Abstract
The natural coast continues to undergo changes, but structures such as seawalls now serve only one purpose, i. e. protection. In recent years, as ecofriendly structures are desirable, artificial rocky beaches are now projected as places of recreation where people can learn about shorelife. Unfortunately, in many cases, due to the lack of storing water in rocky beaches at low tide, the biota therein shows little diversity. Observation of a natural beach was conducted at Kominato in Chiba. Tide pools provide very valuable, habitats for seaweed and sea creature. They have the important function of not only storing water, but also providing micro-topographes in the pool such as cracks, crevices and pits. Accordingly, new artificial tide pool units have been developed, which fill up with seawater during the ebb tide to ensure suitable micro-topography for shorelife. An example of the design method of such a system is provided.
