Protecting our coasts naturally
February 16, 2018 by Dr Rebecca Morris, Dr Teresa Konlechner, Dr Marco Ghisalberti And Professor Stephen Swearer, University of Melbourne
As sea levels rise and coastal communities face the threat of erosion and flooding, coastal defence structures, often built with concrete, have become the norm in many parts of the world.
But these hard engineered structures, like seawalls, breakwaters and groynes, are both expensive and bad for the environment.
Our team of University of Melbourne scientists is joining a growing number of international researchers looking at whether natural coastal defence structures could be a better option. We are trialling mussel reefs and mangrove forests in Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay to see how well they protect our shorelines.
Read more at:
https://phys.org/news/2018-02-coasts-naturally.html#jCp
