Restoration and expansion of coral reef habitats using artificial downwelling

Abstract

This disclosure is to mitigate the effect of coastal upwelling on coral reefs using an artificial downwelling system injecting warm water into the upwelling jet and disrupting it. Another purpose of this disclosure is creating favorable climate conditions for the development of residential communities and the associated infrastructure in the currently uninhabitable coastal deserts on the eastern ocean boundaries. An artificial downwelling can consist of a cluster of wave-inertia pumps and a modified Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC). For coastal deserts with non-existing infrastructure, wave-inertial pumps can be deployed first to moderate the extreme (desert) climate, develop residential infrastructure, and then install SWAC. Through implementing telemetry, a distributed environmental sensor system, and the ocean circulation model enhanced with data assimilation and artificial intelligence, SWAC and wave-inertia pumps will support stable and favorable climate conditions in coastal residential areas as well as recovery and extension of coral reef habitats.

Description

RESTORATION AND EXPANSION OF CORAL REEF HABITATS USING ARTIFICIAL DOWNWELLING Inventor: Alexander V. Soloviev 1733 Royal Palm Way, Hollywood, Florida 33020, USA FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

[0001] The disclosure relates to a system and method for coral reef management and restoration in the eastern and western boundary currents of the world oceans and seas. Another aspect of this disclosure is creating favorable environmental conditions for the development of residential communities and the associated infrastructure in the currently unhabitual coastal deserts on the eastern ocean boundaries. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] Coral reef benthic communities are acutely sensitive to changes in environmental parameters such as temperature and nutrient concentrations.

[0003] Physical oceanographic processes that induce the coastal upwelling therefore act as drivers of community structure on tropical reefs.

[0004] The wind induced coastal upwelling is typical for eastern boundary current regions of the world oceans (like California Current). Notably, coastal deserts are often located along the eastern boundaries of the world oceans that are influenced by coastal upwellings.

[0005] Intense upwelling systems also exist along the major western boundary currents around the world ocean (Liao et al., 2022). The nature of such upwelling systems is less known. To note, the wind induced coastal upwellings are not typical for western boundary currents. Soloviev et al. (2017) and Quezada (2023) have recently identified an upwelling mechanism in western boundary current systems (Fig.1), which can influence coral reefs.

[0006] One phenomenon endangering coral reefs around the world is coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is the process when corals become white due to various stressors, such as changes in temperature, light, or nutrients. Higher ocean temperatures and ocean heatwaves are triggers of coral stress and bleaching (The Status Of Coral Reefs, 2023).

[0007] The upwelling events bringing cold and nutrient-rich water to the coral reef benthic communities may alter, suppress, or provide a natural buffer against climate impacts and could potentially enhance the efficacy of spatial management and reef conservation efforts (Zhu et al. 2022). Nevertheless, upwellings can also damage coral reefs. Figure 2 shows an example of the upwelling that damaged the corals in Southeast Florida when water temperatures dropped to less than 16oC. SUMMARY

[0008] Warmer or cooler than comfortable water temperatures for corals can result in coral bleaching or complete elimination. This disclosure describes a method and instrumentation for mitigating coral bleaching and other coral illnesses due to upwelling events in application to the western and eastern boundary currents. This disclosure is also applicable to the creation of favorable conditions for the residential and infrastructural development in currently uninhabitable coastal deserts along eastern boundaries of the world ocean.

[0009] In January 2010, cold water temperatures in the Florida Keys resulted in substantial coral death. Water temperatures dropped by 6.7oC lower than the typical temperatures observed at this time of year (Fig.2). Such cold-stress events make corals more susceptible to disease in the same way as warmer waters trigger corals bleaching (https: / / oceanservice.noaa.gov / facts / coral_bleach.html). The mean percent of coral mortality recorded for all species, subregions, and all summers combined, including years such as 2005 when bleaching was prevalent, was 0.5% compared to 11.5% mortality recorded in the 2010 winter (Lirman et al., 2011).

