Scientists studying Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have successfully tested a new method of freezing and storing coral larvae, a technology that could help reefs threatened by climate change, Reuters and Agerpres reported on Monday.

Researchers are trying to protect coral reefs in the context of rising ocean temperatures, which destabilize delicate ecosystems. In the past seven years, the Great Barrier Reef has experienced four bleaching events, including the first such episode, which occurred during the La Niña phenomenon, which usually brings cooler temperatures.

Cryogenically frozen corals can be stored and then released back into the wild, but the current process requires sophisticated equipment, including lasers.

According to scientists, the new “Kriomesh” is cheaper and more effective in preserving corals.

In December’s laboratory study, the first of its kind on a sample from the Great Barrier Reef, researchers used Cryomesh to freeze coral larvae at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS).

Corals were collected from the reef for this process, which coincided with the short annual spawning period.

What researchers say about coral preservation and how Cryomesh technology works.

“If we can get coral biodiversity, then we have the tools for the future to really help restore reefs,” Mary Hagedorn, a researcher at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Institute for Conservation Biology, told Reuters.

“This technology is truly revolutionary for coral reefs in the future,” added the AIMS lab researcher.

“Kriomesh” was previously tested on different types of corals of different sizes in Hawaii. A study conducted on a larger variety turned out to be unsuccessful. Studies of larger varieties from the Great Barrier Reef are ongoing.

Scientists from AIMS, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Institute for Conservation Biology, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and the Taronga Conservation Society in Australia participated in the study as part of the Coral Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program.

The technology that will help preserve coral larvae at a temperature of minus 196 degrees Celsius was developed at the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Technology.

“This new technology that we have will allow us to do this on a scale that can really help support the aquaculture and restoration segment,” said Jonathan Daly of the Taronga Conservation Society in Australia.

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