea is an ultra-thin biodegradable film containing reflective particles that 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," ABC's Andrew Negri, another scientist with '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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