A floating plastic island in the San Francisco Bay may offer a new way to protect coasts from floods. It could even house people inside.

A floating plastic island in the San Francisco Bay could offer key insights in the fight against sea-level rise.The island provides a habitat for marine animals. As more creatures attach to the island, the structure could help calm ocean waves, thereby protecting coasts from flooding.The technology could eventually be used to build floating cities, but that reality is a long way off. Visit Businessinsider.com for more stories.

A tiny fiberglass island is bobbing up and down in the San Francisco Bay right now. 

From far away, it looks like a beluga whale poking through the water. Up close, it looks like a misshapen raft. In reality, it's a buoyant structure known as the "Float Lab," which is designed to foster a floating ecosystem.

The prototype was deployed in August by a team of designers at the California College of the Arts (CCA)'s Architectural Ecologies Lab. Their goal is to see if animals will attach to the island, thus expanding its size and creating a buffer against ocean currents. An entire network of islands, they predict, could help calm the bay's choppy waters and prevent future floods from ravaging the coast. 

If the structure holds up, it could even provide a model for floating cities — a design concept that's supported by the United Nations as a way to address rising sea levels. 

Take a look at how prototype is faring in the water.

Original author: Aria Bendix