[0010] This disclosure describes a method and instrumentation for mitigating adverse coastal ocean upwelling effects on coral reefs, which are accompanied by the cooler than comfortable for corals water temperatures. This method and instrumentation comprise an artificialdownwelling system injecting the warm surface water into the coastal upwelling water to warm coral reefs and disrupt the upwelling (Fig.3).

[0011] The artificial downwelling system can consist of a wave-inertia pump or a plurality (cluster) of wave-inertia pumps, while each wave-inertia pump includes a flexible pipeline section as shown in Figure 3.

[0012] In another aspect, the artificial downwelling system can be built as a part of a Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) system (e.g., see MAKAI OCEAN ENGINEERING, ISO90011:2008 Certified). Naturally occurring, cold deep water is used for the air conditioning of industrial and residential buildings. Cold water is drawn from the ocean through a deep-water intake pipeline to a cooling station, where it absorbs heat from the buildings by way of a chilled freshwater loop. The ocean water never enters the buildings and never mixes with the chilled fresh water. In our application of the SWAC to coral reef management, the warmed-up ocean water is returned directly to the coral habitat (Fig.4). The warmed-up SWAC water is less dense and thus tends to initiate buoyant convection, resulting in hydrodynamic instability of the sheared pycnocline and destruction of the upwelling.

[0013] In another embodiment, the SWAC is combined with the cluster of wave-inertia pumps. The SWAC can be installed near large industrial and residential centers, while wave-inertia pumps, deployed along the coastal ocean between SWAC locations.

[0014] In another aspect, for the coastal deserts with no preexisting infrastructure, the wave- inertia pumps can be installed first to improve the local climate conditions, develop the initial residential communities and infrastructure, and then implement SWAC. In addition to coral reef restoration, such a strategy of the SWAC implementation following the wave-inertia pump installations can help gradually develop new (including luxury) residential communities in the currently uninhabitable coastal deserts on the eastern ocean boundaries such as the Saharan Atlantic Coastal Desert; the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal desert; the Piura Region of Peru and Atacama Desert in Chile along the Pacific coast; and in other coastal deserts on the eastern boundaries of the world oceans.

[0015] In another embodiment, a distributed temperature sensor (DTS) can be installed around the reef to help regulate (through telemetry) the temperature of the reef during the process of pumping warm water downward with wave-inertia pumps and / or SWAC.

[0016] In another aspect, the artificial downwelling system productivity is regulated through telemetry using an optimal interpolation computer algorithm, ocean circulation model with data (including DTS) assimilation, and an artificial intelligence system.

[0017] These and other aspects, embodiments, features, and advantages from the present disclosure are applicable to the coastal areas of eastern and western boundary currents (or to any other coastal upwelling areas). These applications will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTIION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 demonstrates a link between the presence of a coastal undercurrent jet and upwelling based on the investigation conducted on the Southeast Florida Shelf by Soloviev et al. (2017) and Quezada (2023).

[0019] Figure 2 shows the sea temperatures from reef sites in January 2010. The grey boxes represent the cold-water temperature threshold (<16°C for corals according to Lirman et al. 2011). This cold-water anomaly experienced by Florida reefs resulted in unprecedented, large- scale mortality of corals. Mortality was most catastrophic in shallow nearshore environments where temperatures were well below previously reported cold-water thresholds for extended periods of time during January 2010.

[0020] Schematic diagram (not to scale) of the artificial downwelling system supplying warm water to the coral reef affected by the natural upwelling is shown in Figure 3. In addition, the buoyant convection of the warm water triggers hydrodynamic instability, which distracts and suppresses the natural upwelling thus reducing the supply of cold water to the coral reef.

[0021] Figure 4 illustrates the Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) system. In SWAC, naturally occurring, cold deep-water in the ocean is used for the air conditioning of industrial andresidential buildings (e.g., see Makai Ocean Engineering, ISO90011:2008 Certified). Cold water is drawn from the ocean through a deep-water intake pipeline to a cooling station, where it absorbs heat from the buildings by way of a chilled freshwater loop (Fig.4a). The warmed-up ocean water is then returned through the separate pipeline to the coral reef affected by the natural upwelling (Fig.4b). The warm water loop can contain more than one controlled outlet. Similar to the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, the buoyant convection of the warm water triggers hydrodynamic instability, which distracts the sheard pycnocline and suppresses the upwelling jet, thus reducing the supply of the cold deep-water to the coral reef. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0022] This disclosure describes a method and instruments for controlling the coastal ocean upwelling by creating the artificial downwelling supplying the warm surface water to coral reefs, whereby triggering disruption of the sheard pycnocline and suppressing the coastal ocean upwelling.

