Environmental Assessment of Railway Wheels for Long-Term Moorings in the Juan de Fuca Ridge

Railway wheels have long been used as convenient and low-cost anchors, but while there are a number of advantages to their use, their impact on local marine environments has not yet been extensively examined. This study explores their potential impact on marine ecosystems, including substrate disturbance, habitat alteration, and effects on marine biodiversity. As well, the study analyzes available research on deep-sea corrosion mechanisms to investigate the leaching of metals from railway wheels as a result of marine corrosion in consideration of environmental regulations regarding marine protected areas (MPA) like the Tang. <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\underline{\mathrm{G}}\text{wan}-\text{ha}\check{\mathrm{c}}\mathrm{x}^{\mathrm{w}}\text{iqak}$</tex>-Tsigis MPA. By analysing existing research and presenting a comprehensive overview, as well as reviewing surveillance of current railway wheel anchors, this article aims to assess the feasibility of such anchoring methods in terms of long-term environmental sustainability and contribute to a better understanding of the environmental tradeoffs associated with the use of railway wheels as deep-sea anchors.