PANAMA CITY — Tyndall Air Force Base is home to a new type of reef project to strengthen the installation’s coastline in an environmentally sustainable way.
Concrete modules lie in the water near the shoreline of Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Oct. 30, 2024. These types of nature-based solutions to protect the coastline from flooding are more environmentally friendly than traditional seawalls, which can harm marine life.
According to a news release from the 325th Fighter Wing, the project will help protect against damage caused by erosion, coastal flooding and hurricanes. The new reef is made from both man-made materials and live oysters.
Concrete modules in the reef attract oysters, which cling and help absorb the energy of large waves. This, combined with gaps in the structure, helps break up waves that protect the base’s coastline and nearby areas.
The U.S. Department of Defense Reef Defense program funded the new reefs around Tyndall AFB. The program’s website states that they aim to develop self-healing, hybrid biological and artificial reef-mimicking structures to reduce coastal flooding, erosion and storm damage that threaten civilian and Department of Defense infrastructure and personnel.
Concrete modules are ready for installation at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Oct. 30, 2024. These modules will be used as a living reef that will help absorb the energy of waves and storm surges, reducing their impact on the coastline.
The release further explains that because the reef is made up partly of living organisms, it will be able to repair itself over time. The reefs also provide shelter for fish, crabs and other marine life, making it more environmentally friendly than other alternatives such as sea walls.
“Oyster reefs typically build limestone, which has to be sourced from quarries around the country,” said Garey Payne, acquisition program manager for the Natural Disaster Recovery Division and deputy flight chief for the program. “But with these modules we are using an innovative solution to develop a natural base mitigation strategy,”
They note that while Tyndall AFB is one of the first places to use the unique reef system, its implementation is part of a larger initiative. The Reefense program is using $19.4 million in funding to develop these reef systems, which they believe could one day protect military bases and other vulnerable coastal areas more broadly.
A contractor holds a sample of a living oyster reef at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Oct. 30, 2024. This reef is part of a larger project supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Rutgers University, with the purpose of protecting the base and nearby areas from flooding.
Tyndall AFB plans to protect over 40 miles of their coastline with the new reefs, which they expect will take many years to complete.
In 2018, Hurricane Michael decimated the base. After deciding to rebuild, they announced their vision to become the “installation of the future.” This included building infrastructure that could withstand future storms. In their publication they say that the new reefs will help defend against stronger storms and sea level rise due to climate change.
This article originally appeared in The News Herald: Tyndall AFB is strengthening their coastline with a new reef project