[0023] Detailed embodiments are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and that the systems and methods described below can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present subject matter in virtually any appropriately detailed structure and function. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather, to provide an understandable description of the concepts.

[0024] The terms a or an, as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term plurality, as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term another, as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms including and having, as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language).

[0025] According to the NOAA definition, the term upwelling stands for a process in which deep, cold water rises toward the surface. In this disclosure, the term upwelling is reserved for the coastal upwelling on a shelf (see, e.g., Longdill and Healy, 2008). This term caninterchangeably be used in combinations like coastal upwelling, natural upwelling, or coastal ocean upwelling. The terms upwelling front or just front are used here intermittently and refer to the upwelling density front that is typically associated with the upwelling temperature / density front. In the case of full upwelling, such a front also has a surface feature, separating cold coastal waters from warm open ocean waters (see example in Fig.3).

[0026] In this disclosure, the term artificial downwelling refers to the technology that uses artificial methods to make water flow to deeper layers (prior art, Patent No.: US 10,687,481).

[0027] The upper ocean mixed layer, the ocean region adjacent to the air-sea interface, is typically tens of meters deep and is often well mixed; as a result, the temperature, salinity, and density are fairly uniform. The rapidly changing regions below these uniform regions are called thermocline, halocline, or pycnocline (common knowledge). In the case of a coastal ocean upwelling, the thermocline, halocline, and pycnocline are typically tilted.

[0028] Major wind-induced (classical) upwellings are found on the eastern side of oceans and seas, which are characterized by the presence of relatively wide, slow, and persistent currents. Respectively, the term eastern boundary upwelling system (EBUS) refers here to the eastern boundaries of the world’s major ocean basins. The California coastal upwelling is an example. The term western boundary current (WBC) refers here to strong, warm, and persistent currents along the western boundaries of the world’s major ocean basins. The Gulf Stream is an example. Intense upwelling systems can also exist in the major WBCs, being driven by the different mechanisms like those illustrated in Figure 1 and its description. The term upwelling current or upwelling current jet are reserved here for a wind-driven upwelling current. The coastal undercurrent or coastal counter current that are intermittently observed in the WBC can create upwelling (Soloviev et al., 2017 and Quezada, 2023).

[0029] A hydrodynamic instability in the ocean or any body of water may occur when there is a velocity shear (a change in velocity at right angles to the direction of the flow) either in a homogeneous fluid, or where there is a velocity difference between two fluids with a difference in density, for example, across the pycnocline. A pycnocline with the velocity difference will further be referred to as the sheared pycnocline. For coastal upwellings, the hydrodynamicinstability developed in the sheared pycnocline may involve several modes including the Kelvin- Helmholtz type instability. The latter leads to increased turbulent mixing and friction in the water column, which triggers suppression of the upwelling.

[0030] Upwelling jets contain significant kinetic and potential energy but are not smooth (laminar) flows. Consequently, upwelling jets are often only marginally stable, which denotes that they can be destabilized by a relatively small impact. The sheared upwelling pycnocline, as well as the upwelling jet flowing below this pycnocline, quickly become hydrodynamically unstable on time scales of days to weeks and shed mesoscale eddies (e.g., Arístegui et al.1997; Kaempf and Chapman 2016). The mesoscale eddies in the coastal ocean can have diameters of 10–20 km, in contrast to the more commonly known open-ocean eddies that have diameters of up to 300 km. As a result of hydrodynamic instability of the upwelling jet and eddy shedding, the width of the upwelling zone generally increases along the coast in the direction of the upwelling jet. Fully developed eddy fields exhibit specific pathways, called filaments, along which upwelled water is advected offshore. Filaments, which can be quasi-stationary or transient features, generally operate as an export mechanism of the upwelled water to the open ocean. Filaments and eddies move and disperse cold water anomalies of the upwelling offshore and mix with surrounding warm waters. This is a natural mechanism regulating the coastal upwelling intensity.

