Coastal hazards associated with rising seas, more frequent storms, and marine heatwaves increasingly threaten civilian and Department of Defense (DoD) infrastructure and personnel. Four laboratories within the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology, in collaboration with the Applied Research Laboratory at UH, are developing a self-healing, living coral reef engineered to protect coastlines.
The Rapid Resilient Reefs for Coastal Defense (R3D) project focuses on nature-based solutions suited for future oceanographic conditions in the Pacific by mimicking the wave-attenuating function of a living coral reef.
This multidisciplinary team of engineers, ecologists, biologists and computer scientists is developing multiple strategies to reduce wave energy, protect coastlines, and improve coral resilience. UH is partnering with Makai Ocean Engineering, University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Florida Atlantic University and The Ohio State University on this exciting project.
