Floating islands protection for GoM?

Dutch engineers are developing floating islands, which may remedy the rise of some seas in the Netherlands, south Louisiana, and other low-lying areas. "As sea levels rise, places like New Orleans may need space where they can develop or put homes; and these islands may be an answer for that," said Olaf Waals, project developer for the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands. This month, Waals began testing a 26-foot-wide floating triangle-shaped model, which may stretch across three miles of sea. The first test is to determine how it "behaves in wind, waves and current," he said. "It did well because the island flexes with the waves, and it even follows the curve of the ocean." It is designed to withstand 50-foot waves. Hurricane-prone Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast, can see coastal waves higher than 50 feet. Waals thinks the floating island concept might work best in protected inlets and bays, such as Lake Pontchartrain. The floating islands may also be used at work sites in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) or for support structures in the shipping industry. (Source: NOLA.com 07/26/17)