‘Secret’ island emerges from sea with its own ecosystem and it has experts concerned

A new island has emerged permanently in Venice with it's very own ecosystem - however, whether it'll survive is causing concern among experts.

While there's little to no chance you'll ever make it to see one of Dubai's 300 or so manmade islands, given the price tag that comes with them, a new island has become a permanent fixture near the Sant'Erasmo island on the Northern Venetian Lagoon.

Although, let's not all rush to book our flights too soon.

The Mose barrier

Construction of the Mose (MOdulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) flood barrier system in Venice, Italy, began in 2003 and is set to be fully complete in 2025, however, in 2020 the system successfully protected the city for the first time.

Its website explains: "The Mose system is located at the inlets of Lido, Malamocco and Chioggia, the three gates of the coastal cordon through which the tide spreads from the Adriatic sea into the Lagoon.

"To respond to the objective set by the Law for Venice 798/84, the complete defense of the entire lagoon from the high tides of any level, an integrated system of works has been developed that foresees the barriers of mobile gates, able to isolate the lagoon from the sea during the events of high tide, complementary works such as the cliffs outside the port mouths, designed to attenuate the levels of the most frequent tides and the rise of the banks and pavements, at least up to +110 cm, in the lowest in the lagoon dwellings.

"The integration of these interventions defines an extremely functional defense system that guarantees the quality of the water, the protection of the morphology and the landscape, the maintenance of the port activity."

And the system has since led to a new island emerging from the lagoon - named Bacan.

The Mose system helps protect Venice from flooding (VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)

Pros of the new island

Previously arising as a seasonal sandbank, Bacan is now a permanent island in Venice and it has its own ecosystem too. However, the emergence of the island has left experts divided.

One of the engineers who worked on the Mose flood barrier, Giovanni Cecconi, told The Times the island has seen an eruption of rushes, flowers, samphire and thickets, with friends visiting Bacan and returning with kilos of razor clams too.

He explained: "The barrier … accelerates the flow of water into the lagoon when it is open, meaning more sand comes in, helping sustain Bacan. [...] And by raising the barrier in winter to stop high waters, the island is protected from the surges that used to erode it.

"It is a new ecosystem and shows that the lagoon can evolve in a positive way in parallel with human intervention."

However, not all experts are enthused.

Bacan island has become a permanent fixture but will its ecosystem survive for long? (Marco Secchi/Getty Images)

Concerns

Padua University hydrologist Andrea D’Alpaos has concerns about how long the lagoon's ecosystem will continue to thrive because a whopping '70 percent' of the growth of the marshes is 'dependent' on storm surges - surges which see a flow of silt (mix of sand and clay) come into the lagoon.

However, when storm surges occur, in order to protect Venice, the Mose system is raised and subsequently the use of the system could prevent silt from coming into the lagoon and to the island and

Oh and D'Alpaos is worried the island could lead to an influx in tourists, 'ice-cream kiosks and luxury hotels' - so let's not be those stereotypical classic Brits and Americans abroad and spoil an unspoilt area too soon, eh?

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