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Mission Statement

To design and manufacture an offshore marine structure for in-water rehabilitation of large coral colonies. This will be the first of its kind in Hawai’i and the world.

Executive Summary

In partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ten Mechanical Engineering undergraduate students from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) were appointed to form the Coral Reef Nursery Senior Engineering Design Team. They were tasked with providing the preliminary and final design services for an in-water coral nursery. The purpose of this project is to design, manufacture, test, and deploy a submerged structure for the use of coral colony collection, rehabilitation, and eventual outplanting in Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. The proposed structure will be built to withstand the unique Hawaiian water conditions, and serve as a foundation for which detached coral can be stored safely until NOAA is ready for mass transplantation. The structure will be implemented in accordance with United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) permitting, and as such, it will have a minimal environmental impact. This sustainability project will profoundly improve capabilities for reef repair where natural events and human blunders, like ship groundings, have rendered the area uninhabitable. Broader impacts of this project include the potential to attract researchers from around the world, increase tourism, and stand as a beacon of pride for Hawaiʻi residents as pioneer project in the field of coral restoration.

Technical Objectives

  • Factor of Safety (FOS) > 2 for peak dynamic loading (e.g. waves, currents)

  • FOS > 2 for static loading (e.g. coral, divers, equipment)

  • House Coral at depth of 40-70 ft at minimum 5 ft over the ocean floor

  • Must be submerged at least 40 ft

  • Fixed in space; will not detach form substrate

  • Low environmental impact of materials

  • Materials and joining perform at range of approx 75-85 °F

  • Materials and structure perform under 3x atmospheric pressure

  • Materials chemically durable for nursery lifetime of 5 years

  • Materials mechanically durable for nursery lifetime of 5 years

  • Product life of 3-4 years

  • Life in Service > 5 years

  • Minimal maintenance

  • Provide each coral sample access to light

  • Provide each coral sample access to water motion

  • Allow divers to easily add/remove coral of varying sizes and slopes

  • Allow divers to easily view/monitor coral

  • Product size no greater than 25' x 35' x 40' (width, length, height)

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