Ecobreves – BRAZIL:: Engineers Seek Better Waves for Surfing

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 20 2004 (IPS) - Increasing the height of ocean waves by 80 percent and improving their dynamic to benefit surfers is the goal of a project of the post-graduate engineering program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Oceanography engineer Enise Valentini, head of the project, is studying how to alter the coastal seabed to create a new surfing paradise at a Rio de Janeiro beach, where waves are too frequent and break too early for the taste of experienced surfers.

By creating an artificial floor, made of cement, stones or sandbags, the waves could be taller and longer, according to Valentini.

In addition to promoting surfing, this technology could also be used to benefit tourism, in coastal protection projects, or in creating propitious environments for certain marine species, she said.