The 1,650-acre Rio Grande Valley Reef has helped to restore the waterways off the coast of Texas. Could it help capture carbon, too?
Researchers from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley have been studying the largest artificial reef off the Texas coast. A year in, the results are promising.
Twelve miles off the coast of Texas, an intricate arrangement of 76 million tons of man-made material rests on the ocean floor. Known as the Rio Grande Valley Reef (RGV Reef), the artificial reef spans 1,650 acres and is the largest such reef off the Texas Coast. It’s made up of half a dozen sunken vessels that range from 100-foot tugboats to decommissioned shrimp haulers, cinder blocks, and about 7 miles’ worth of used concrete railroad ties donated by BNSF railway, which operates one of the largest freight railroad networks in North America.
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