NSU Horizons Fall 2007

m 30 horizons OC researchers study ilitary, federal, state, and Broward County officials, as well as the NSU Oceanographic Center (OC), are set to begin a monumental project to remove hundreds of thousands of waste tires from the Osborne Reef in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Broward County is home to spectacular and economi- cally valuable coral reefs, most just a short ride from shore, that are home to myriad soft and hard corals, including threatened Staghorn and Elkhorn corals of the Acropora family. The reefs also house hundreds of fish spe- cies and invertebrates. Ten years ago, OC Ph.D. student Robin Sherman, now a professor at the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia, stumbled across the tires while working on her doctoral dissertation. A few years later, she obtained a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant to the National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI)—housed at the NSU OC—to support the study of the best ways to remove the tires. Sherman helped to recruit almost 90 diving volunteers who gathered and recycled 1,600 tires. While the sheer magnitude of the proj- ect prevented further cleanup, Sherman’s research helped establish management recommendations on best practices and led to the upcoming tire-removal project. This endeavor has brought together the efforts of the Broward County Environmental Protection Department; the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; and U.S. Army, Navy, and Coast Guard divers. OC scientists from the NCRI will evaluate recovery of the injured reef. It is estimated that nearly two million tires were placed into the ocean in the 1970s by private organizations hoping to create an artificial reef. Over the years, the successful formation of an artificial reef did not occur and the tires loosened and moved, damaging the nearby natural coral reefs. The tires cover more than 34 acres on the seafloor in 60 to 70 feet of water about 1.3 miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale beach. A pilot project began last June to determine the most efficient way to remove the tire debris from the ocean. A three-year initiative is currently under way to remove an estimated 700,000 tires from the ocean floor. The cooperation and synergy of federal, state, and county governments has made the removal of the tires and restoration of the coral reef possible. “The government part- nerships create a win-win situation for all parties involved in the project,” said Josephus Eggelletion, Broward County mayor. “We are most thankful that the state agreed to finance the recycling of the tires, and the military has pro- vided the labor and skill necessary to get this job done. It’s unprecedented.” Benefits to the public in natural resource restoration and preservation are enormous. Military divers will receive by Richard Dodge and Wendy Wood coral reef after removal of