The state of understanding of the effects of beach nourishment activities on coastal biogeochemical processes and conditions

Shore & Beach ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 46-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelos Hannides ◽  
Nicole Elko ◽  
Kenneth Humiston

Sandy beaches are sites of significant exchange of matter and energy between water and sediment. This rapid exchange is attributed to the high permeability of sandy deposits and is one of the key ingredients in understanding how a given beach will respond to a nourishment event as a habitat for many important organisms. The response is driven by fundamental abiotically and biotically mediated chemical reactions that are profoundly affected by the ability of chemicals to accumulate or to be flushed out of a sandy column in the beach substrate. So while attention has correctly been paid to the effects of nourishment projects on infaunal communities and the upper levels of the food web, the chemical reactions connecting physics and geology on the one hand and ecology on the other are treated as a black box. We synthesize existing findings on biogeochemical processes at source areas and renourished beaches before, during, and after nourishment activities, and identify gaps in knowledge. Among other processes, we highlight how the exposure of reduced sediment to an oxic water column can initially increase oxygen demand, fuel microbial primary productivity, and drive the mobilization of potentially harmful contaminants. Restoration of oxic conditions in surficial sands can proceed rapidly through rapid exchange between sand and the oxygenated water column under the influence of physical forces, such as waves and currents, and high sand permeability. Based on our findings, we recommend foci for research, outreach, and broader impacts in this field as well as discuss coastal management needs for policy makers, planners, contractors, and the public to encourage information sharing.

Author(s):  
William J. Kamphuis

Coastal Engineering was new in 1950/1960 and at first, it was all about solving urgent coastal problems. There were no recipes, no formulas, no models; nor was there much experience at that time. Inventiveness and ingenuity were the key design ingredients. Coastal Engineering is a broad subject that is concerned with the interaction between the water and the shore. This involves fluid motion, such as waves and currents and its interaction with a shore that can be anything from sandy beaches to marshlands to highly engineered shorelines, such as found in centers with dense populations. It involves complex hydraulics and fluid mechanics principles on the one hand and complex design criteria on the other hand. It also involves detailed knowledge of the environmental systems where the projects are located. Thus, one obvious need for Coastal Engineering analysis and design is individuals with broad knowledge, interests and background. Such individuals need access to and communication with colleagues in related technical and scientific areas. As a result, much of the early coastal engineering was done at universities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 449-452
Author(s):  
Alan MacLeod ◽  
Nicola Spence

COVID 19 has raised the profile of biosecurity. However, biosecurity is not only about protecting human life. This issue brings together mini-reviews examining recent developments and thinking around some of the tools, behaviours and concepts around biosecurity. They illustrate the multi-disciplinary nature of the subject, demonstrating the interface between research and policy. Biosecurity practices aim to prevent the spread of harmful organisms; recognising that 2020 is the International Year of Plant Health, several focus on plant biosecurity although invasive species and animal health concerns are also captured. The reviews show progress in developing early warning systems and that plant protection organisations are increasingly using tools that compare multiple pest threats to prioritise responses. The bespoke modelling of threats can inform risk management responses and synergies between meteorology and biosecurity provide opportunities for increased collaboration. There is scope to develop more generic models, increasing their accessibility to policy makers. Recent research can improve pest surveillance programs accounting for real-world constraints. Social science examining individual farmer behaviours has informed biosecurity policy; taking a broader socio-cultural approach to better understand farming networks has the potential to change behaviours in a new way. When encouraging public recreationists to adopt positive biosecurity behaviours communications must align with their values. Bringing together the human, animal, plant and environmental health sectors to address biosecurity risks in a common and systematic manner within the One Biosecurity concept can be achieved through multi-disciplinary working involving the life, physical and social sciences with the support of legislative bodies and the public.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (March 2018) ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A Okanlawon ◽  
O.O Odunjo ◽  
S.A Olaniyan

This study examined Residents’ evaluation of turning transport infrastructure (road) to spaces for holding social ceremonies in the indigenous residential zone of Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. Upon stratifying the city into the three identifiable zones, the core, otherwise known as the indigenous residential zone was isolated for study. Of the twenty (20) political wards in the two local government areas of the town, fifteen (15) wards that were located in the indigenous zone constituted the study area. Respondents were selected along one out of every three (33.3%) of the Trunk — C (local) roads being the one mostly used for the purpose in the study area. The respondents were the residents, commercial motorists, commercial motorcyclists, and celebrants. Six hundred and forty-two (642) copies of questionnaire were administered and harvested on the spot. The Mean Analysis generated from the respondents’ rating of twelve perceived hazards listed in the questionnaire were then used to determine respondents’ most highly rated perceived consequences of the practice. These were noisy environment, Blockage of drainage by waste, and Endangering the life of the sick on the way to hospital; the most highly rated reasons why the practice came into being; and level of acceptability of the practice which was found to be very unacceptable in the study area. Policy makers should therefore focus their attention on strict enforcement of the law prohibiting the practice in order to ensure more cordial relationship among the citizenry, seeing citizens’ unacceptability of the practice in the study area.


