The ecological marvels that are coral reefs are under threat from the excesses of climate change. Can technology save them?
Coral reefs – massive underwater structures built by colonies of tiny creatures called coral polyps – were described as a “jewelled belt around the middle of the planet” by renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle in the 1990s. Many years earlier, Charles Darwin had linked coral reefs to the tree of life, such was their environmental significance. Now, sadly, due to recent increases in sea temperature, coral reefs face an uncertain future. In fact, some experts consider their demise inevitable, should current rates of global heating continue.
Coral reefs first appeared on the planet 485 million years ago, although experts believe that most of today’s reefs formed between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago, after the last glacial period, when melting ice caused sea levels to rise and flood continental shelves.
Distant relations of jellyfish and sea anemones, corals fix themselves...