Shading by microbubbles
Microbubbles in the surface ocean deflect solar radiation. Microbubbles would persist for days, in comparison to minutes for ship wake bubbles. Image credit: Chris Cardinal.
Functional objective:
Cooling and shading, to relieve acute heat and light stress on coral reef organisms by temporarily reducing their exposure
Delivery method:
Ocean microbubbles
Deployment scale:
Micro (a few metres) to small (a few hectares, a single reef)
Subprogram:
Creating nano-sized bubbles of air suspended in the reef surface waters reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the sea surface and the coral reefs beneath.
The microbubbles would be dispensed via temporary or permanently moored platforms.
These microbubbles would only need to be dispensed during summer conditions when bleaching conditions are predicted, to reduce solar radiation reaching reefs and minimise coral bleaching.
