The Factors and Processes that Influence Artificial Reef Longevity

Demolition productsʹ surplus articles, and designed structures may be placed on the sea floor as habitat for fish and invertebrates or to provide substrate for corals or large attached plants. Such installations should be stable in the long-term, not to be torn apart or swept away during episodes of severe local storms or the onslaught of large swell from distant disturbances. To this end, calculations must be carried out, for a "design wave" deemed appropriate for the site involved, to evaluate applied kinematical loads and seabed reactions. Should the artificial reef appear unstable, then it must be pinned to the bottom unless meaningful redesign is feasible. This paper discusses the various aspects of the whole stability question and provides well more than one hundred pertinent and timely references.