[extropy-chat] coral reefer madness

[David]

spike wrote:
> 
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org [mailto:extropy-chat-
>>bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Technotranscendence
>>
>>I know artificial reefs are often intentionally created by purposely
>>sinking old ships and barges in certain areas.
> 
> 
> Trees would be better.  Branches are great for small
> fish to swim around in, and they don't cost much.
> 
> 
>>>The second part of the idea is how to make the reefs:
>>>harvest some really big trees...
>>
>>Sounds like a good idea.  Would the trees last long enough to become
>>encrusted?  I guess it would depend on wave action, water temperature,
>>and such.  Dan
> 
> 
> The old wooden ships lasted long enough to be crusted
> over, so I would assume trees would.  They don't really
> need to last forever: once the coral and barnacles and
> things cover them sufficiently, it doesn't matter much
> what happens to the wood underneath.  It would be ok
> if they had a couple centuries life too, since it would
> be simple to refresh them.
> 
> Im thinking of that big continental shelf that sticks
> out east of my childhood home, Cape Canaveral Florida.  
> The shipping lanes go mostly outside of that (other than 
> the ones carrying dope into shore in the night I mean), 
> and most of that is 20 to 50 meters in depth, so it would 
> make a great place for an enormous experimental artificial 
> reef.
> 
> spike
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> extropy-chat mailing list
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
> http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo/extropy-chat
> 


Where I grew up there were Australian Redgum trees
that were killed by the building of a major weir.
The bottom ten to twenty feet of them has been under
water for at least 70 years by now, and many of them
are still standing. This is in freshwater though.
I don't know what their longevity would be in saltwater,
but I think they would last long enough to form a reef.
They are probably also heavy enough to sink in salt
water. Redgum drops like a rock in fresh water, as do
most Australian hardwoods.