Many divers are so comfortable in the water it’s like a second home. It’s not hard to imagine then how a bit of reef gardening could provide a source of nutrients to the inhabitants and just generally keeping the coral plots healthy, like our gardens at home feed us and various critters. Growing and tending to coral is one method being used to help the underwater gardens flourish in the Maldives, with some electrifying twists.
The focus of many coral preservation discussions seems to revolve around sea level and temperature rises, which are indeed issues in terms of coral growth. Fortunately, there are also more immediately effective and more controllable projects underway, which are already showing promising signs of progress. Throughout the year divers enjoy scuba diving via liveaboards and other means in the lagoon-filled, expansive island chain of the Maldives. To ensure this continues and that biodiversity continues to thrive, some reefs are receiving the “shock treatment” while others are getting the “silent treatment”. One day there might even be a swarm of robots taking on reef building.
Electric Eels No Longer Alone Under Water
Normally, we teach kids not to put the electric appliances near water. It’s a good thing the developers of Biorock didn’t listen to this advice or they may have missed out on a solution to accelerating coral growth. They’re using the benefits of low electric currents to attract calcium deposits to metal structures placed underwater which is used to attract and plant coral to the structure. Click here for more info about underwater gardening.
