Manmade Islands,

from Dubai to the

Maldives
Today, astronauts orbiting the Earth can see a new manmade object
when flying high above the Persian Gulf: the Palm Islands of Dubai,
millions of tons of rock and sand amassed in the shape of a palm to
create hundreds of additional miles of coastline. Now home to an
eclectic mix of resorts and multimillion-dollar vacation villas in a
dizzying array of architectural styles, the Palm Islands are just a few
of the many manmade islands in Dubai and around the world.
Designer coastlines may be a modern phenomenon, and one that
concerns some environmentalists, but humanity has always been in
search of more space, and rising ocean levels may make artificial
islands increasingly attractive in the future.
A Brief History of Artificial
Islands
In many respects, modern artificial islands seem like science
fiction, but in reality, people throughout history have gone to
considerable effort to build on the water. Many ancient
civilizations reclaimed land from rivers and lakes, including the
Ancient Egyptians and the Aztecs, while others created stilted
structures, such as the Scottish and Irish crannogs. Others created
literal islands, such as the Lau people, who painstakingly built
artificial reef islands off the shores of the Solomon Islands.
In more recent centuries, manmade islands were constructed in
urban areas to facilitate industry and commerce. In the 1600s,
Dejima, a small, fan-shaped island in Nagasaki, Japan, was created
by digging a canal across a narrow peninsula. Ellis Island in New
York City was originally a tiny islet until the government
expanded it through land reclamation.
Today's artificial islands are created primarily to provide more
space in cities that have little to spare, such as the massive projects
undertaken to construct new airports in Hong Kong and Osaka,
Japan, but an increasing number of manmade islands are designed
to attract wealthy residents. Balboa Island in Orange County,
California, is just one of many reclaimed islands that are home to
luxury real estate, while tourist attractions like Singapore's Sentosa
Island or Tokyo's Dream Island see millions of visitors annually.
Construction
While humanity has only recently become extremely proficient at building things
taller and taller, people have been extending their territory into the sea for thousands
of years. However, land reclamation can be a piecemeal process undertaken by
generation after generation, whereas the creation of new islands in a matter of years is
something that has only been achieved relatively recently. The Palm Islands began as
a sketch made by Dubai's emir, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and in
only a few short years, The Palm Jumeirah was fully developed, thanks to innovative
engineering techniques and several million cubic meters of sand and rock reclaimed
from the ocean. Furthermore, one need look no further than the nearby World Islands,
a fanciful archipelago in the shape of a world map, to see that today's technology
allows for aesthetic and architectural feats beyond what was previously possible.
A variety of methods exist to create manmade islands. The Palm
Islands were constructed using a land reclamation technique called
"infilling," which basically involves piling up earth (in this case,
mostly sand) until it rises above the waves, though the finer details
require some clever engineering. Other projects, such as
Amsterdam's artificial archipelago, the IJburg, use the "pancake
method," which adds sand layer by layer to solidify in an
underwater mesh container until an island is formed. In many
cases, islands that will be exposed to the tides will include
artificial reefs to break the waves, a technique that also offers a
way to defray the environmental concerns with these projects.
Environmental Impact
All architectural wonders exist, in part, as a sign of humanity's
ability to shape nature, and artificial islands are no different. The
massive size of projects like the Palm Islands, however, merits
additional scrutiny. The project drew protests from groups like
Greenpeace, who expressed concern over possible damage to the
marine environment. However, before the project began, Dubai
had already instituted a variety of programs to monitor the health
of its coastline, including bathymetric surveys and sediment
sampling. The developer of the Palm Islands and the World
Islands, Nakheel PJSC, also sought out ways to improve its
"green" credentials, building artificial reefs and launching a variety
of sustainability initiatives.
The Future of Artificial
Islands
In addition to environmental challenges, manmade islands face all
the usual challenges of massive construction projects. In the case
of Dubai's islands, the financial collapse of 2008 eventually led to
the Palm Jumeirah being the only fully developed island out of
three planned projects. However, meeting these challenges may be
necessary to respond to a warming climate. The government of the
Maldives, a low-lying archipelago in the Indian Ocean, has
proposed building floating artificial islands, which can respond
dynamically to rising ocean levels. Other projects continue to
focus on the expansion of cities; a recently proposed project in
Monaco plans to add new luxury apartments and a marina harbor
in addition to providing a new area for the Grand Prix to traverse.