Great Barrier Reef: Could clouds help prevent coral bleaching of the world's largest reef system?

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Bird's-eye view of the Great Barrier ReefImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,
The Great Barrier Reef has over 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres!

Scientists are using a new method of brightening clouds to keep the world's largest reef system, the Great Barrier Reef, cool during marine heatwaves.

Brighter clouds reflect sunlight back into space, away from the ocean.

The project hopes to reduce the short-term risk of coral bleaching of the reef, which is located off the northeastern coast of Australia, by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and lowering temperatures.

Coral bleaching, caused by rising temperatures, weakens and potentially kills the corals, which are an important part of the marine ecosystem.

Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Scientists are using a boat with a special machine which sprays microscopic sea particles into the air!

What are scientists doing?

Scientists working on the so-called 'Cloud Brightening' project use a special machine called a turbine to spray microscopic sea particles into the air to thicken existing clouds and reduce sunlight on the coral.

The water droplets evaporate leaving only tiny salt crystals which float up into the atmosphere allowing water vapour to condense around them, which forms clouds.

Did you know?

The Great Barrier Reef is so big, it can be seen from outer space!

Dr. Daniel Harrison who is running the project said "If we do it over an extended period of time for a few weeks to a couple of months when the corals are experiencing a marine heatwave we can actually start to lower the water temperature over the Reef."

Coral bleaching is currently the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef.

However, Daniel warns that other measures are also needed to slow down climate change and help the Reef.

"If we do have really strong action on climate change then the modelling shows that the cloud brightening is enough to stop the reef declining and to actually see it through this period while we reduce our carbon emissions," he added.

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