[0031] This disclosure provides a method and instrumentation for the regulation of the strength of a coastal upwelling by triggering upwelling disruptions more frequently compared to how often they occur naturally. This method and instrumentation for the man-made regulation of a coastal upwelling comprise an artificial downwelling system intended for periodic destabilization and disruption of the coastal upwelling.

[0032] The artificial downwelling can be produced by the wave-inertia pump described in Patent No.: US 10,687,481B2, Patent No.: Israel 276060, and Patent No.: US 12129616 B2 with the innovations described later in this disclosure. Patent No.: US 10,687,481 B2 and Patent No.: US 12129616 B2 were to store the warm water supplied by wave-inertia pumps during the summer season in a calm near-bottom layer of the ocean until the winter season. In the Patent No.: US 12129616 B2, the function of wave-inertia pumps is to disrupt the coastal upwelling.

[0033] In the Patent No.: US 12129616 B2, the artificial downwelling can be created by a moored wave-inertia pump or a plurality of the wave-inertia pumps. With reference to Figure 3, the wave-inertia pump here comprises the long pipeline 100 disposed within the water body to extend from the surface to the deep water in the range from 10 to 200 meters. The upper surface of the pipeline is connected to a buoyant flotation device or material 110, pipeline 100 further includes one or more one-way valves 134 which are oriented to allow water flow within the pipeline substantially downwards only. In this embodiment, a pivoting stop is installed; however, other valve structures can be used as understood within the art of hydraulic valves. Pipeline 100 can be oriented vertically to present the shortest path of deep water, although pipeline 100 may be disposed temporarily or almost permanently at an angle due to the force of currents or other environment conditions. Pipeline 110 can be manufactured from any known material that has sufficient strength and durability in seawater for example including metal, plastic, fiberglass, carbon fiber, or composite material. Pipeline 100 can be manufactured in sections, for example using materials and methods used for underground drilling beneath water bodies. Flotation materials 110 are affixed near the top of the pipeline at the as depicted in Figure 3, or they may be positioned at other locations along the length of pipeline 100 to dispose the valve 134 of pipeline 100 at a desired position relative to the surface of the water body.

[0034] For the specific application here, a wave-inertia pump can include, as new elements, a flexible section 150 with section 101 positioned along the bottom. The warm surface water is discharged through outlet 138. Convective jet 140 emanating from outlet 138 will cause hydrodynamic instability of the upwelling current jet and the upwelling suppression.

[0035] In the Patent No.: US 12129616 B2, valve 134 can be a pressure reducing or limiting valve, which is controlled electromechanically through remote telecommand tools whereby regulating the discharge of the downwelling water through outlet 138.

[0036] In another embodiment, the artificial downwelling can be set on the oceanic side of the upwelling front 150 (Fig.3), push the relatively warm and less dense surface water to the colder and denser deep water found in or below the sheared pycnocline to initiate a hydrodynamic instability within the sheared pycnocline and upwelling waters, and trigger the instability of the upwelling jet.

[0037] In another embodiment, the artificial downwelling can be based on a Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) system (briefly defined earlier in this disclosure). For this application, SWAC can contain the following components (Fig.4). • Cold water supply (201) and warmed water return (201) pipelines. • Pump & heat exchanger systems (Fig.4a): The only electrical component in the system is the pump. Heat exchangers allow heat from the buildings to be transferred to the cold water and ensure that the fresh chilled water and ocean water don’t mix. This transfer of heat is spontaneous and natural and requires no input of electricity. No seawater enters the buildings. • Chilled freshwater loop (Fig.4a): A standard component in a centralized chilled water system. Preexisting chilled water loops can be used. In SWAC, naturally occurring, cold deep-water in the ocean is used for the air conditioning of industrial and residential buildings (Makai Ocean Engineering, ISO90011:2008 Certified).The cold deep-water enters the chilled freshwater loop through pipeline 201 through opening 206. • Warm water loop (Fig.4b): A modified SWAC component (pipeline 202), which returns the warmed-up water to the ocean through several controlled openings (can be more than 3 openings), creating convective jets 203, 204, and 205 to warm-up the coral reef and suppress the natural upwelling.

