Paper
Coral Rehabilitation Using Steel Slag as a Substrate
- Authors:
- Tarek Aa Mohammed; Hamed Aa; Habib Nf; Ezz El-Arab Ma; El-Moselhy Khm
- Abstract
- Many researches studied the corals rehabilitation using different techniques all over the world and recorded accepted results. The present experiment presents a new technique and methodology (according to the International Patent) for coral reef transplantation and rehabilitation using Electric Arc Furnace-slag as a substrate for the transplanted corals. Slag is composed mainly of iron oxides (38.07-54.73%), calcium oxides (24.49-34.58%) and silicon oxides (10.23-14.71%) as major constituents, which are chemically stable under the oceanographic conditions throughout the experiment time. In addition, a thin calcium carbonate layer was precipitated on the slag surface from the water column. Three sites were selected to evaluate the steel slag efficiency for coral transplantation. 550 branches and fragments of live corals- Acropora, Stylophora, Favia, Favites, Goniastera and Turbinaria were fixed on the slag by epoxy materials to transplant. After 22 months, about 70.18% of the transplanted corals survived. That the percentage was suddenly dropped and decreased to 49.27% after 24 months may be due to the effect of flood, high turbidity, and the raised water temperature. Finally, the study recommended by using steel slag as a suitable substrate for coral transplantation and larval settlements of the different coral types.
- Keywords
- Coral Reefs; Restoration Technique; EAF Slag; Red Sea
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