Saving Coral Reefs With 3D Printing

3D Printing Could Save Coral Reefs (+Video)

Warmer Waters Are Sapping Reefs of Their Color and Life

Jeremy Deaton | June 23, 2016

[...] For years, humans have created artificial reefs by sinking ships or dropping concrete blocks into shallow waters, providing a rock-like surfaces where coral — along with algae, barnacles, anemones and other species — could make a home. 3D printing improves this process, producing reefs that better imitate hard coral.
Marine biologist Kristen Marhaver explained in a TED Talk that baby coral polyps are drawn to “white and pink, the colors of a healthy reef,” and they “they prefer crevices and grooves and holes, where they will be safe from being trampled or eaten by a predator.” 3D printers are working to recreate this environment.

Source: http://allabout3dprinting.com/3d-printed-reefs/

<more at http://www.popsci.com/3d-printing-could-save-coral-reefs; related articles and links: https://3dprint.com/124869/3d-printed-coral-reefs/ (Will 3D Printed Coral Reefs Help Save the Marine Ecosystem? March 17, 2016) and http://3dprintingindustry.com/news/3d-printing-used-to-revive-the-coral-reefs-ocean-eco-system-of-monaco-60807/ (3D Printing Used to Revive the Coral Reefs of Monaco. October 26, 2015); further: http://www.sustainableoceans.com.au/ (Sustainable development, restoration and enhancement of marine habitats)>