1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Vaux ◽  
M. P. S. F. Gomes ◽  
R. J. Grieve ◽  
S. W. Woolgar

This paper addresses differences in the way that the problems of small UK firms are construed by policy makers on the one hand, and by the executives of small companies on the other. The authors employ a discursively-based analysis of interviews carried out with managers of small manufacturing companies in the West London area. They suggest that SME executives construe their attitudes to advanced technology and innovation within the terms of some clear, but implicit management values which tend to lead to the perception of innovation as a risk to be managed, rather than an opportunity to be exploited. It is suggested this has significant implications for attempts to change small company culture.


2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Legendre ◽  
Richard B Rivkin ◽  
Nianzhi Jiao

Abstract This “Food for Thought” article examines the potential uses of several novel scientific and technological developments, which are currently available or being developed, to significantly advance or supplement existing experimental approaches to study water-column biogeochemical processes (WCB-processes). After examining the complementary roles of observation, experiments and numerical models to study WCB-processes, we focus on the main experimental approaches of free-water in situ experiments, and at-sea and on-land meso- and macrocosms. We identify some of the incompletely resolved aspects of marine WCB-processes, and explore advanced experimental approaches that could be used to reduce their uncertainties. We examine three such approaches: free-water experiments of lengthened duration using bioArgo floats and gliders, at-sea mesocosms deployed several 100s m below the sea-surface using new biogeochemical sensors, and 50 m-tall on-land macrocosms. These approaches could lead to significant progress in concepts related to marine WCB-processes.


1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (12) ◽  
pp. 2595-2602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita M. Payne ◽  
M. A. Maun

Cakile edentula (Bigel) Hook var. lacustris occurs abundantly along sandy beaches of Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario. Until now the species had not been reported to occur along Georgian Bay but we located one population at Deanlea Beach. The deciduous upper fruit segments disperse long distances by water waves and currents and short distances by rolling caused by strong winds. The lower fruit segments usually remain attached to the parents which may be uprooted by high waves and then transported as tumble weeds to new locations. The floatation experiment showed that the agitation of jars containing the fruits improved their floating ability. Agitated upper fruit segments showed a significantly lower sinking index than agitated lower fruit segments and upper and lower fruit segments in the still treatment. The overwintering of fruits improved their floating ability.


2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 1593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda Radke ◽  
Tony Nicholas ◽  
Peter A. Thompson ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
Eric Raes ◽  
...  

Surficial marine sediments are an important source of nutrients for productivity and biodiversity, yet the biogeochemistry of these sediments is poorly known in Australia. Seabed samples were collected at >350 locations in Australia’s western, northern and eastern continental margins during Federal Government surveys (2007–14). Parameters analysed included measures of organic matter (OM) source (δ13C, δ15N and C:N ratios), concentration (percentage total organic carbon,%TOC, and surface area-normalised TOC, OC:SA) and bioavailability (chlorin indices, total reactive chlorins, total oxygen uptake, total sediment metabolism (TSM), sediment oxygen demand (SOD) and SOD and TSM normalised against TOC). The aim of the present study was to summarise these biogeochemical ‘baseline’ data and make contextualised inferences about processes that govern the observed concentrations. The OM was primarily from marine sources and the OC:SA broadly reflected water column productivity (based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, MODIS). Approximately 40% of sediments were organic poor by global standards, reflecting seawater oligotrophy; ~12% were organic rich due to benthic production, high water column productivity and pockmark formation. OM freshness varied due to pigment degradation in water columns and dilution with refractory OM in reworked sediments. δ15N values confirmed the importance of N2 fixation to Timor Sea productivity, and point to recycling of fixed nitrogen within food chains in Western Australia.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Bersinger ◽  
Isabelle Le Hécho ◽  
Gilles Bareille ◽  
Thierry Pigot ◽  
Alexandre Lecomte

