RESTORING REEFS IN HOT WATERS
The entire project will cost $10 million, Fogg said, with a much larger return on investment expected as the ship becomes an international tourist and diver attraction. By removing the ship’s stacks, the top deck of the ship will ultimately come to rest in about 55 to 60 feet of Gulf water – well within recreational dive limits. Being that close to the surface, Fogg anticipates the ship will begin providing habitat benefits quickly, with a full ecosystem developing from the top down in a few years. While they don’t provide the same level of ecosystem services that a natural coral reef does, Enochs said, projects like the United States are still quite valuable from a recreation and destination perspective.
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The situation is bad – don’t get me wrong – but I know we can do something about it, and we know engineering is a critical component of that.
IAN ENOCHS
Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory Coral Program
36 | ENGINEERING FLORIDA
Meanwhile, AOML, the Reef Hope Project and several other groups and scientists across the state will continue finding ways to ensure Florida’s natural coral reefs survive. “It’s not like we need to invent fusion or teleportation – this is not so far out there,” Enochs said. “We have these tools already. Honestly, we can do this. “The situation is bad – don’t get me wrong – but I know we can do something about it, and we know engineering is a critical component of that.”
