Stabilisation by chemical bonding
Photo by Peter Mumby.
Functional objective:
Stabilisation to facilitate reef recovery
Delivery method:
Chemical bonding and grouting
Deployment scale:
Micro (a few metres) to small (a few hectares, a single reef)
Subprogram:
When reefs are damaged (for example by storms, ship groundings or coral bleaching) the dead or degraded coral can become loose and unconsolidated rubble, making it difficult for coral to regrow.
This potential intervention would help increase the rate of reef recovery by using manufactured chemical bonding/grouting agents to help consolidate the reef surface to increase the rate of reef recovery following a disturbance.
The bonding/grouting agents would be produced in land-based facilities and deployed in a semi-automated manner from barges and small vessels.
