Unlike artificial reefs made out of shipwrecks, new designs will provide more protection against waves.
Coral reefs are known for being essential ecosystems, home to thousands of different species, but they also are vital for human settlements in coastal regions as they provide barriers against dangerous waves. Reefs break the energy of incoming waves, making the waves less powerful, thereby preventing damage from hurricanes, extreme tides, and other severe weather events. Human decimation of reefs and an increase in extreme weather caused by climate change has created a concerning threat to people and property because of their impacts on coral reef ecosystems. For decades humans have been trying to figure out ways to cope with the rapid loss of coral reefs, often by placing sunken ships, oil platforms, or random assortments of junk, but these efforts are both dangerous to marine life and inefficient.
Two separate teams at MIT, however, joined together to engineer a new kind of artificial reef that promises to be more efficient and safe for wildlife. The new design features a series of cylinders off of which four, rudder-like wings branch. These structures stand up in the water, and as waves break on them, they reduce the waves’ energy. In fact, in some of their experiments, the “reefs” have cut down wave energy by as much as 95%! What’s more, these new artificial reefs provide safe homes for marine life as they are made of a bio-safe cement rather than plastic or other hazardous materials.
Reviewer: Michael Triantafyllou, MIT.
Read more:
- Architected materials for artificial reefs to increase storm energy dissipation
- Artificial reef designed by MIT engineers could protect marine life, reduce storm damage
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