As sea levels around the world continue to rise, countries continue to explore new and innovative techniques to protect infrastructure and coastal communities.
In the Netherlands, a team of engineers is currently exploring the possibility of what life might be like if people lived and worked at sea.
Researchers from Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (Marin) recently tested out a floating mega island which is made of 87 large floating triangles and can reach as large as 5 km (3 miles). The island was put through a simulation where it withstood waves with a height of 50 feet (15 meters).
(Photo/Marin)
The floating islands could be a future housing solution in locations such as the Netherlands and parts of the southeastern United States coast, which are at risk from rising seas.
As sea level rises, cities become overcrowded and more activities are carried out at sea, raising the dikes and reclaiming land from the seas are perhaps no longer an effective solution," said Olaf Waals, project manager and the concept developer for Marin. An innovative alternative that fits with the Dutch maritime tradition is floating ports and cities.
A recent study from University of Florida researchers said that sea-level rise is accelerating in parts of the southeastern U.S.
The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, said sea levels rose dramatically between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and Miami from 2011 to 2015, and during that time, the rise was six times more than the global average sea rise attributed to climate change.
The reason for the accelerated rise, or "hot spot," is being attributed to a "one-two punch from naturally occurring climate variations," specifically El Nio and the North Atlantic Oscillation.
In a statement, Arnoldo Valle-Levinson, lead author of the study and professor of civil and coastal engineering sciences, described the future for some southeastern U.S. cities as Venice-like.
We need to understand that the ocean is coming, Valle-Levinson said.
In a recent interview with Nola.com, Waals said cities such as New Orleans may need space where they could develop or put homes as sea levels rise.
Waals said their first test was to see how the 26-foot-wide model behaves in wind, waves and currents, and it "did well because the island flexes with the waves."
"The first row of triangles bend with the waves but also reflect the energy of the waves," Waals said. "It would be feasible to actually absorb a lot of the wave energy."
Testing was conducted in Marin's offshore model basin, a large pool where ocean waves, winds and currents can be simulated.
The project has been underway for about a year, and in that time, the research team developed the triangular shaped islands and planned how they wanted to connect them, Erik-Jan De Ridder a senior project manager for Marin told AccuWeather in an email.
Possible uses include providing working space for cultivating food, such as fish; loading and transporting cargo in areas where there is little infrastructure; and storing, generating and maintaining sustainable energy, like solar power.
(Photo/Marin)
Some of the benefits of the islands include the ability to be easily extended by connecting additional islands, as well as easily remove islands.
Drawbacks include potential ecological problems like how the islands could block sunlight from reaching aquatic plants. There will also be considerable economical and technical challenges as well as government regulations to overcome before these islands could become a reality, according to De Ridder.
Many questions remain including how strong the islands need to be to withstand winds and currents, how traffic and transportation would be organized and what effect the motion of the island could have on the people who would live and work there.
Marin will next look to conduct testing in intermediate-sized bodies of water where there is some type of shelter, like a bay. Eventually, the group will aim to move large structures offshore.
De Ridder said it's difficult to say how soon it will be before housing is possible since they are in the early stages of development, but in 10 years it might be possible to have several houses in a sheltered area.
People will have to get used to the idea that you can live on a floating island, De Ridder said.
Read more from the original source:
- Water Purification Island - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Private Islands: South China Sea Style - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Best of Fiji - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- High Cay: Bahamas - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The World: Back on the Market - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Island Market is Back - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Haunted Halloween Island - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ambergris Island Property - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Paradise Sinking - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Parrot Cay: Own a Piece of Privacy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- An Icky Day - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- It's a Cory's! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- There she blows! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Bye bye Whale - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- No Bunting Mistake - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Whale of a time... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Leaving day - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Look who's back... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Lanced... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Migrants role in... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Pups away! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Double take - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Northerly wind blows - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Northern visitors - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Siege! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Storm time - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Storm season - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Storming over - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sealing mission - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Still no go - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Over they go! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- All change - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Welcome back storms - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Fight club - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- V Australia to Fiji - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Tahiti Sun Travel For Sale - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cook Islands Travel Guide - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Perfectly Frank – Fiji - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cook Islands Tax Hike - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Easter Island Travel Guide - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Surviving Paradise - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Canada Seal Hunt ‘09 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Tuvalu Travel Guide - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Saudi Arabian Sojourn - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Laurent Pichot on Moorea - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Largest Island for Sale in the World. - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Isla Kiniw: Incredible Island Rental - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Save at Sandals Resorts - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Marvelous Mediterranean: Skyropoula Island - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Branson Talks Necker Island - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Hog Island: Affordable Nova Scotia - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Banyan Tree: Seychelles - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Celebrity Secret Vacation Spots - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Star Island - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- 7 Islands in 7 Days - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Counting continues - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Life goes on - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Payback time - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- No let up - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Game on - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Deal or No Deal? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Food glorious food - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Mainland beckons... - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The tempest is coming - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Tought times ahead - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Tystie day - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Saying Goodbye...maybe - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Departure Day - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Seal pups - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Seabird Breeding Season 2009 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Maritime Terminal Papeete Tahiti - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- A splash of colour - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Tiger Woods Wife purchases Island Retreat - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- New Flights to Fiji - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Five Star Fiji - December 19th, 2009 [December 19th, 2009]
- Go Farther in Nicaragua - December 19th, 2009 [December 19th, 2009]
- Zoo Island - December 21st, 2009 [December 21st, 2009]
- Seasons Greetings 2009 - December 23rd, 2009 [December 23rd, 2009]
- Green Ark Island - December 23rd, 2009 [December 23rd, 2009]
- Merry Christmas! - December 25th, 2009 [December 25th, 2009]