Underwater Umbrellas Reduce-and Reverse-Coral Bleaching in the Caribbean

As the climate warms, corals around the world are facing increasingly frequent marine heat waves that lead to widespread coral bleaching. Scientists are racing to protect the world’s reefs with a variety of interventions, such as supplementing reefs with replanted corals, boosting coral immune systems with beneficial microorganisms, and deploying underwater shades to protect them from the Sun’s rays.

A new study published in Frontiers in Marine Science adds to evidence that this shading strategy can prevent—and sometimes reverse—bleaching for two Atlantic coral species. Though scientists have deployed similar shades over Pacific corals , research on shading has been limited in the Atlantic Ocean. The strategy could aid coral restoration and preservation efforts by protecting particularly vulnerable corals in the Caribbean and beyond during marine heat waves.