For more than a decade, decommissioned New York City subway cars have quietly been shipped out to the Atlantic Ocean where they’re dumped into the ocean as part of an environmental effort to build an artificial habitat for coral reefs. Photographer Stephen Mallon has documented the process.
Over the years Mallon has photographed four “drops” and two “load-ups” as part of a series called Next Stop Atlantic, which chronicles the trains as they’re stripped of toxic materials, loaded up, shipped and then deposited into the ocean — where the instantly recognizable cars eventually become a new home and breeding ground to coral, crustaceans and fish that have attached themselves to the hard surfaces.
It’s just one of many solutions researchers have come up with to protect coral. Many species are in decline due to rising ocean temperatures, disease and a spike in recreational and commercial fishing activities.
In December 2012, NOAA proposed listing 66 coral species on the Endangered Species Act in an effort to save a resource that generates approximately $1.1 billion and thousands of jobs worldwide.
The proposal made headlines at the time, while sparking a conversation about an important cause.
