Tough but Flexible Giant Kelp’s “Holdfast(s)”

Giant kelp, a type of seaweed, lives firmly attached to the sea floor or rocky seabed by means of its large, root-like “holdfast(s).” As indicated by its name, the kelp can grow to giant sizes, over 50m in length. This giant kelp can also withstand fast currents without tearing and stay attached to the sea floor; the secret to this ability lies in the structure and flexibility of the kelp’s root-like “holdfast(s).” Part of the tip of the holdfasts is shaped like a suction cup, and is covered by many thin, branched rhizoids that serve as clamps, firmly anchoring the tip of the holdfast to rocks on the sea floor. In other words, the holdfasts function like a body of hands that firmly hold onto scaffolding, making them secure even in strong currents. Additionally, the rhizoids are extremely flexible, which allows the plant to twist and turn with the force of the current without tearing or losing its grip on the rocky bottom. As such, the giant kelp’s tough, flexible clamps allow it to withstand rough currents and avoid being pulled away.

Defense/Stability:: Adhesion、Tensile resistance

Other

Currently, BioPower Systems has developed and tested power production technology in Tasmania utilizing both tidal currents (bioSTREAMTM) and ocean waves (bioWAVETM). Both systems were developed in-house with the company. These bioWAVE™ and bioSTREAM™ ocean energy devices are firmly attached to the seabed even in fast, rough ocean currents by using a bioBase mooring system.

Power production devices by means of tidal currents (bioSTREAM TM) or ocean waves (bioWAVE TM).

The ability of kelp’s tough but flexible holdfasts can help develop new clamps that can secure buildings for long periods of time even in the event of strong winds, for underwater structures that are vulnerable to strong currents, or for securing unstable scaffolds. It is much easier to erect structures with a solid foundation. This can lead to the development of anchors that secure wind turbines, as well as install wave and tidal electricity generation devices and scientific observation devices to the seabed.

Query	Affected	Num. rows	Took (ms)	Actions
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `contents`	16	16	12	maybe slow
SELECT CHARACTER_SET_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLLATIONS WHERE COLLATION_NAME= 'utf8_general_ci';	1	1	1
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `users`	10	10	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `groups`	4	4	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `permissions`	5	5	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `groups_permissions`	3	3	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `groups_users`	3	3	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `contents_searches`	6	6	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `attachments`	11	11	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `attachments_revs`	13	13	10	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `contents_related_items`	5	5	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `related_items`	6	6	10	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `contents_related_items_revs`	8	8	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `contents_tags`	5	5	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `tags`	7	7	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `tag_groups`	6	6	6
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `contents_tags_revs`	7	7	2	maybe slow
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `contents_revs`	18	18	7	maybe slow
SELECT `Content`.`id`, `Content`.`user_id`, `Content`.`last_edit_user_id`, `Content`.`post_date`, `Content`.`post_date_year`, `Content`.`post_date_month`, `Content`.`post_date_day`, `Content`.`title`, `Content`.`title_en`, `Content`.`content`, `Content`.`plain_content`, `Content`.`page_view`, `Content`.`flag`, `Content`.`mod_count`, `Content`.`created`, `Content`.`modified` FROM `contents` AS `Content` WHERE `id` = 159 LIMIT 1	1	1	1
SELECT `Attachment`.`file_name`, `Attachment`.`dir`, `Attachment`.`model`, `Attachment`.`foreign_key` FROM `attachments` AS `Attachment` WHERE `file_name` <> 'default.jpg' AND `Attachment`.`foreign_key` = (159)	3	3	0
SELECT `ContentsRelatedItem`.`content`, `ContentsRelatedItem`.`related_item_id`, `ContentsRelatedItem`.`content_id` FROM `contents_related_items` AS `ContentsRelatedItem` WHERE `ContentsRelatedItem`.`content_id` = (159)	11	11	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 1	1	1	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 2	1	1	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 4	1	1	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 6	1	1	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 7	1	1	8	maybe slow
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 8	1	1	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 9	1	1	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 9	1	1	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 9	1	1	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 11	1	1	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `RelatedItem`.`id` = 12	1	1	0
SELECT `ContentsTag`.`id`, `ContentsTag`.`tag_group_id`, `ContentsTag`.`mod_count`, `ContentsTag`.`tag_id`, `ContentsTag`.`content_id` FROM `contents_tags` AS `ContentsTag` WHERE `ContentsTag`.`content_id` = (159)	3	3	0
SELECT `Tag`.`name`, `Tag`.`comment`, `Tag`.`tag_group_id` FROM `tags` AS `Tag` WHERE `Tag`.`id` = 64	1	1	0
SELECT `TagGroup`.`code`, `TagGroup`.`name` FROM `tag_groups` AS `TagGroup` WHERE `TagGroup`.`id` = 6	1	1	0
SELECT `Tag`.`name`, `Tag`.`comment`, `Tag`.`tag_group_id` FROM `tags` AS `Tag` WHERE `Tag`.`id` = 73	1	1	0
SELECT `TagGroup`.`code`, `TagGroup`.`name` FROM `tag_groups` AS `TagGroup` WHERE `TagGroup`.`id` = 6	1	1	0
SELECT `Tag`.`name`, `Tag`.`comment`, `Tag`.`tag_group_id` FROM `tags` AS `Tag` WHERE `Tag`.`id` = 175	1	1	0
SELECT `TagGroup`.`code`, `TagGroup`.`name` FROM `tag_groups` AS `TagGroup` WHERE `TagGroup`.`id` = 7	1	1	0
SELECT `RelatedItem`.`id`, `RelatedItem`.`code`, `RelatedItem`.`name`, `RelatedItem`.`created`, `RelatedItem`.`modified`, `RelatedItem`.`flag` FROM `related_items` AS `RelatedItem` WHERE `code` = 'function' LIMIT 1	1	1	0
SELECT `Content`.`id`, `Content`.`title`, `Content`.`title_en` FROM `contents` AS `Content` WHERE id = (NULL) ORDER BY `id` desc	0	0	0

Message	Memory use
Component intitailization	6.79 MB
Controller action start	6.83 MB
Controller render start	6.90 MB
View render complete	7.93 MB

Message	Time in ms	Graph
Core Processing (Derived)	496.01
Component initialization and startup	13.62
Controller action	50.62
Render Controller Action	75.00
» Rendering View	62.42
» » Rendering APP/views/contents/view.ctp	34.20
» » Rendering APP/views/layouts/default.ctp	25.30
» » » Rendering APP/views/elements/header.ctp	1.69
» » » Rendering APP/views/elements/content_sidebar.ctp	0.51
» » » Rendering APP/views/elements/footer.ctp	0.45

Tough but Flexible Giant Kelp’s “Holdfast(s)”

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Tough but Flexible Giant Kelp’s “Holdfast(s)”

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