World's Largest Artificial Reef Is Under Construction in Quintana Roo Mexico News Network
go to original June 3, 2014

A team of expert engineers, environmentalists, architects and specialized divers embarked upon the greatest adventure of their lives and took on their hands a once-in-a-lifetime challenge: Building the world’s largest artificial reef. The purpose? Diverting the attention and negative impact of time on the natural ecosystem, and fight against climate changes to preserve the Mexican Caribbean’s splendor, by regenerating the marine ecosystem with an enormous labor.

Kan-Kanán is an environmental project never-seen before! It means to turn into the new habitat of thousands of sea species, and will protect the coast from natural erosion. Consisting of a mega project, we currently stand before a fascinatingly interesting solution to a strong problem: the deterioration of marine systems, product of climate changes.

This monumental artificial reef will be built using over 1,000 hollow pyramidal structures created on a concrete and micro silica base. Each one of them approximately weighs ten tons, and must be placed with extreme precision over the seabed by very powerful cranes and a team of specialized divers. Its materials and structure make it an environmentally friendly construction that allows nutrients to attach, resulting in the regeneration of marine life.

Longer than the Brooklyn Bridge, The Guardian of the Caribbean will cover a  1.9-kilometer area parallel to the coast of Punta Brava. From above, this monumental reef looks like a huge serpent guarding the coast, giving birth to its name: Kan-Kanán, which means “The Guarding Serpent” in Mayan.

Read the rest at Mexico News Network

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