Researchers trying to save the Great Barrier Reef are attempting to cool the unusually warm sea temperatures using ‘cloud brightening,’ a geoengineering technique designed to reflect more of the sun’s rays away from the Earth. The researchers are spraying microscopic sea water droplets into the air over the reef, which creates more cloud cover and more shade in an effort to save the health of one of the world's most important marine ecosystems.
In the last few weeks, and for the third time in five years, the Great Barrier Reef has suffered a mass bleaching event where stress from unusually warm water temperatures bleach the coral white and can kill it.
February was the warmest month on record in terms of water temperatures around the reef, with readings in some places of more than 3 degrees Celsius above average for the time of year.