Electricity could save Great Barrier Reef

Recent cyclones and back-to-back heatwaves have severely damaged Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, leading ecologists to attempt to regrow broken and sun-bleached coral using electrified steel frames


Coral bleaching: Warm waters strip away colourful photosynthesising algae that provide nourishment to corals – normally takes 10 years to recover. Bleaching now occurs every 1-2 years, leaving no time to heal


Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Composed of 2,900 reefs and 900 islands

Biorock system

Power: Floating solar cell or cable to shore

1 Artificial reef: 12-volt current creates magnetic field around mesh that attracts minerals

2 Growth: Corals use build-up of calcium carbonate to create limestone skeletons

3 Rejuvenation: Broken coral pieces attached to mesh quickly fuse with metal and grow

3m approx

Biorock trial

Cairns

QUEENSLAND

Airlie Beach

AUSTRALIA

Coral grows 3-4 times faster than normal


HEATWAVES
2016: El Niño weather event kills 30% of coral
2017: Increased water temperature again bleaches corals

Severe bleaching (2016)
Severe bleaching (2017)
No or negligible bleaching

Reef, home to 1,500 species of fish, has lost more than half its coral cover since 1985

100km 62 miles


Sources: New Scientist, Mother Nature Network, Reef Ecologic, Biorock 
© GRAPHIC NEWS