Underwater pendulums could calm waves and reduce coastal erosion

A system of upside-down pendulums tethered to the seafloor greatly reduces wave size and helps limit coastal erosion.

Beach-scouring waves are often stopped by rock walls built parallel to the shore, but these large structures are intrusive, difficult to adjust and move, trap muddy water, and disrupt marine habitats. Paolo Pezutto and his colleagues at the Italian National Research Council, Institute of Marine Science, have built a prototype…