PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Coral reef restorations can be optimized to reduce flood risk

New practical guidelines for reef restoration will benefit coral ecosystems while also providing coastal communities with effective protection from flood risk

2021-05-11
(Press-News.org) New guidelines for coral reef restoration aiming to reduce the risk of flooding in tropical coastal communities have been set out in a new study that simulated the behavior of ocean waves travelling over and beyond a range of coral reef structures. Published in Frontiers in Marine Science, these guidelines hope to optimize restoration efforts not only for the benefit of the ecosystem, but also to protect the coast and people living on it.

"Our research reveals that shallow, energetic areas such as the upper fore reef and middle reef flat, typically characterized by physically-robust coral species, should be targeted for restoration to reduce coastal flooding," says Floortje Roelvink, lead author on the paper and researcher at Deltares, a Dutch research institute. "This will benefit both coral ecosystems and human coastal populations that rely on them for tourism, fisheries, and recreation."

Important structures

Coral reefs help to sustain the economy of 500 million people in tropical coastal communities and can offer protection from wave-driven flooding and coastal erosion, especially in the face of climate change. Reef restoration, which involves coral planting and reef management to improve the health, abundance, and biodiversity of the ecosystem, has been suggested as a way of reducing flood risk.

"Our research can help guide the design of coral reef restorations to best increase the resiliency of coastal communities from flooding," said Curt Storlazzi, U.S. Geological Survey research geologist and project lead. "Such information can increase the efficiency of coral restoration efforts, assisting a range of stakeholders in not only coral reef conservation and management, but also coastal hazard risk reduction."

"Although we know that coral reefs can efficiently attenuate ocean wave energy and reduce coastal flooding, knowledge of specifically where to locate and design coral reef restorations on specific types of reefs is lacking," explains Ap van Dongeren, coastal morphology specialist at Deltares and project co-lead. "We were keen to fill this knowledge gap because the costs and practical constraints of reef recovery efforts necessitate an approach to design and restoration that produces the most benefit for all."

Reef by design

To first understand the range of naturally occurring reef shapes, such as fringing reefs, straight sloping reefs, convex reefs and reefs with an offshore shelf, the researchers analyzed a database of over 30,000 coral reef profiles across the U.S., including those in the Mariana, Hawaii, and Virgin Islands. Using these reef profiles, they numerically "designed" reef restorations to be both feasible from an operational and ecological perspective and to have an expected beneficial impact on coastal flooding.

The researchers established that reef restorations should not be placed too deep because of operational constraints and limit on the wave reduction efficiency. Restorations should also not be too shallow, to prevent the drying of reef restorations and reef degradation due to thermal intolerance.

Different types of coral restorations were also investigated - "green", entailing solely outplanting corals, or "gray-green hybrid" restorations, entailing emplacement of structures (such as ReefBalls) and then outplanting corals on top of them. The team then used a numerical model to simulate waves travelling over both the restored and unrestored coral reef profiles to see how far those waves ran up the coast, providing an indication of the effect of the different reef restorations on coastal flooding.

"We hope this study will motivate others to continue and expand on this research, among others by conducting field and laboratory experiments to validate our findings," concludes Roelvink.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Online CBT effective against OCD symptoms in the young

Online CBT effective against OCD symptoms in the young
2021-05-11
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in children and adolescents is associated with impaired education and worse general health later in life. Access to specialist treatment is often limited. According to a study from Centre for Psychiatry Research at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Region Stockholm, internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be as effective as conventional CBT. The study, published in the prestigious journal JAMA, can help make treatment for OCD more widely accessible. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a potentially serious mental disorder that normally debuts in childhood. Symptoms include intrusive thoughts that trigger anxiety ...

Transferability of surface-functionalized metallic nanoparticles

2021-05-11
Toxicity and Challenges in Transferability of Surface-functionalized Metallic Nanoparticles https://doi.org/10.15212/bioi-2020-0047 Announcing a new article publication for BIO Integration journal. In this review the authors Muhammad Arif Asghar, Rabia Ismail Yousuf, Muhammad Harris Shoaib, Muhammad Arif Asghar and Nazish Mumtaz from Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan, Food and Marine Resources Research Centre, Pakistan and Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, Karachi, Pakistan discuss toxicity and challenges in transferability of surface-functionalized metallic nanoparticles from animal models to humans. The unique size and surface morphology of nanoparticles ...

Better treatment for miscarriage patients is more cost effective than standard NHS treatment

2021-05-11
A new drug combination that is better at treating miscarriage is also more cost effective than current standard NHS treatment, finds a new study led by the University of Birmingham and Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research. A previous study by the same team and published in The Lancet * in August last year, found that a combined drug treatment is more effective than the standard medication for women having miscarriages without symptoms - also known as missed, delayed or silent miscarriage. Missed miscarriage occurs when a baby has died in the womb but the mother hasn't ...

Adolescence is a window of opportunity for improving health literacy

Adolescence is a window of opportunity for improving health literacy
2021-05-11
A study by the University of Southampton has shown its LifeLab programme, aimed at improving adolescent health through hands-on learning, significantly increases young people's understanding of what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle. Led by a team from both the Faculty of Medicine and Education School at the University of Southampton, the LifeLab programme aims to encourage engagement with the science behind public health messages, to support development of health literacy alongside decision-making skills and promotion of adolescents' sense of control over their lives and futures. Based at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) NHS Foundation Trust, LifeLab is a state-of-the-art teaching laboratory ...

In the blood: Which antibodies best neutralize the coronavirus in COVID-19 patients?

