Say hello to the latest addition to the Artecology family of biodiversity boosting interventions!
MudFlats™️ is our new vertically stacking intertidal soft sediment habitat system. Since 2018 we’ve been following the progress of our novel prototype Vertipool array, commissioned by the Environment Agency, installed on sheet pile in a tidal harbour setting in the South of England.
Findings from the Vertipool array in Littlehampton Harbour have led us to the design and build of our first bespoke MudFlats™️ prototype. We have extremely encouraging survey data which proves beyond doubt that it is possible to create new estuarine mud habitat in a vertical plane in much the same way as we already successfully reproduce rocky shore habitat on sea defences with our existing Vertipool system. An academic paper written by marine biologist Jessica Bone from Bournemouth University entitled ‘Estuarine Infauna Within Incidentally Retained Sediment in Artificial Rockpools’ lays out the ecological data and explains how these particular Vertipool units led to new soft sediment retro-fit habitat research and development by our team here at Artecology.
28 Tides Later
Photo shows MudFlats™️ Test Rig 14 days after deployment. Sedimentation already occurring.
CAD Image showing the size of our test rig sheet pile sections.
Artecology Director Nigel George said “We’re particularly excited about this new invention and what it will be able to do in terms of soft sediment habitat creation. Outcomes from our soft sediment filled Vertipools are extremely encouraging. Development of our MudFlats™️ system has been ongoing over the pandemic period and the brand new units designed to fit the various profiles of standard sheet piles used in harbours and ports have been on the virtual drawingboard for some time. We were blown away by the quality of species richness in the phase 1 mud filled Vertipool observations, and we expect our bespoke Mudflats™️ units to perform even better at their test site in the Medina Estuary here in the Isle of Wight World Biosphere Reserve.”