Coral reef rehabilitation following Hurricane Irma using nano-engineered artificial reefs in Sint Maarten
Emily Higgins, Kyralai Duppel, Megan Connell, Guyon Brenna, Konstantin Sobolev · 2024
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Description
Emily Higgins and co-authors report a pilot deployment of engineered artificial reefs in Sint Maarten in a 2024 paper. Hurricane Irma battered the island's coral reefs, and standard artificial reefs made of metal or concrete have a mixed record of helping recovery. The new structures, called Oceanite, use a mineral mix designed at the nanoscale to welcome marine life.
Fourteen months after placement, the team compared one protected site with two unprotected ones near Philipsburg. The new reefs had drawn in young corals, fed and sheltered large fish groups, and hosted a young reef community that looked healthy. Early results suggest the material can boost local diversity. The authors propose tuning the mix for each site and species, adjusting traits like acidity, texture, and pore structure to fight local stressors.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Emily Higgins, Kyralai Duppel, Megan Connell, Guyon Brenna, Konstantin Sobolev |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2024 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 47 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |