As an archipelago nation, the Maldives has long been concerned about the potential for rising tides erasing its territory, but now they have a forward-thinking fix in the works.
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Innovative Solutions to Combat Erosion
Around the world, shorelines are potentially threatened by rising sea levels and increasingly intense storms. Coastal cities and island nations are under immense pressure to protect their homes and infrastructure. Traditional methods such as building sea walls or dredging sand have been used for decades, but these solutions are often temporary, costly, and disruptive to ecosystems. However, a new and more sustainable approach of land reclamation is emerging in the Maldives, where nature’s own forces are being harnessed to protect and restore shorelines.
While the President of the Maldives has long discussed concerns of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions, the nation of small islands has partnered to deploy a practical plan.
A Natural Solution for Coastal Erosion in the Maldives
The Maldives, a stunning chain of about 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean, is one of the most vulnerable countries to sea level rise. With an average elevation of just one meter above sea level, almost every island in the Maldives faces the threat of erosion – just one of the impacts of climate change. In response, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Self-Assembly Lab and Maldivian organization Invena are pioneering a natural approach to shoreline protection.
Since 2019, MIT and Invena have been experimenting with submersible structures that guide ocean currents to naturally accumulate sand in specific locations. These experiments, conducted just south of Malé, the capital city, aim to both protect existing islands and potentially grow new ones.
One experiment involves submerging a web of tightly knotted ropes designed to collect and hold sand. Another experiment uses a material that transforms from a flexible textile into rigid concrete when sprayed with water, creating a barrier to trap sand. In yet another test, a floating garden was installed over a sandbank to see if plant roots could help stabilize accumulated sand while encouraging more to gather. For the Maldives, climate change could be a dramatic threat though it’s not yet lost islands to any rising tides.
The Science Behind the Experiment
The key to this innovative approach is the collection and use of detailed data about the ocean’s natural forces. MIT’s wave tanks in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are used to simulate the forces that act on the submerged structures. Data from so-called “tilt sensors” in the Maldives, combined with publicly available weather and tide information, helps the team refine the placement and design of the structures.
Machine learning models trained on satellite images are also employed to predict sand movement, ensuring that the structures are placed in locations where the ocean’s natural currents will help, rather than hinder, sand accumulation.
Skylar Tibbits, the co-director of MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab, emphasizes the importance of working with the ocean rather than against it. “We’re using the natural force of the ocean to guide the sand,” he says. Unlike hard engineering solutions, which can disrupt ecosystems and exacerbate erosion, this approach works in harmony with natural forces. “The sand wants to be there,” Tibbits explains.
Challenges of Conventional Solutions
Traditional methods of coastal protection, such as seawalls, breakwaters, and dredging, are not only expensive but can also cause more harm than good. Dredging and pumping sand onto beaches must be repeated every few years, making it an ongoing expense for coastal communities. Additionally, poorly designed or constructed seawalls can accelerate erosion rather than prevent it, especially if they are not tailored to local conditions.
China has deployed many of the traditional methods in the South China Sea to build military infrastructure and expand its territorial coastline.
“Paul Kench, a coastal geomorphologist at the National University of Singapore not involved in MIT and Invena’s work, has seen evidence of this. His research has shown that structures from seawalls to boat harbors can make erosion worse and degrade reef productivity. “The kinds of engineering solutions that we tend to use on continental coastlines shouldn’t really go anywhere near a reef island,” he said, but “people tend to use them, because that’s what they know.” – CNN
MIT and Invena’s solution, however, avoids these pitfalls by using local data and responding to the natural forces at work. The team’s ultimate goal is to develop simple, cost-effective, sustainable, and scalable solutions that can rebuild beaches and even create new islands.
Promising Results and Future Potential
The collaboration between MIT and Invena has already yielded results. In 2019, their second field experiment used biodegradable sand-filled bladders to accumulate sand in a strategically chosen location. Over just four months, about half a meter of sand accumulated over an area of 20 by 30 meters. Today, the sandbank has grown to two meters tall, 20 meters wide, and 60 meters long.
These results demonstrate the potential for more permanent and cost-effective solutions compared to traditional dredging and pumping. The materials used in the project are expected to last around 10 years, offering a long-term solution that works in harmony with nature. The concept is that the permanent advances will make the method unnecessary by the time obsolescence is reached.
Looking ahead, the team hopes to scale up their experiments. A larger version of their 2019 experiment was installed in 2023, using six textile bladders arranged in a ring formation to collect sand no matter which way the ocean currents move during the monsoon season. This larger test is supported by a grant from USAID, and the results will be closely monitored. However, projects like this one take time and are subject to a geological survey.
Global Implications for Coastal Protection
The Maldives is not the only place where natural solutions to coastal erosion are being tested. In the Netherlands, for example, a sand motor was created more than a decade ago to help waves naturally replenish beaches. In New York, oyster reefs are being restored to protect shorelines from erosion.
Despite growing interest in nature-based solutions, there are still challenges to widespread adoption. Hard engineering solutions are often favored because they provide a sense of security and are seen as more reliable. However, as sea levels continue to rise and storms intensify, more sustainable, long-term solutions may be essential.
Conclusion
The work of MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab and Invena in the Maldives represents an exciting step forward in sustainable shoreline protection. By harnessing the natural forces of the ocean, their experiments are demonstrating that it’s possible to rebuild and protect coastlines without the environmental and financial costs of traditional methods. As the results continue to improve and the scale of these projects increases, the future of coastal protection may lie in working with nature rather than trying to control it.
What do you think of this nature-assisted, self-assembled approach to island regeneration? Will it be enough to solve the problem?
“concerns about global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions” ? I have a bridge to sell to anyone who buys into that .
They will do all that work , and then a few giant typhoons will undo it all .
Erosion and “climate change” are two different things and conflating them is disingenuous.
The Grand Canyon was created long before the internal combustion engine was a twinkle in Nicolaus Otto’s eye.
The Outer Banks of North Carolina likely benefit from these reclamation tactics. Rodanthe has lost four houses in three weeks this year. But the truth is barrier islands were never a good choice for permanent occupation. Storms, hurricanes and fierce wind will overcome the best efforts. It is the island’s nature to continually change.
The Maldives are coral and protection of the reefs would seem to be a better long lasting choice than encouraging sand collection, because one quick tsunami and it’s gone.
@Maryland … +1 . Yep .
Climate change isn’t real.
I’m so old I remember when the global warming nut jobs confidentlyy predicted the Maldives would be underwater by 2015. Have any.of their doomsday predictions ever been close to true?? No, but it’s been a great tool to advance socialism.