Researchers from Rutgers University have discovered that a living reef coastal defense system can greatly reduce the power of incoming waves.
The new findings show promise as a unique method to help protect shorelines and coastal areas from severe weather and rising sea levels.
The living reef was constructed as a hybrid system that combined living organisms with human-made structures. The test site for the project was along the shoreline of a military facility in the Florida Panhandle.
Commenting on the findings, David Bushek, a professor with the Department of Marine and Coastal Studies at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Studies and a lead author of the study, stated:
“We set out to build a kind of living reef, something that combines natural and engineered materials and can repair itself over time, to help protect coastlines from flooding, erosion and storm damage that are putting both communities and critical infrastructure at risk. So far, the results are encouraging. What we built is working.”
Bushek further added, describing the importance of the defenses for the future:
“The Reefense Modules and Living Shoreline Mosaic strategy advance the field of nature-based solutions for shoreline protection and can be applied anywhere oysters form reefs. In the face of increasing storms and rising seas, it is critical to develop strategies that protect our coasts.”
You can read the original research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences for more information.
