In 2023, Georgia sank two retired 72-foot MARTA subway cars off Ossabaw Island; seven months later, divers found soft coral and nine game-fish species

Two retired subway cars now rest on the seabed, where soft coral and game fish have begun to settle. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)

Imagine your daily commute ending at the bottom of the sea. That’s the new life for two retired Atlanta subway cars that Georgia sank in the Atlantic in December 2023. According to a MARTA press release published by Mass Transit magazine, a state team dove on the cars seven months later, in July 2024. They … Read more

In 1996, Columbia scientists tested Biosphere 2s ocean under ice-age, modern, and future CO2 levels; future conditions cut coral calcification by 40%

After decades without new corals, researchers introduced 108 coral fragments into Biosphere 2’s 2.6-million-liter ocean habitat. (AI-generated/ ChatGPT)

Every three months, an ocean in the Arizona desert took a trip through time. In 1996, Columbia University researchers used Biosphere 2’s marine mesocosm to recreate three sets of ocean conditions: those of a glacial ice age, the present day, and the 22nd century. According to the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 ecosystems page, the … Read more

In 2017, Jordan sank a retired 30-metre C-130 Hercules off Aqaba to create an artificial reef; the aircraft now rests about 16 metres underwater and attracts coral, fish and other marine life

In 2017, Jordan sank a retired 30-metre C-130 Hercules off Aqaba to create an artificial reef; the aircraft now rests about 16 metres underwater and attracts coral, fish and other marine life

A retired military aircraft has found an unusual second life beneath the Red Sea after Jordan deliberately sank it off Aqaba in 2017 to create an artificial reef. The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a roughly 30-metre-long military transport aircraft, was placed underwater on November 16, 2017, about 300 metres from the Aqaba shoreline. It now rests … Read more

Taiwanese students are turning discarded oyster shells and coral waste into 3D-printed structures for damaged reefs

Taiwanese students are turning discarded oyster shells and coral waste into 3D-printed structures for damaged reefs

A group of students in Taiwan has found a way to give discarded shellfish waste a second life beneath the waves. Their project, named Reefvive, takes oyster shells and coral gravel that would otherwise be thrown away and turns them into 3D-printed bases for growing coral. According to the James Dyson Award, the structures have … Read more

In 2015, Hawaii rescued fragments of a coral found only in Kaneohe Bay; after its wild colonies disappeared, scientists grew it in a nursery and returned it to the reef

In 2015, Hawaii rescued fragments of a coral found only in Kaneohe Bay; after its wild colonies disappeared, scientists grew it in a nursery and returned it to the reef

Acropora muricata, Heron Island, Australia. (Photo Credit: Claire Lager, Smithsonian) A rare coral species found nowhere else on Earth except Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii has been successfully returned to its natural habitat after completely disappearing from the wild. The recovery project was led by the Hawaii Coral Restoration Nursery, a facility run by the state … Read more