Scientists Turn to 3D Printing to Save Devastated Coral Reefs

Artificial corals could help dying reefs regenerate, but they’re not a replacement

A diver looks at reef of a major bleaching on the coral reefs of the Society Islands on May 9, 2019 in Moorea, French Polynesia. Photo: Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images

In March of this year, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef experienced its worst bleaching event on record. About a quarter of the coral on the reef expelled the algae that usually lives in its tissues. Without the algae, the multicolored coral turned ghostly white.

Disrupting this symbiotic relationship can stunt coral’s growth, hinder its reproduction, and leave it vulnerable to disease. Marine animals like fish, crustaceans, and reptiles depend on coral to survive. Reefs provide them a place to dwell, hunt, and hide.

Bleaching isn’t limited to the Great Barrier Reef, which, at 134,630 square miles, is one of the biggest living structures in the world. Reefs in the Seychelles, New Caledonia, Florida, and Hawaii are also suffering. And the biggest contributor to these bleaching events is the rise in ocean temperatures due to global warming.

Though coral bleaching will not stop until the climate crisis itself is addressed, politicians, scientists, and activists are scrambling to figure out shorter-term ways to save coral reefs from being destroyed.