Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is frozen for coral protection | Jobs Vox

One way to protect habitats is to cryogenically cool coral that can be stored and later reintroduced into the wild. However, the initiative requires sophisticated equipment, including lasers in the current process.

Fortunately, scientists have envisioned a new lightweight “cryomesh” that can be manufactured cheaply and is even better at preserving coral than lasers. In December, scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS) used cryomesh to freeze coral larvae in the world’s first laboratory test.

“If we can secure the biodiversity of corals … then we will have tools for the future that will really help restore reefs, and this technology is a real game-changer for coral reefs in the future.” Mary Hagadorn, Senior Research Scientist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute told reuters from AIIMS Lab

Mesh technology will now help store coral larvae at -196C (-320.8°F). This is not the first attempt to save the Great Barrier Reef.

other efforts throughout the year

In 2018, Australia-based Reef Ecologic launched a large-scale project in this area consisting of steel frames that emit small doses of low-voltage electricity. The electricity was meant to promote the growth of limestone on the reef structure as a result of interaction with natural minerals found in seawater.

The reef was further fitted with an electrified steel frame which served to encourage coral growth and protect the reef from any future coral bleaching events.