A thin film to save Great Barrier Reef

A thin film to save Great Barrier Reef

Context

The World Heritage-listed site is reeling from coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures

What has been done?

Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Biology have tested a floating “sun shield” made of calcium carbonate that has been shown to protect the reef from the effects of bleaching

How will the shield help?

Shield is designed to sit on the surface of the water above the corals, rather than directly on the corals, to provide an effective barrier against the sun

Idea behind the shield

The basic idea is that by reducing the amount of sunlight from reaching the corals in the first place, we can prevent them from becoming stressed which leads to bleaching

Can the shield be deployed over entire barrier reef area?

No. It will be deployed on a smaller, local level to protect high-value or high-risk areas of reef as the entire reef area is very large (348000sq km)

Backdrop

In early 2016 the Great Barrier Reef suffered the worst bleaching yet, affecting an estimated 93 per cent of coral on its vast northern section and killing more than a fifth of it. Since then, efforts are on for improving the condition of the reef