7
August 2003
MOSE: Venice preserved — for now
Venice, built on millions of wooden piles driven into marshy ground, has been sinking into the Adriatic for a thousand years. Venetians can cope with the aqua alta but the floods of November 1966, much deeper than usual, highlighted the fact that the old flood defence methods will soon fail. Work is now under way on MOSE (MOdulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico — or project Moses), an ambitious plan involving massive gates that will rise from the sea bed to cut the lagoon off from the open sea. But MOSE is controversial, on grounds of cost, effectiveness and environmental impact. And that's before facing the fact that global warming might lead to flooding well beyond the capacity of MOSE.
Venice floods: SAVE OUR CITY!
NICOLA NOSENGO
The Italian government is building a series of massive barriers to protect
Venice from flooding. But scientists are still arguing over whether the
plan will work, says Nicola Nosengo.
Nature 424, 608–609 (2003); doi:10.1038/424608a
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