Palm Islands
Space has been created between the crescent and the tree to build boardwalks that encircle the "fronds" of the "palm" and spell out an Arabic poem written by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
After a subsequent redesign that scrapped the poem boardwalks, construction on the island began in 2001 but was halted due to the Global financial crisis.
It was planned to consist of a series of zones with mixed-use including commercial, residential, resort, and amenity areas.
The artificial islands would be formed to resemble the most widely recognized symbol of Islam, the star and crescent.
The Universe was a planned artificial archipelago in the shape of the Sun, Moon, Milky Way and Solar System, to be built on the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Dubai is known for its sunny weather and beaches, but more than 72 km (45 miles) of coastline was needed to accommodate the goal of tripling the number of tourists to 15 million annually.
The solution was to construct a massive island shaped like a palm tree, which, upon completion in 2006, would add 56 km (35 miles) to the coastline.
The island is designed to be a city within itself, featuring shopping centers, restaurants, hotels, and residential properties.
Palm Jumeirah was built entirely from sand and rocks; no concrete or steel was used to build the island.
This was done following the order of the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who came up with the idea for Palm Islands and the design.
Expanded over a length of about 11.5 km, the base of these breakwaters and the island itself were constantly monitored during the construction process with the help of deep-sea divers.
The construction of the Palm Islands along the coast of Dubai has had a significant impact on the surrounding environment, resulting in changes to area wildlife (especially aquatic life), coastal erosion, alongshore sediment transport, and wave patterns.
The sediment decreased the amount of sunlight filtering down to the sea vegetation and injured the surrounding marine fauna.
Oyster beds have been covered in as much as two inches of sediment, while above the water, beaches are eroding with the disruption of natural currentsIn 2006, the World Wildlife Fund announced, "[The] UAE's human pressure on global ecosystems (its ecological footprint) [is] the highest in the world.
It also mentioned that the construction from the start-up to date had caused many visible ecological and environmental changes that threatened the future.
The rock walls constructed around the palm islands can result in different wave patterns along the coast of Dubai.
[19][failed verification] To properly manage their shorelines and effects, Dubai relies on its coastal monitoring program.
[citation needed] Additional data was collected with technological improvements, including remote video monitoring of Dubai beaches, sediment sampling and analysis, near-shore directional wave and current recordings, and intensive measurement exercises at selected locations using Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) equipment.
