The Development of a Floating Mono-Particle “Sun Shield” to Protect Corals from High Irradiance during Bleaching Conditions
Coral bleaching is occurring more frequently as the climate changes, with multiple mass mortality events recently recorded on the Great Barrier Reef. Thermal stress coupled with high irradiance have previously been shown to be primary causes for coral bleaching. Therefore, a reduction in either of t...
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/10/1809 |
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| author | Joel M. P. Scofield Emma L. Prime Florita Flores Andrea Severati Mathieu Mongin Elodie Bougeot Mark E. Baird Andrew P. Negri Greg G. Qiao |
| author_facet | Joel M. P. Scofield Emma L. Prime Florita Flores Andrea Severati Mathieu Mongin Elodie Bougeot Mark E. Baird Andrew P. Negri Greg G. Qiao |
| author_sort | Joel M. P. Scofield |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coral bleaching is occurring more frequently as the climate changes, with multiple mass mortality events recently recorded on the Great Barrier Reef. Thermal stress coupled with high irradiance have previously been shown to be primary causes for coral bleaching. Therefore, a reduction in either of these pressures could reduce coral stress and eventual bleaching. Herein, we report the early development of a novel technology capable of reducing the amount of light entering a water body by ~20% in open ocean conditions. This mono-particle “sun shield” consists of an ultra-thin monolayer material and reflective calcium carbonate particles. The monolayer enables spreading of the particles into a thin film across the water surface, with only small amounts of material needed: 7.1 g/m<sup>2</sup>. A numerical modelling case study of residence times and the build-up of reactive oxygen stress in corals showed that the successful application of a stable film over the Lizard Island reef flat could reduce the reactive oxygen stress to below bleaching levels across approximately 1.5 km<sup>2</sup> of reef area. With further development, mono-particle films such as this have the potential to be deployed over at-risk coral reefs at relatively small scales during predicted heatwave conditions, potentially reducing the severity of bleaching on coral reefs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-54f7e505c8604e03af779d46dd757599 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
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| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-54f7e505c8604e03af779d46dd7575992025-08-20T02:10:54ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122024-10-011210180910.3390/jmse12101809The Development of a Floating Mono-Particle “Sun Shield” to Protect Corals from High Irradiance during Bleaching ConditionsJoel M. P. Scofield0Emma L. Prime1Florita Flores2Andrea Severati3Mathieu Mongin4Elodie Bougeot5Mark E. Baird6Andrew P. Negri7Greg G. Qiao8Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, AustraliaInstitute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, AustraliaAustralian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD 4810, AustraliaAustralian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD 4810, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, Hobart, TAS 7000, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, Hobart, TAS 7000, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, Hobart, TAS 7000, AustraliaAustralian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD 4810, AustraliaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, AustraliaCoral bleaching is occurring more frequently as the climate changes, with multiple mass mortality events recently recorded on the Great Barrier Reef. Thermal stress coupled with high irradiance have previously been shown to be primary causes for coral bleaching. Therefore, a reduction in either of these pressures could reduce coral stress and eventual bleaching. Herein, we report the early development of a novel technology capable of reducing the amount of light entering a water body by ~20% in open ocean conditions. This mono-particle “sun shield” consists of an ultra-thin monolayer material and reflective calcium carbonate particles. The monolayer enables spreading of the particles into a thin film across the water surface, with only small amounts of material needed: 7.1 g/m<sup>2</sup>. A numerical modelling case study of residence times and the build-up of reactive oxygen stress in corals showed that the successful application of a stable film over the Lizard Island reef flat could reduce the reactive oxygen stress to below bleaching levels across approximately 1.5 km<sup>2</sup> of reef area. With further development, mono-particle films such as this have the potential to be deployed over at-risk coral reefs at relatively small scales during predicted heatwave conditions, potentially reducing the severity of bleaching on coral reefs.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/10/1809surface filmscoral bleachinggreat barrier reefcalcium carbonatelight attenuation |
| spellingShingle | Joel M. P. Scofield Emma L. Prime Florita Flores Andrea Severati Mathieu Mongin Elodie Bougeot Mark E. Baird Andrew P. Negri Greg G. Qiao The Development of a Floating Mono-Particle “Sun Shield” to Protect Corals from High Irradiance during Bleaching Conditions Journal of Marine Science and Engineering surface films coral bleaching great barrier reef calcium carbonate light attenuation |
| title | The Development of a Floating Mono-Particle “Sun Shield” to Protect Corals from High Irradiance during Bleaching Conditions |
| title_full | The Development of a Floating Mono-Particle “Sun Shield” to Protect Corals from High Irradiance during Bleaching Conditions |
| title_fullStr | The Development of a Floating Mono-Particle “Sun Shield” to Protect Corals from High Irradiance during Bleaching Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Development of a Floating Mono-Particle “Sun Shield” to Protect Corals from High Irradiance during Bleaching Conditions |
| title_short | The Development of a Floating Mono-Particle “Sun Shield” to Protect Corals from High Irradiance during Bleaching Conditions |
| title_sort | development of a floating mono particle sun shield to protect corals from high irradiance during bleaching conditions |
| topic | surface films coral bleaching great barrier reef calcium carbonate light attenuation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/10/1809 |
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