[0038] In SWAC, cold water is drawn from the ocean through a deep-water intake (206) of the pipeline (201) to a cooling station, where it absorbs heat from the buildings by way of a chilled freshwater loop (Fig.4). In the application of the SWAC to coral reef management, the warmed- up ocean water is returned to the ocean to the depth of the coral reef. Additionally, the water exiting from the warm loop pipeline initiates the buoyant convection jet that disrupts and suppresses the upwelling current jet and the upwelling.

[0039] The SWAC system can include an additional reservoir (not shown in Fig.4) to store the warm water as a supply reserve for periods of intense upwelling events.

[0040] As mentioned in Section

[0010] , this disclosure provides a method and instrumentation for the regulation of the strength of a coastal upwelling by triggering upwelling disruptions morefrequently compared to how often they occur naturally. This method and instrumentation for the man-made regulation of a coastal upwelling comprise an artificial downwelling system intended for periodic destabilization and disruption of the coastal upwelling.

[0041] The combination of SWAC with wave-inertia pumps will increase the effectiveness of the artificial downwelling system for suppressing the upwelling events along the eastern and western boundaries of the world oceans, which will allow further extension of coral reefs (e.g., to extend coral reefs north of West Palm Beach, FL where corals are suppressed by upwelling events.

[0042] In another embodiment, the artificial downwelling system productivity is regulated through telemetry using an optimal interpolation computer algorithm, an ocean circulation model with data assimilation (including the DTS data), and an artificial intelligence system (e.g., based on the Matlab Deep Learning).

[0042] In addition to the coral reef restoration, the SWAC implementation following the initial wave-inertia pump installations can assist in a gradual development of new (including luxury) residential communities and the associated infrastructure in the currently uninhabitable regions in the eastern ocean boundaries such as the Saharan Atlantic Coastal Desert; the Angolan, Namibian and South African Namib coastal desert; the Piura Region of Peru and the Atacama Desert in Chile along the Pacific coast as well as in other coastal deserts on the eastern boundaries of the world oceans and seas. PATENT CITATIONS Soloviev, A.V., 2024: Mitigating Adverse Coastal Upwelling Effects With An Artificial Downwelling System. US 12129616 B22024-10-29. Soloviev, A.V. and Dean, C.W., 2022: Methods and means for storing heat in the sea for local weather modification. Israeli Patent No.276060 Mar.2, 2022. Soloviev, A.V., and C.W. Dean, 2020 US Patent 10,687,481 B26 / 23 / 2020.NON-PATENT CITATIONS Arístegui, J., P. Tett, A. Hernández-Guerra, G. Basterretxea, M.F. Montero, K. Wild, P. Sangrà, S., Hernández-León, M. Cantón, J.A. García-Braun, M. Pacheco, and E.D. Barton, 1997. The influence of island-generated eddies on chlorophyll distribution: a study of mesoscale variation around Gran Canaria. Deep-Sea Research I 44: 71–96. Kämp, J., and P. Chapman, 2016. Upwelling Systems of the World: A Scientific Journey to the Most Productive Marine Ecosystems. Springer Cham, 433 pp. Liao, F., Liang, X., Li, Y., & Spall, M., 2022. Hidden upwelling systems associated with major western boundary currents. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 127, e2021JC017649. https: / / doi.org / 10.1029 / 2021JC017649. Lirman, D. et al., 2011. Severe 2010 Cold-Water Event Caused Unprecedented Mortality to Corals of the Florida Reef Tract and Reversed Previous Survivorship Patterns. PLoS One 6(8): e23047. Longdill, P. C., Healy, T. R., & Black, K. P. , 2008. An integrated GIS approach for sustainable aquaculture management area site selection. Ocean & Coastal Management, 51(8-9), 612-624. Quezada, A..2023. Investigating the Effects of a Southward Flow in the Southeastern Florida Shelf Using Robotic Instruments.MS Degree Thesis, Nova Southeastern University, 72 pp. https: / / nsuworks.nova.edu / hcas_etd_all / 159 / Soloviev, A. V., Hirons, A., Maingot, C., Dean, C. W., Dodge, R. E., Yankovsky, A. E., Wood, J., Weisberg R.H., Luther, M.E., McCreary, J. P., 2017. Southward flow on the western flank of the Florida Current. Deep-Sea Research 125, 94-105. The Status Of Coral Reefs - What Is Coral Bleaching? Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2020. GCRMN. UN Environmental Program. https: / / gcrmn.net / 2020-report-v1-2023 / . Zhu W, Ren Y, Liu X, Huang D, Xia J, Zhu M, Yin H, Chen R and Li X , 2022. The impact of coastal upwelling on coral reef ecosystem under anthropogenic influence: Coral reef communityand its response to environmental factors. Front. Mar. Sci.9:888888. doi: 10.3389 / fmars.2022.888888.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method and instrumentation for mitigating adverse effects of the natural coastal ocean upwelling to promote restoration and expansion of coral reef habitats; comprising an artificial downwelling system injecting the warm water to the layer of upwelling water whereby triggering hydrodynamic instability of the upwelling current jet and disruptions of the upwelling.

