Résumé
Coral biodiversity and viability are markers of various environmental changes caused by anthropic disturbances. The numerous reports on coral mortality after periodic warming events strongly suggest that many coral species are at risk of local extinction . The posture of scientists tackling this urgent issue is important and both cultural and scientific. As a trans-disciplinary community gathering physicists, biologists , taxonomists, environmental scientists, and designers, we propose the use of 3D technologies and engineering science in a project avoiding any techno-solutionism drift such as eco-engineering to promote a scientific posture of mediators of coral's reef memory . Indeed, by applying advanced 3D technologies to coral skeletons structures visualization and reconstruction, we have initiated an open science archive named « Corallum fabrica » to publicize biodiversity and facilitate science in constructing an accessible coral reef 3D repository. The objective of this project is the sharing and digital preservation of these specimens for future generations and research. The ambition of the project is to preserve the common cultural heritage embedded in coral's skeleton art of building.We have addressed this challenge by using x-ray micro-tomography (EasyTom XL) to image and numerically encode the 3D architecture and to render 3D inner cavities, porosities, and micro-structures of coral's skeleton from National Museum of Natural History in Paris and personal scientist collections. Reconstructed 3D models exhibit a typical spatial high resolution of 4-50 microns, depending on size and morphology. A dedicated Virtual Reality Tool (oculus quest 2, Unity software) with hand tracking technology has been designed for public dissemination. It allows an immersion inside the details of the micro-structures and the discovery of a large panel of morphologies which characterize the different species. Moreover, we reproduced (1-100X) fantoms of these structures by 3D printing methods involving stereolithography and large-scale printing by clay extrusion.The dual impact of the project is both cultural and scientific . The virtual reality experience and the sculptures is used for scientific mediation and public outreach in museums, schools and sensibilization events. The open-access archive is used by the scientific community interested in coral mineralization and growth modelling.