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Marine ecological engineering

Mapped US artificial reef footprint

Myriad structures, from purpose-built concrete modules to decommissioned petroleum platforms, have been deployed in US waters to create artificial reefs. Assessing their spatial coverage would help marine spatial planning but the task is challenging. Now a study does that and reveals some important ecological insights.

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Fig. 1: Footprint and connectivity of marine habitats.

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Correspondence to Sylvain Pioch.

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Pioch, S., Patterson, W.F. Mapped US artificial reef footprint. Nat Sustain 7, 100–101 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01284-z

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