2. The method and instrumentation of Claim 1 wherein the artificial downwelling system consists of a wave-inertia pump or a plurality of wave- inertia pumps, with each pipeline extending downwards from the surface to the coral reef habitat, comprising a flexible section of the pipeline to deliver the warm surface water to the coral reef habitat and, through buoyant convection, to the depth range of the upwelling current jet resulting in hydrodynamic instability of the pycnocline, destruction of the upwelling jet, and suppression of the cold deep-water supply to the coral reef.

3. The method and instrumentation of Claim 1 wherein the artificial downwelling system uses a modified Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) system to supply the warmed-up water directly to the coral reef habitat and, through buoyant convection, to the depth range of the upwelling current jet resulting in hydrodynamic instability of the pycnocline, destruction of the upwelling jet, and suppression of the cold deep-water supply to the coral reef.

4. The method and instrumentation of Claim 3, wherein the modified SWAC warm water pipeline includes more than one outlet.

5. The method and instrumentation of Claim 3, wherein the SWAC system includes an additional reservoir to store the warmed-up water as a supply reserve for periods of intense upwelling events.

6. The method and instrumentation of Claim 3, wherein the cluster of wave- inertia pumps is combined with the SWAC system, while the wave-inertia pumps are interspersed between SWAC locations.

17. The method and instrumentation of Claim 6, wherein a spatially distributed sensor system includes the distributed temperature sensor (DTS) and nutrient concentration sensors are installed around the reef to monitor and regulate the temperature and nutrient concentration of water surrounding the reef during the operation of the combined artificial downwelling.

8. The method and instrumentation of Claim 7, wherein the artificial downwelling system productivity is regulated through telemetry using an ocean circulation model with data assimilation and artificial intelligence.

9. The method and instrumentation of Claim 8, wherein for the coastal deserts with no existing infrastructure, the wave-inertia pumps will be installed first, help to mitigate the arid climate, develop the initial residential and industrial infrastructure, and then implement SWAC, which in combination with wave- inertia pumps will increase the effectiveness of the artificial downwelling and will allow for the expansion of the coral reef habitats.

10. The method and instrumentation of Claim 9, wherein the SWAC implementation follows the wave-inertia pump installations, in order to create favorable climate conditions for the gradual development of residential communities and the associated infrastructure in the currently uninhabitable coastal deserts on the ocean eastern boundaries such as the Saharan Atlantic Coastal Desert; the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal desert, the Piura Region of Peru and the Atacama Desert in Chile along the Pacific coast; and in other coastal deserts on the eastern boundaries of the world oceans and seas. 2

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