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Train transformation

26th April 2008

Artificial reefs made from old subway cars can restore coral ecosystems

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Subways are environmentally friendly by nature: They get people out of their cars. Now, the City of New York has a way to extend their eco-usefulness – by dumping retired cars into the ocean. More than 700 NYC subway cars lie on the sea floor 25 kilometres off the coast of Delaware, creating a deep-sea oasis of sea grasses, mussels and sponges. The program is so successful that others are vying for the dwindling supply of subway cars. New Jersey has ordered 600; Maryland and Virginia have also put in requests.

Coral reefs, which support about a quarter of all marine species, have declined precipitously over the past half-century, destroyed by tourism, dynamite fishing, pollution, warmer waters (which cause corals to bleach), and acidic waters (from high CO2 levels in the atmosphere). But new habitats for fish can be created: Divers have known for decades that shipwrecks host a rich variety of sea life.

True corals take thousands of years to grow. But artificial reefs can be helpful. The Delaware reef has seen a 400-fold increase in the past seven years in plankton and small baitfish (food for larger fish like tuna and bass).

Published in The Green Report in The Globe and Mail

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• Tags:
• America
• Coral Reefs
• Ecology
• Fish
• Public Transport
• Trains

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