SIX thousand tropical storms have battered the Great Barrier Reef off the
northeastern coast of Australia in just five years. Luckily the cyclones only
existed inside a computer, but they have allowed researchers to design an
interactive CD, which should help engineers to build safer platforms for
tourists to soak up the view and marine biologists to chart the habitats of
marine organisms.
The idea was a response to the growing number of pontoons anchored on the
reef in past ten years. These pontoons can be up 100 metres long and serve as
platforms for viewing or diving. Tourists and…
