Reef Re-creation

Abstract

In the early 1970s a failed effort at creating Osborne Reef, an artificial fishery, resulted in the release of two million tires into the Atlantic Ocean outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida, further endangering already threatened coral reef habitat. The tires blanket habitat areas and travel with ocean and storm currents, impacting delicate coral structures along the way. Efforts to remove the tires have proven inadequate at addressing this ecological threat. Through interviews and academic research we have studied the history and practice of artificial reef construction in general, and the Osborne Reef in particular. Proposed are a series of interventions created using parametric modelling techniques designed for three roles. First, they will neutralize the threat caused by the tires either by encapulating them under or accreting them along its structure. Second, they will mitigate tire-associated damage and loss and serving as a medium for coral and marine organism growth. Third, it will serve as a laboratory for novel marine ecological restoration techniques as a jointly managed public- private partnership.