Reefense: Military Exploring Reef Growing to Protect Shorelines ... and Maybe Drawdown Global-Warming CO2

 Breakwaters are expensive.  That's why the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is exploring ways to grow reefs as a cheaper way to protect installations on the coast.  Ideally, such reefs would be maintenance free and self-repairing.  If they succeed, their methods could also help protect civilian facilities as well. 

In December 2020, Homeland Preparedness News reported on the start of the new program: " DARPA rolls out Reefense program to protect military installation from coastal storm damage."  The Economist of September 11, 2021 reported on continuing efforts ("Ocean Reefs Hybrid Vigour," page 78).

 The basic concept is to encourage the natural processes of reef building by corals in warm waters and oysters in cooler waters.  That entails providing some foundation material for the reef-building organisms to attach to.  Then, then the reef encouraging researchers must protect reef-builders from predators and pollution.  If they succeed, they have a natural formation that slows water flow against structures to be protected, and the reef may be scenic at the same time.  (Granted, oyster reefs are much less colorful than coral reefs.)

As a side benefit, such artificial reefs can help slow global warming.  Corals and oysters build their reefs by taking calcium ions from the ocean water, drawing down carbon dioxide from the air, and combining into shells of limestone (which is calcium carbonate, CaCO3).  Drawing down that carbon dioxide from the air can help slow global warming.

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