To save coral reefs from ocean warming, freeze them
Original story by Carly Kenkel
Wrigley Institute faculty affiliate Carly Kenkel has studied corals in the Caribbean Ocean for 18 years, and she has never seen a warming event like the one that devastated reefs in summer 2023. She lost fully 98 percent of her study specimens, which had been transplanted in the area for genetic studies. Although this year’s ocean temperatures returned to levels that many corals can survive, climate change guarantees that another mass warming event and accompanying coral die-off are coming soon.
These catastrophic events are bad for more than snorkeling and tourism. Coral reefs provide essential habitat for many marine species. They also serve as natural breakwaters and seawalls for coastal communities threatened by storms and flooding, and they underpin the livelihoods of fishers around the world. And yes, they fuel many billions of dollars in tourism revenue for coastal communities, including in the U.S.
So what we can do about it? Kenkel, who is also a Wrigley Institute Faculty Innovation Award winner and 2024 Storymakers fellow, argues that we need to freeze corals to preserve them from warming. In a New York Times op ed, she lays out the reasons that coral cryobanking could help us save the world’s reefs and their biodiversity.