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Underwater pendulums could calm waves and reduce coastal erosion

A device made of cylinders tethered to the ocean floor could lessen the ferocity of waves, preventing them from eroding the shore

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

9 April 2023

A device to counteract the power of waves could limit erosion along coastlines

Shutterstock / xander

A system of upside-down pendulums tethered to the seafloor could significantly reduce the size of waves, helping limit beach erosion.

Waves that wear down beaches are often stopped with walls of rocks built parallel to the shore, but these large structures are intrusive and hard to adjust or move, and they can trap muddy water or disrupt marine habitats. Paolo Pezzutto at the Italian National Research Council, Institute of Marine Science and his colleagues built a prototype …

Article amended on 12 April 2023

We corrected the DOI for the linked study

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