Saving Endangered Coral Reefs Using 3D Printing

Marine life has suffered significantly due to environmental issues in the past few years. Global warming and the accelerated urbanization in coastal areas has driven different parts of the life underwater to the edge of extinction. One alarming example is the worrying situation of coral reefs. In a new attempt to save the devastated underwater ecosystem, researchers from four of Israel’s leading universities have introduced a 3D printing method they developed to help preserve coral reefs

In this particular project, the model was based on the structure of coral reefs off the southern coastal Israeli city of Eilat, though the resarchers have of course made it adaptable to other marine environments. Ultimately, they hope that it will help to significantly revive troubled coral reefs across the world. Natalie Levy, a Ph.D. student at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and one of the members of the research team, explains: “The rapid decline of coral reefs has increased the need for exploring interdisciplinary methods for reef restoration. Examining how to conserve the biodiversity of coral reefs is a key issue, but there is also an urgent need to invest in technology that can improve the coral ecosystem and our understanding of the reef environment.”

Coral reefs from the Gulf of Eilat (photo credits: Daviddarom)

The Process of Reforming the Reefs

3D printing has been increasingly looked at as a way to solve many of the problems face the planets. With coral reefs in particular, it has been put forth as a way to print with materials that are more natural, creating more low-cost but geometrically complex shapes to form a base for coral reefs to be restored. In this particular, the coral reef is scanned from all angles and a 3D model is assembled from thousands of images are photographed.