A team of researchers from different American, British and Australian institutions has devised a geoengineering technique that would prevent corals from perishing due to the deadly bleaching process they undergo when subjected to stressful environmental conditions. The increase in temperature in the oceans and their progressive acidification, which promote human industrial and agricultural activities and the production of carbon dioxide associated with them, is driving this phenomenon, which already extends to many reefs.
To put them to safety, these scientists propose to launch an initiative called Solar Radiation Management. As indicated in an article published in the journal Nature Climate Change , this would consist of injecting into the stratosphere a series of gaseous compounds that would form a cloud of microscopic particles. These would reflect part of the energy coming from the Sun and would help to stop the rise in the temperature of the seas.
The authors of the essay consider that even if the most ambitious emission reduction policies considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were implemented today, nothing will prevent a large part of the coral formations from being seen by mid-century severely affected by the aforementioned whitening. In their opinion, the protection of corals should be a priority, which is why they propose taking this type of unconventional measures to prevent their disappearance. This would have a devastating effect on ocean ecosystems.
