Zapping sand with electricity may save California's coastline
The concept is inspired by nature.
California’s coastline is eroding rapidly, and researchers may have found a shocking way to protect it: by zapping the sand with electricity.
A team from Northwestern University applied mild electrical currents to transform seawater minerals, like calcium, into a solid cement-like substance that binds sand, creating rock-like formations.
In the lab, the technology worked with all types of sand, indicating it could be used to save coastlines in other locations as well.
“After being treated, the sand looks like a rock,” Alessandro Rotta Loria, the lead author of the study, said in a statement.
“It is still and solid, instead of granular and incohesive. The minerals themselves are much stronger than concrete, so the resulting sand could become as strong and solid as a sea wall.”
It is technology inspired by nature. Clams and mussels can metabolize seawater elements into hardened shells. That concept can be applied to the sand on the coast because the chemical building blocks mollusks use exist in abundance along the shoreline.
This scalable, low-cost method could reinforce large coastal areas, with minimal impact on sea creatures and the environment, and the process can be reversed if needed.
The technology can be used in combination with other engineering strategies, which experts say is needed to safeguard California's coast.
“The applications of this approach are countless,” Rotta Loria said.
“We can use it to strengthen the seabed beneath sea walls or stabilize sand dunes and retain unstable soil slopes. We could also use it to strengthen protection structures, marine foundations and so many other things. There are many ways to apply this to protect coastal areas.”
Header image: File photo, via Getty Images Signature/Canva Pro.
