Floating Island - Artificial Islands

Artificial Islands

Floating artificial islands are generally made of bundled reeds, and the best known examples are those of the Uros people of Lake Titicaca, Peru, who build their villages upon what are in effect huge rafts of bundled totora reeds. The Uros originally created their islands to prevent attacks by their more aggressive neighbours, the Incas and Collas. The Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was surrounded with chinampas, small artificial islands used for agriculture known as "floating gardens" (though not really floating). Spiral Island was a more modern one-person effort to build an artificial floating island, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico.

The British wartime Project Habakkuk proposed the construction of aircraft carriers made of ice-like Pykrete. Its size and speed made it more of an artificial iceberg or island than a ship.

Commercial development of floating islands has begun taking place. A commercially-produced floating island was installed in the river otter enclosure at Zoo Montana in 2007. In 2009 and the beginning of 2010, a few larger islands were launched to provide nesting habitat for Caspian Tern colonies. The largest of the islands, at a record-setting 44,000 sq ft (4,100 m2), was launched into the water at Sheepy Lake. These islands are a collaboration between the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Oregon State University, and Floating Islands West, a Floating Island International license holder.

A floating island product called Aqua BiofilterTM developed by Tom Duncan has been installed by a variety of organisations around the world including the Sydney Olympic Park Authority providing nesting sites for local and migratory birds including Black Swans, Black-winged Stilts, Red-necked Avocets, Pacific Black Ducks and Chestnut Teal. Tom has been involved designing and installing floating islands and floating reedbeds in China and Australia since 2004 for purposes including habitat provision, water quality improvement and treatment, wave dampening action to reduce erosion in ponds, lakes and wetlands.

A recent Army Corp of Engineering project, was built in the Hideout in Pennsylvania, as part of a watershed management project. They anticipate that the floating island will mimic nature and help improve water quality and buffer habitants against surges in nutrients and pollution. They also expect it to help reduce phosphorus levels.

A company called Floating Islands International licenses technology for creating floating islands to a variety of organizations.

Floating Island Environmental Solutions, a company based out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, creates floating islands constructed from matrix sheets, derived from non-woven 100% recycled PET plastic which mimic naturally occurring wetlands.

BlueWing Environmental Solutions & Technologies, llc based in Baltimore, Maryland is a floating island distributor working on advanced solutions that integrate standard floating island technology with other greentech and cleantech solutions.