Restoring Coral Growth By Building Artificial Reefs And Implementing Mineral Accretion
Work Summary
Overview:
I led the design and implementation of an artificial coral reef in response to the growing threat of coral reef degradation caused by climate change and human activities. This project focused on creating a sustainable habitat that promotes coral growth and supports marine biodiversity. The artificial reef was built using eco-friendly materials, with strategic placement informed by water currents, coral species preferences, and environmental resilience.
My Role:
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Product Design, Reef Architect, Creative repurposing
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1 Month (Volunteer)
Impact:
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Coral Growth: Played a key role in accelerating coral growth by 7.6 cm over three months.
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Designed and executed novel methods of prototyping and project execution.
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Mineral accretion: Successful installation and maintenance of the mineral accretion system and the artificial reef.
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Community Engagement: The project became a touchstone for conservation efforts, drawing attention to the importance of reef restoration and providing opportunities for research and tourism.
Users: -> Marine Biologists: Conducted ongoing research and monitoring of coral growth, species interactions, and environmental conditions to ensure the reef’s success. -> Divers: Played a critical role in both the installation and the long-term management of the artificial reef, from deploying structures to monitoring biodiversity and maintaining coral health.
Brief:
The project was aimed at designing and installing an artificial reef that could mimic natural reef structures while being resilient to environmental stressors.
Team:
Shreyans Baid + Marine Biologists+ Engineers
Clients:
Professional Skills: -> User-Centered Design -> Prototyping and Testing -> Research and Analysis -> Cross-disciplinary Collaboration -> Problem-Solving -> Project Management -> Diving & Marine Operations -> Ecosystem Restoration
About
I joined the reef restoration project to bring an industrial designer's perspective. My background in metal and woodworking, along with material expertise, complemented the technical knowledge of marine biologists.
I collaborated with the inhabitants and marine biologists to understand the fundamental problems in marine ecosystems through research, including scuba dives and coastal walks. This helped me bring a practical aspect to the project.
Challenges
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High Cost-to-Restoration Ratio: The expense involved in restoring coral reefs was disproportionately high compared to the results achieved.
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Incompatibility with Mineral Accretion Technique: The existing reefs lacked mechanisms to accommodate the hardware necessary for the mineral accretion process, hindering reef growth and durability.
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Poor Ergonomic Design for Divers: The structure required improvements in ergonomics to facilitate easier and more efficient attachment of corals by divers.
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Logistical Challenges: Coordinating the transportation and deployment of materials to remote reef sites presented significant logistical hurdles.
Research
My research started with going for dives to understand the marine ecosystem, and the coral formations and understand the needs of the divers trying to restore the reef.
Ground Research: I collaborated with marine biologists to educate myself about the marine ecosystem and their current methods of building structures.
Dive And Observe: Underwater research made me reimagine and interpret my previous learnings. My research involved 5 dives off the coast of Chidiya Tapu to study the habitat/ environment that the corals live in and the factors that would affect the structural design.
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Findings
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Factors for the Reef Design
Ideation
Route 1:
Modular Reef Structures
(M.R.S.)
The idea was to produce many units that could grow the structure as a whole. This reduces the cost of making the structures while helping them with the disposable income they have. With every dive, they could grow the structure horizontally. Current structures are time and budget Intensive.
Route 2 .
Stand Alone Structures (S.A.S.)
Getting inspired from their existing structures this route aims at improving the efficiency of their structures. I worked on increasing the surface area of the structure, which would give us more grids to work with and keep it compact.
The structure resembles a water droplet hitting the water surface.
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Existing interventions by other NGO's didn’t utilise space efficiently and were hence low on cross-sections. Keeping the diameter the same I maximized the surface area by altering the shape of the structure.
Manifestation
Route 2.
Design Manifestation
These images showcase the fabrication of the artificial reef. This was achieved with the help of the locals who referred to the engineering drawings and executed the structural build under my supervision.
The process involved bending the metal rods as per the stencil, welding each junction carefully and polishing the hard edges so that no wildlife is harmed. The metal was left unprimed so that no material isleached underwater.
Mineral Accretion
The purpose of this process is to artificially produce the natural limestone which corals need to grow on. It accelerates coral growth, healing, resistance to stress due to anthropological impacts and climate change. It helps the reef to restore wherever it can not recover naturally.
Signs of Electrolysis
Hydrogen bubbles are being released and calcium carbonate has already begun accreting onto the structures. Seen as the white patches on the iron re-bar.
“Shreyans volunteered with us at the field base recently for a month and it was an absolute blast having him here. With a background in design he built us new structures for our Re(ef) Build program and some lovely furniture to use at our base! He also significantly contributed towards help us run our Ocean Art Sundays classes, fitting in perfectly with our kooky staff!”
- Reefwatch
