Climate change, water pollution and fishing practices have been decimating coral reefs for decades, threatening the ecosystem that’s home to 25 percent of all marine species. Within the next 15 years, nearly three quarters of all reefs will likely be damaged or destroyed.
Scientists have long been searching for ways to help repair these delicate living structures. They’ve replanted reefs, using both natural and artificial materials. They’ve tried replacing reefs’ algae with stronger varieties. They’ve even used electric current to help stimulate coral growth. Lately, they’ve been working with one of the technology community’s current darlings, 3D printing. Printed reefs can closely mimic natural ones, providing a home for baby coral to take root and grow. The process is still in its infancy—in 2012, the first 3D printed reefs were sunk in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Bahrain, where the existing reefs had been badly damaged. Similar projects are in the works around the world.
One of these early 3D printing experiments is set to take place in the Caribbean island of Bonaire. And it’s being spearheaded by Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the legendary French underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau and his wife, Simone Melchior, the world’s first female scuba diver. Cousteau, 48, is part of the third generation of the Cousteau family to devote their lives to undersea exploration and conservation.
Cousteau started diving in the Caribbean when he was only four years old. Back then, reefs were “a fireworks display of life,” he says. “Literally a rainbow kaleidoscope of movement and species.”
Cousteau has his own four-year-old now, and is saddened he won’t be able to share some of his old favorite spots due to the coral damage that’s occurred over the past decades.
“[They’re] now a desert, a barren wasteland,” he says.
The reef in Bonaire is far better preserved than most, making it a bucket list stop for serious divers, Cousteau says. Still, the reefs face bleaching and a drop in sea life diversity. In an effort to keep them vibrant, Cousteau is working with a local resort, Harbour Village Beach Club, where he’s set up an outpost of his new Ocean Learning Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ocean conservation and education. The center will be home to a 3D printing machine that will print artificial reefs to sink in the surrounding seas. They’re currently experimenting with the best materials for local reef building, and plan to plant new reefs in the near future.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
