Engineers Seek to Save 150-year-old Lighthouse from Crumbling into Hudson River

The lighthouse was built in the river 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Manhattan to keep boats from running aground on mud flats. AP
The lighthouse was built in the river 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Manhattan to keep boats from running aground on mud flats. AP
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Engineers Seek to Save 150-year-old Lighthouse from Crumbling into Hudson River

The lighthouse was built in the river 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Manhattan to keep boats from running aground on mud flats. AP
The lighthouse was built in the river 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Manhattan to keep boats from running aground on mud flats. AP

Federal engineers will begin the process of preserving a functioning 150-year-old lighthouse that sits precariously on a mudflat in the middle of the Hudson River in New York, officials announced this week.
US Sen. Chuck Schumer and the Army Corps of Engineers said that $50,000 has been allocated to study how to protect the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, which began operating in 1874 and was this year placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of the country’s 11 most endangered historic places.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he believes the development is the next step to securing all the money needed to save the structure, which is only years away from starting to crumble into the river due to ongoing erosion, according to preliminary studies by a historic preservation group.
“This is a landmark, it’s sort of like the Statue of Liberty in a certain sense, of the Hudson River,” Schumer told The Associated Press by phone after announcing the new funding at a riverfront park in Athens, New York, which has a view of the lighthouse. “When people see the lighthouse and learn its history, they learn the history of the country."
The Corps of Engineers will now meet with the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society, which owns the building and maintains it as a museum, and agree on a plan to fix the property, Schumer said.
He said the millions of dollars needed to ultimately rebuild the small island and preserve it are “virtually certain” because it has been listed as a top priority for preservation.
The lighthouse was built in the river 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Manhattan to keep boats from running aground on mud flats between Athens, on the west side of the Hudson River, and the city of Hudson, on the east side. The lighthouse is still in use, though now with an automated LED beacon.
It sits on roughly 200 wood pilings packed in mud beneath the water. Turbulence from passing commercial ships is washing away that mud and exposing the pilings to river water, accelerating decay.
The society has proposed expanding the foundation the lighthouse is built on so that events can be held there and more visitors can walk on the island at once. It has been raising money to build a ring of corrugated steel designed to shield the structure from river turbulence.



KAUST: Unexpected Ecosystem Found Deep Below Red Sea Coral Reef

Located in Difat Farasan, also known as the Farasan Bank near the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the deep waters were found to be inhabited by corals, fish, and other marine life not typically expected to survive in environments with such low oxygen and high acidity. (SPA)
Located in Difat Farasan, also known as the Farasan Bank near the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the deep waters were found to be inhabited by corals, fish, and other marine life not typically expected to survive in environments with such low oxygen and high acidity. (SPA)
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KAUST: Unexpected Ecosystem Found Deep Below Red Sea Coral Reef

Located in Difat Farasan, also known as the Farasan Bank near the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the deep waters were found to be inhabited by corals, fish, and other marine life not typically expected to survive in environments with such low oxygen and high acidity. (SPA)
Located in Difat Farasan, also known as the Farasan Bank near the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the deep waters were found to be inhabited by corals, fish, and other marine life not typically expected to survive in environments with such low oxygen and high acidity. (SPA)

Scientists from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the National Center for Wildlife (NCW) have reported the discovery of an unusual ecosystem beneath the world’s third-largest coral reef system—and the largest in the Red Sea.

Located in Difat Farasan, also known as the Farasan Bank near the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the deep waters were found to be inhabited by corals, fish, and other marine life not typically expected to survive in environments with such low oxygen and high acidity.

According to a statement by KAUST, several of the species displayed unexpected coping strategies in the extreme conditions. Fish exhibited slower swimming patterns, and corals remained healthy despite environmental factors that would normally inhibit the calcification process essential for coral growth and survival.

KAUST Research Scientist Dr. Shannon Klein, who led the study, said: “The ability for these animals to live in warm, oxygen-depleted zones suggests they have an unusual ability to reduce how much oxygen they use to sustain life. This discovery highlights the need for greater marine exploration of deeper layers in tropical coastal areas, as they may hold unexpected ecosystems.”

“Although underwater, fish, corals, and many other sea creatures need oxygen to survive. While their bodies have evolved differently from land animals to metabolize oxygen, they too asphyxiate if oxygen levels drop dangerously low. However, in the Red Sea, there are resistant ecosystems,” Klein added.

“Considering that oxygen depletion in the sea is one consequence of rising temperatures, greater study of how these creatures exist there may help us understand how marine life can withstand the challenges of climate change. Coral reefs usually exist in shallow waters. But the study found depressions that went more than 200 meters deep throughout the Farasan Bank coral reef system,” she said.

CEO of the National Center for Wildlife and contributor to the study Dr. Mohammad Qurban stated: “This research highlights the significance of the Red Sea as a natural laboratory for studying marine resilience. Discovering ecosystems that thrive in extreme conditions expands our understanding of how marine life adapts and reinforces the need for continued exploration and conservation of these unique habitats.”