Underwater pendulums could calm waves and reduce coastal erosion

A system of upside-down pendulums tethered to the seafloor could significantly reduce the size of waves, helping limit beach erosion.

Waves that wear down beaches are often stopped with walls of rocks built parallel to the shore, but these large structures are intrusive and hard to adjust or move, and they can trap muddy water or disrupt marine habitats. Paolo Pezzutto at the Italian National Research Council, Institute of Marine Science and his colleagues built a prototype …