(NewsNation) — A zap of electricity could be the cure for Earth’s ailing coastlines, new research from Northwestern University found.
The study, published in the journal Communications Earth and the Environment, observed how electrical currents affect the structure of marine sand.
The chemical reaction that occurs when electricity is introduced to sand saturated in seawater, the study says, almost instantly creates a natural cement.
“As the porous structure of sands progressively fills with newly formed electrodeposits, the porosity is reduced while particle contacts increase and are cohesively bonded,” the study reads. “As a result, the hydraulic conductivity of marine soils decreases whereas their shearing strength increases.”
Increased strength could be pivotal in bolstering the world’s coastlines against erosion, with researchers saying this natural cement can influence “the structural stability of coastal and offshore structures.”
“After being treated, the sand looks like a rock. It is still and solid, instead of granular and incohesive. The minerals themselves are much stronger than concrete, so the resulting sand could become as strong and solid as a sea wall,” Alessandro Rotta Loria, who led the study, told Northwestern Now.
The team found inspiration in sea creatures like clams and mussels, which use dissolved minerals in seawater to make their shells. Rather than a mollusk’s metabolic process, the researchers opted for something a little more shocking — and effective.
“My aim was to develop an approach capable of changing the status quo in coastal protection — one that didn’t require the construction of protection structures and could cement marine substrates without using actual cement,” Rotta Loria said.
Rotta Loria’s team plans to give their method a go at an actual beach in the future.