Although our goal here at Ocean Builders is to build homes, our priorities lie in doing so in a sustainable and even restorative manner for our oceans. One of the biggest goals that we have is restoring existing coral reefs and promoting the growth of new corals, both around the physical SeaPod locations as well as all around the world.
Similar to the Amazon Rainforest, coral reefs are often referred to as “the lungs of the earth” and life as we know it on this planet is largely reliant on the health of both the rainforests and coral reefs all around the world. Keeping worldwide coral populations healthy and growing is a crucial part to keeping our oceans healthy and our planet thriving.
We have a few ideas about how to chip in to fixing this worldwide problem. The first is to simply place our floating homes in the water. With our testing at the prototype in Thailand and the floating platform here in Panama, we found that just having our structures in the water promoted the growth of corals and barnacles and attracted marine life like fish and other creatures to the area. We did not encourage growth here, nature just ran its course and everything happened naturally.
Keeping in mind the natural growth of the marine life on our prototypes, we know that we can create even more growth at a faster rate. With the use of 3D printing technologies, we are able to create 3D printed coral habitats that will give corals an optimum habitat in which to grow. We will also be partnering with various coral growth and restoration companies around the world to source polyps that we will “plant” in these habitats like a seed so that we can jump-start the growth.
Another method that we will use to promote coral growth is to give them a little bit of electricity. By using steel structures underwater, we can deliver about two volts of electricity to the corals. This acts as a stimulant and allows them to be more resistant to coral bleaching which is one of the biggest threats to coral and happens when the water temperature rises even just a little bit above their threshold.
We will be able to monitor coral growth underneath the SeaPods using cameras that utilize AI technology. With these methods we will be able to grow an underwater garden of sorts that will be buzzing with marine life of all types. As we develop these technologies, we hope to be able to implement them world wide. While they will work in conjunction with the SeaPod at first, we will expand this project to be able to be deployed anywhere in the world, with or without a SeaPod, to help bring our oceans back to their fullest thriving glory.
As always, if you have knowledge or skills in any field that you feel may benefit this or any other project, then feel free to reach out on the Contribute page on the Ocean Builders website. We look forward to hearing from you and be sure to stay tuned for more updates coming soon!
