University of Galway team 3D printing reefs for damaged coral sites
Researchers and French scientists set 23 eco-concrete structures off Ireland and France
A University of Galway team, working with French scientists, has placed 23 3D printed structures on the seabed of the Porcupine Bank, 200 kilometers off the Kerry coast in Ireland, and in the Bay of Biscay off France to help damaged cold-water coral reefs recover.
Dr. Anthony Grehan, Deep-Sea Ecologist and a member of the team, said: “Everybody knows about tropical coral reefs like the Great Barrier Reef. But not everybody knows that Ireland is actually home to spectacular cold-water coral reefs which are much deeper.”
The aim of the project is to restore Ireland’s cold-water coral reefs, and each reef produced was one meter high and wide, weighed 600 kilograms and was made from eco-concrete. The reefs were lowered from a boat to 1 kilometer on lines with acoustic positioning, then rested on the seafloor. Half carried small pieces of live coral to promote settlement.
Grehan confirmed the team had just started using the 3D printed reefs in shallow water too.
Cold-water reefs occur between 500 meters and 1 kilometer deep. “They are hotspots of biodiversity, they are good for fish nurseries, sequester carbon, they are carbon sinks,” explained Grehan.
Trawling had damaged the reefs, he said. “Fishing is very heavily regulated now … we are not so concerned about damage taking place now, it is really to address some of the damage that has occurred in the past.”
