[Coral-List] Mineral Accretion/ Biorock

[David Obura]

Hi Daisy,

So I’m stepping in here because of the public forum and my role with the IUCN Coral Specialist Group. The reason the scientific literature ends in the 1970s is that success, in spite of many applications since then, has been very limited. Speaking from the perspective of the potential ‘beneficiary’ locations and countries, while clearly mineral accretion sounds great, it has not been shown to have persistent effects, on a scale that matters, to the reef, nor to people.

The field of reef restoration is advancing rapidly now (and we desperately need it to) and the most recent aggregation of knowledge/technology comes through the Coral Restoration Consortium and the Reef Futures conference of December 2018 (see links below).
http://reefresilience.org/restoration/restoration-introduction/coral-restoration-consortium/
https://reeffutures2018.com/en/
But we don’t have a truly independent review/assessment of the pros and cons of different restoration techniques, and its important to think of any particular technology, such as mineral accretion, in the context of other options (perhaps done jointly), and the broader context of pressures and resilience/recovery factors.

This doesn’t mean the technology won’t in the future, and perhaps what it needs is hard core R&D from a commercial company like yours partnering with the scientists trialling it. But expect it to be 10 years (ie. this is not a short-term kick for the company) before you can really demonstrate significant step changes from what has been reported so far, in order to be sure you’re really promoting success, rather than just advertising solar power!! Its so important not to advertise research as ‘development’ until you can demonstrate success and benefits, in the peer-review literature. Prematurely putting it on a glossy brochure advertising the CSR benefits of offshore solar before doing that will continue the confusion over what restoration works and what doesn’t, and who benefits.

So … please do look into it and by all means further the research with a critical eye.

all best,

David Obura || dobura at cordioea.net
CORDIO East Africa,
IUCN Coral Specialist Group
On 18 Jun 2019, 19:06 +0300, coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov, wrote:
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:31:45 +0200
> From: Daisy Durden <d.j.durden at students.uu.nl>
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: [Coral-List] Mineral Accretion/ Biorock
> Message-ID:
> <CAPkPi-A=jsxqzNork8tvPEU39S8zeMnY048=xvtMQxZh2xDS5w at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Dear coral listers,
>
> I am curious as to whether anyone here has worked with the mineral
> accretion method for coral restoration?
>
> I am working for a Dutch company who are developing offshore floating solar
> platforms and we are interested in the potential synergy with mineral
> accretion. We are striving to promote the huge potential of generating
> clean energy through this offshore solar, often to regions where there is
> considerable need, but also channeling some of this energy as a means of
> coral restoration- a win-win in my eyes! However, I would like to gather
> some more information about the method. From the literature reviewed there
> seems to be some real potential, but then I am left wondering why this has
> not become a widespread restoration technique, since it has been around
> since the 70s.
>
> I am in contact with some passionate individuals regarding Biorock, but
> they seem few and far between. Any insights into why are appreciated. And
> if any scientists here are interested in the synergy proposed please do get
> in touch!
>
> Thanks,
> Daisy
>
> ---
>
> Met vriendelijke groet / Kind regards,
>
> Daisy Durden
>
> *Oceans of Energy*
> Environmental Research Team
>
> daisy.durden at oceansofenergy.blue
>
> +447766343377 / +31611489516
>
> www.oceansofenergy.blue