4. June 2008 by admin.

6-14-05 WASHINGTON, D.C.

It’s a chemistry riddle that has stumped some of Minnesota’s top scientists: What’s eating away the steel structures on Duluth Twin Ports waterfront?

Steel in the docks, piers and bridges is eroding up to 10 times faster than scientists would have expected, and they do not know why. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., is seeking $300,000 for researchers to find answers.

The house approved the expense late last month and the Senate may do the same soon. If passed, Oberstar’s measure will find a study led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

A study of the mysterious erosion is critical so that underwater damage “can be contained and eradicated,” Oberstar said.

And additional $100,000 in state funding could be headed Duluth’s way, too, to address the issue. The Minnesota Senate included money for a corrosion study in its Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resource bill. Jim Sharrow, facilities manager for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said he was “absolutely delighted” by the prospect of federal and state help. “We’d really like to get to the bottom of this,” Sharrow said.

The likely culprit for the erosion: foreign chemicals in the water, such as dissolved oxygen or chlorides. That was the conclusion of a panel of experts who conducted preliminary research on the problem last September, said Al Klein, an area engineer with the Duluth branch of the Corps.

The panel said if the corrosion is not addressed soon, the steel structures may have to be replaced in five to ten years, costing more the $100 mission.

Sharrow said there are no plans to close any of the four bridges crossing the harbor, thought two have steel bases that are beginning to erode.

“The bridges certainly aren’t at risk of collapsing,” Sharrow said.

By Melissa Lee Tribune Washington Bureau Correspondent

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4. June 2008 by admin.

Associated Press

June 13, 2005 0613AP-RED-TIDE

BOSTON (AP) - An outbreak of toxic red tide algae that has shut down most shellfishing from Maine to Massachusetts also forced state officials to close federal waters, extending the affected area by thousands of square miles.

On Friday, the state Division of Marine Fisheries ordered Massachusetts crews to stop using federal shellfishing areas and asked federal officials to extend that ban to out-of state shellfishermen. The move extends the ban for state shellfishing crews from three miles from shore to 100 miles from shore.

Toxins produced by the algae contaminate shellfish like clams and mussels, making them unsafe for people and animals to eat. But it is not a risk to people who eat lobsters, scallops and finned fish.

The red tide extends from the Schoodic Peninsula in Maine to Massachusetts‘ Buzzards Bay. It is the worst red tide along the New England coast since 1972.

Maine and Massachusetts have declared states of emergency, seeking federal disaster relief for the shellfishing industry. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said the red tide is costing the shellfish industry about $3 million per week.

The algae that causes red tide has yearly growth surges. This year, strong easterly and northeasterly wind has blown in a particularly heavy algae population that has flourished in warmer coastal water.

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4. June 2008 by admin.

Global warming, pollution are key threats to fragile ecosystems

Associated Press

Nusa Dua, Indonesia- More than a quarter of the world’s coral reefs have been destroyed by pollution and global warming, experts said Monday (10-23-00), warning that unless urgent measures are taken, most of the remaining reefs could be dead in 20 yrs.

In some of the worst hit areas, such as the Maldives and Seychellles islands in the Indian Ocean, up to 909% of coral reefs have been killed in the past 2 years because of rising water temperatures.

Coral reefs play a crucial role as an anchor for many marine ecosystems, and their loss would place thousands of species of fish and other organisms at risk of extinction.

Addressing 1,500 delegates from 52 countries at the ninth International Coral Reef Symposium on the island of Bali, researchers warned that governments must work urgently to reverse global warming, cut pollution and crack down on overfishing.

“You have to go and look at the coral reefs now, as we are losing them,” said Clive Wilkinson, an Austrailian scientist. Wilkenson said that fisherman in some areas use dynamite or cyanide to catch fish, blowing the reefs apart or poisoning them. In other areas, governments pump untreated sewage and other waste directly into oceans. But the most serious and immediate threat to the reefs is global warming, which causes a damaging condition known as coral bleaching, This occurs when corals are stressed by high water temperatures and lose the symbiotic algae that provide them with color and nutrition.

Oceanographers say the El Nino weather pattern two years ago, which increased water temperatures by up to 6 degress, did enormous damage to coral reefs, some of which have been alive for millions of years.

Austrailian scientists Ove Hoegh-Guldberg said 26% have already been destroyed. In another 20 yrs, water temperatures are likely to rise to the point where corals will be sitting in a “hot soup” in which they are unable to survive, he said. Wilkenson said the loss of the reefs would not only be a major blow to the environment but also would threaten the livelihood of a half billion people around the world who rely on them for food and income.

The reefs bring an estimated $400 billion a year in fishing and tourism revenues. While many Western countries have started to seriously address the problem some governments in Asia have not.

Indonesian scientist Rili Djohani said many regional governments cut their conservation budgets by as much as 80% when the Asian financial crisis hit three years ago. Indonesia’s maritime affairs minister, Sarwono Kusmaatmajda, said half the nation’s coral reefs have died and the other half could soon follow suit. “We don’t have the resources to protect them”, he said.

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4. June 2008 by admin.

Uncle was also swept out, but made it back to shore

Associated Press

An Eagan man is missing after a giant wave swept him the Atlantic Ocean off Puerto Rico, relatives said.

Brad Beer, 29, and his uncle were standing on a rock over the water on a point just behind their house Wednesday night when the wave carried them out to sea, said Beer’s aunt, Diane McAfee, also of Eagan.

Larry McAfee, 46, Beer’s uncle, made it back to shore with only minor injuries. The men had gone out to dinner after work and had just come back to their house, on the north coast of the island near Manati, Diane McAfee said Saturday. They went out on the point, as they did almost every night, to talk and watch the ocean.

“There was no storm” she said, “just a sudden wall of water. They were looking at something else, turned and it was there.”

“My husband’s an experienced scuba diver and deep sea diver,” McAfee said. “He’s been doing it for years all over the world. Brad is a snorkeler.” Kerrie Beer, 27, Brad’s wife, added “If Larry had the thought the water was unstable they would’nt have been out there. They weren’t sightseeing.”

Larry McAfee told his wife that he was carried out ¼ to ½ mile. He told her he thinks it took him 45 minutes or more to get back, Diane McAfee said. He called 911 and the Coast Guard, which had been

Patrolling the area earlier, she said, and a boat was there within minutes. Kerrie Beer said Saturday afternoon that the Coast Guard has suspended the search; searchers had done what they could with surface craft, she said, but weather didn’t permit the use of divers.

Agent Lourdes Lopez of the Puerto Rican local patrol was quoted in some reports as saying that waves of such height are not unusual this time of year on the islands northern coast, but Kerrie Beer said the Coast Guard commander in charge of the search disagreed with that.

Diane McAfee described Brad Beer as “the best, the most honest, sincere person – a wonderful, supportive person. When you think about him, you smile. Of course, Larry is just devastated. It’s his nephew and his friend.” Larry McAfee is a computer consultant and has working on a project for the pharmaceutical company Merck & co. in Peurto Rico for several years, Diane McAfee said. “It always surprises you how wonderful people can be. My phone and (Kerries) have been ringing off the hook, We know when people call it’s because they want the best for you, but of course nobody knows what to say.”

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3. June 2008 by admin.

Welcome! This site is a compilation of all things aquatic, articles, personal commentary, opinions, who knows what you find here take a look around. Feel free to leave comments if you feel inclined.

This is an image i created digitally in  Paint Shop Pro 8. I wanted to do a lot more with it, but it havent figured out the complex layering pattern quite yet - I might have break down and do a tutorial soon if the suffering continues much longer….its like asking for directions - Last Resort.

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