But it cut through the turquoise seas with ease, steering the large vessel to the drop-off point. They were displaced when the USS Memphis attack submarine ran aground seven years ago, destroying the ancient reefs. Navy officials said the accident was due to poor training. It can take up to 50 years for a reef to fully recover. We are doing this research project to see if we can accelerate the recovery of the damage reefs.
Coral is a hardened, living byproduct secreted by certain marine life.
He said attractants like iron, algae and coral transplants will encourage larvae to settlement plates that will be attached to the balls. Scientists say coralline algae and iron may attract baby coral. The repair mission is something more for the Oceanographic Center. Richard Spieler, a professor there, says the institute also is studying what attracts coral and what makes it grow, move and die. It will take the next couple of days to lower the 1,600-pound balls, made by Nova students, and three years of monitoring by trained divers to study the balls, assembled in four pods and resting 100 feet apart.