In the blood: Which antibodies best neutralize the coronavirus in COVID-19 patients?
2021-05-11
The COVID-19 pandemic has now claimed over 2 million deaths worldwide, and this number is only increasing. In response, health agencies have rolled out tests to diagnose and understand the disease. Besides the now widely known PCR test, there is interest in serological (blood) tests that detect "antibodies" against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. These blood tests have considerable applications, from identifying blood donors with high levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, whose blood can be used for convalescent plasma therapy, to measuring vaccine effectiveness. So, what are antibodies? These are proteins produced by the ...

New ancient shark discovered

New ancient shark discovered
2021-05-11
This rare fossil find comes from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in England, a series of sedimentary rocks that was formed in a shallow, tropical-subtropical sea during the Upper Jurassic, about 150 million years ago. The fossil shark skeleton was found more than 20 years ago on the southern coast of England and is now held in the Etches Collection. Additional fossil shark specimens from it will be investigated in the years to come. Due to their life-long tooth replacement shark teeth are among the most common vertebrate finds encountered in the fossil record. The low preservation potential of their poorly mineralized cartilaginous skeletons, on the ...

A scientist from HSE University has developed an image recognition algorithm

2021-05-11
A scientist from HSE University has developed an image recognition algorithm that works 40% faster than analogues. It can speed up real-time processing of video-based image recognition systems. The results of the study have been published in the journal Information Sciences. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs), which include a sequence of convolutional layers, are widely used in computer vision. Each layer in a network has an input and an output. The digital description of the image goes to the input of the first layer and is converted into a different set of numbers at the output. The result goes to the input of ...

COVID-19 wastewater testing proves effective in new study

COVID-19 wastewater testing proves effective in new study
2021-05-11
Wastewater testing is an effective way to identify new cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes and other congregate living settings, and it may be particularly useful for preventing outbreaks in college dormitories, a new University of Virginia study finds. The research, a collaboration of UVA's School of Medicine and School of Engineering, was led by UVA Health's Amy Mathers, MD. It offers some of the first clear guidance on the most effective methods to perform testing to detect COVID-19 in wastewater. The researchers evaluated and compared sampling and analysis techniques by testing them within buildings with known numbers of positive cases. They were then able to determine wastewater testing's strengths and limitations as a tool for monitoring COVID-19 in a building population. ...

New USask research will make bean crops hardier, help improve global food security

New USask research will make bean crops hardier, help improve global food security
2021-05-11
SASKATOON - Tepary beans--a high protein legume common to the southwest United States and Mexico--may hold the key to adapting bean crops for the increasingly harsh conditions brought on by a changing climate, according to research led by University of Saskatchewan (USask) and Michigan State University. In a study just published in Nature Communications, the researchers found that as the mercury rises to 27oC at night--a temperature devastating for current bean crops--specific genes sensitive to heat stress in the tepary bean get activated, protecting the plant. ...

AI analytics predict COVID-19 patients' daily trajectory in UK intensive care units

2021-05-11
The investigators used machine learning to predict which patients might get worse and not respond positively to being turned onto their front in intensive care units (ICUs) - a technique known as proning that is commonly used in this setting to improve oxygenation of the lungs. While the AI model was used on a retrospective cohort of patient data collected during the pandemic's first wave, the study demonstrates the ability of AI methods to predict patient outcomes using routine clinical information used by ICU medics. The researchers say the approach, where each patient's ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Public confidence in U.S. health agencies slides, fueled by declines among Democrats

“Quantum squeezing” a nanoscale particle for the first time

El Niño spurs extreme daily rain events despite drier monsoons in India

Two studies explore the genomic diversity of deadly mosquito vectors

Zebra finches categorize their vocal calls by meaning

Analysis challenges conventional wisdom about partisan support for US science funding

New model can accurately predict a forest’s future

‘Like talking on the telephone’: Quantum computing engineers get atoms chatting long distance

Genomic evolution of major malaria-transmitting mosquito species uncovered

Overcoming the barriers of hydrogen storage with a low-temperature hydrogen battery

Tuberculosis vulnerability of people with HIV: a viral protein implicated

Partnership with Kenya's Turkana community helps scientists discover genes involved in adaptation to desert living

Decoding the selfish gene, from evolutionary cheaters to disease control

Major review highlights latest evidence on real-time test for blood – clotting in childbirth emergencies

Inspired by bacteria’s defense strategies

Research spotlight: Combination therapy shows promise for overcoming treatment resistance in glioblastoma

University of Houston co-leads $25 million NIH-funded grant to study the delay of nearsightedness in children

NRG Oncology PREDICT-RT study completes patient accrual, tests individualized concurrent therapy and radiation for high-risk prostate cancer

Taking aim at nearsightedness in kids before it’s diagnosed

With no prior training, dogs can infer how similar types of toys work, even when they don’t look alike

Three deadliest risk factors of a common liver disease identified in new study

Dogs can extend word meanings to new objects based on function, not appearance

Palaeontology: South American amber deposit ‘abuzz’ with ancient insects

Oral microbes linked to increased risk of pancreatic cancer

Soccer heading does most damage to brain area critical for cognition

US faces rising death toll from wildfire smoke, study finds

Scenario projections of COVID-19 burden in the US, 2024-2025

Disparities by race and ethnicity in percutaneous coronary intervention

Glioblastoma cells “unstick” from their neighbors to become more deadly

Oral bacterial and fungal microbiome and subsequent risk for pancreatic cancer

[Press-News.org] Coral reef restorations can be optimized to reduce flood risk
New practical guidelines for reef restoration will benefit coral ecosystems while also providing coastal communities with effective protection from flood risk