Continuous monitoring of the sanitation network of the urban catchment of Pau (southwest France) has been performed since March 2012 using rain gauges, flowmeters, as well as turbidity and conductivity probes. Good correlations were obtained between turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) on the one hand, and conductivity and total nitrogen on the other hand. This allowed an instantaneous and continuous estimation of pollutant concentrations and fluxes since that date. In the present paper we focused on the results of October 2012, which was characterized by alternating periods of dry and rainy events. Turbidity and conductivity raw data show different trends during the study period depending on the parameter and the rain events. A turbidity peak is observed at the beginning of each rain event but its amplitude varies with the intensity of the rain and the length of the preceding dry weather period. Conversely, conductivity decrease during each rain event implying, that rain water acts as a dilution factor. The behaviour of COD and total nitrogen differ markedly due to their partitioning between the dissolved (total nitrogen) and particulate phases (COD). Daily pollutant fluxes allow a global comprehension and monitoring of the sewer system. Important COD fluxes during a rain event preceded by a long dry weather period highlight the importance of erosion of sedimentary deposits in the sewerage network. During these events, important fluxes are discharged into receiving water leading to the question of the impact on aquatic life. Generally, these results highlight the potential of online monitoring to better understand the behaviour of the sewer network on long or short time scales. This could be a useful tool to manage wastewater treatment.


Author(s):  
Johnathan Daniel Maxey ◽  
Neil David Hartstein ◽  
Dorathy Penjinus ◽  
Alan Kerroux

Stratified estuaries are home to expanding aquaculture activities whose ecological footprints can be observed through trends in microbial community respiration in the water column. Bottle incubations are widely used to measure water column community respiration in marine and freshwater ecosystems by measuring the flux of dissolved oxygen occurring in the bottle over a period of time. When in situ dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations are markedly different than DO concentration of the incubation medium the potential for diffusion of oxygen across the bottle opening is great and may be especially pronounced in strongly stratified systems with relatively low rates of pelagic oxygen consumption. We incubated 60 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) bottles filled with sterilized water with DO concentrations ranging from 2.51 mg O2 L-1 to 10.03 mg O2 L-1 for 24 hours in a temperature controlled water bath. There was a significant relationship when DO flux was set as a function of initial DO (DO Flux = -0.0017x + 0.0085, r2 = 0.72, p < 2.2 e-16). DO fluxes ranged from -0.012 mg O2 L-1 hour-1 to 0.005 mg O2 L-1 hour-1 for bottles incubated with initial DO ranging from 10.03 mg O2 L-1 to 3.31 mg O2 L-1, respectively. These results suggest that diffusion across the ground glass seal of BOD bottles is possible and that extra precaution through parallel diffusion controls should be considered when measuring pelagic respiration using BOD bottle incubations in systems with relatively low or relatively high in situ DO concentrations.


Author(s):  
Maria Ulfah

Community service order is one of the alternative sanctions from short-term imprisonment and light fines as regulated in Article 65, Article 82, and Article 85 of the Draft of Indonesia Criminal Code on the September 2019 (RUU KUHP). Community service order is expected to be the one solution for the overcrowded state of Correctional Institutions in Indonesia due to the large number of articles with imprisonment. Community service order as a new criminal sanction in the future requires further arrangements that can support its implementation in the future and it is possible that several challenges arise in its implementation. The contents of further regulations related to community service order in this research are explored through general guidelines in the international law, namely the Tokyo Rules (UN General Assembly Resolution Number 45/110). This research uses qualitative research with normative juridical research methods in the form of analytical descriptive. The result of this study is twenty-two provisions in the Tokyo Rules can be used as a guide in determining the contents of further regulations related community service order. In addition, the factors can become challenges must be carefully considered by legal policy makers so that they are minimized in the implementation of community service order in the future. Pidana kerja sosial adalah salah satu sanksi alternatif dari pidana penjara jangka waktu pendek maupun sanksi pidana denda ringan yang diatur dalam Pasal 65, Pasal 82, dan Pasal 85 Rancangan Undang-Undang tentang Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana September 2019 (RUU KUHP). Pidana kerja sosial diharapkan menjadi salah satu solusi dari keadaan overcrowded Lembaga Pemasyarakatan di Indonesia akibat banyaknya pasal dengan sanksi pidana penjara. Pidana kerja sosial sebagai sanksi pidana baru di masa mendatang membutuhkan pengaturan lebih lanjut yang dapat mendukung implementasinya di masa mendatang dan dimungkinkan muncul beberapa tantangan dalam implementasinya. Isi dalam pengaturan lebih lanjut terkait pidana kerja sosial dalam penelitian ini dapat digali melalui pedoman umum dalam dunia internasional yakni Tokyo Rules (Resolusi Majelis Umum PBB Nomor 45/110). Penelitian ini menggunakan penelitian kualitatif dengan metode penelitian yuridis normatif berbentuk deksriptif analitis. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah adanya dua puluh dua ketentuan dalam Tokyo Rules yang dapat menjadi panduan dalam menentukan isi pengaturan lebih lanjut terkait pidana kerja sosial. Selain itu, faktor-faktor yang dapat menjadi tantangan harus dipikirkan secara matang oleh pembuat kebijakan hukum agar terminimalisir dalam pelaksanaan pidana kerja sosial di masa mendatang.


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