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Scientists invent underwater umbrellas to protect coral reefs

33 points · 14 comments · giuliomagnifico

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  1. x______________ · · focus · HN ↗
    Stopping direct sunlight exposure to help stop coral bleaching is an awesome idea.

    Have to nitpick though, umbrellas protect you from falling water, parasols block light.

    1. abstractspoon · · focus · HN ↗
      <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;umbrella" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;umbrella
      1. x______________ · · focus · HN ↗
        I stand firmly corrected in the shade on this one.
    2. nkrisc · · focus · HN ↗
      Unless you’re simply describing language, umbrellas (the actual object) also protect you from sunlight.
    3. BrtByte · · focus · HN ↗
      Though I suspect &quot;scientists deploy parasols for coral&quot; sounds a little too much like the reef is on vacation
  2. hackingonempty · · focus · HN ↗
    Unfortunately stony corals also face a grave threat from ocean acidification due to rising CO2 in the atmosphere. They need alkalinity to make their skeletons.
    1. BrtByte · · focus · HN ↗
      Shading can buy corals time against heat and light stress, but it does nothing about the declining carbonate availability they need to keep building skeleton
  3. frunklooper · · focus · HN ↗
    It’s all the ships from China spewing carbon into the ocean
  4. AirPath · · focus · HN ↗
    Yea
  5. refactor_master · · focus · HN ↗
    So how do you install 250k km2 of underwater umbrellas, and who stands to get filthy rich from this?
  6. Aboutplants · · focus · HN ↗
    Nothing that could potentially scale without unintended consequences. Next
  7. BrtByte · · focus · HN ↗
    Probably not a reef-scale solution, but as triage for nurseries and high-value colonies during heatwaves, this seems genuinely useful
  8. PowerElectronix · · focus · HN ↗
    Couldn&#x27;t you have a floating hole filled net to give shade over larger areas? I guess this is the early stages of testing the idea, but if it&#x27;s promising enough, I think floating surfaces are the way to go.
  9. westurner · · focus · HN ↗
    - &quot;Seeding steel frames brings destroyed coral reefs back to life&quot; (2024) <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=39735205#39735363">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=39735205#39735363 ... re: MARS program Reef Stars and:

    &gt; - &quot;Playing sounds of healthy coral on reefs makes fish return&quot; (2019) <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=36450824#36465577">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=36450824#36465577 and other Coral Restoration links

  10. pvaldes · · focus · HN ↗
    [delayed]
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