Collected Contributions of Invited Lecturers and Authors to the 10C/FAO/U N EP International Workshop on Marine Pollution in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Collected Contributions of Invited Lecturers and Authors to the 10C/FAO/U N EP International Workshop on Marine Pollution in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions .- -/ce,9e6L1 420■4 • 3/L•Ikrf: 7 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Workshop report no. 11 - Supplement/ IIBLIOTECik KACIONES HOS MEXICO Collected contributions of invited lecturers and authors to the 10C/FAO/U N EP International Workshop on Marine Pollution in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 13-17 December 1976 Unesco . Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Workshop report no.11 Supplement Collected contributions of invited lecturers and authors to the IOC/FAO/UNEP International Workshop on Marine Pollution in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, 13-17 December 1976. UNESCO 1977 SC-78/WS/1 Paris, January 1978 Original: English CONTENTS pails 1 INTRODUCTION INFORMATION PAPERS Preliminary review of problems of marine pollution in the Caribbean and adjacent 2-28 regions. by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. A review of river discharges in the Caribbean and adjacent regions by Jean-Marie Martin 29-46 and M. Meybeck. INVITED LECTURES Regional oceanography as it relates to present and future pollution problems -79 and living resources - Caribbean. by Donald K. Atwood. 47 Regional oceanography as it relates to present and future pollution problems 80-105 and living resources - Gulf of Mexico. by Ingvar Emilsson. Pollution research and monitoring for by Enrique Mandelli. 106-145 heavy metals. Pollution research and monitoring for hydrocarbons: present status of the studies of petroleum contamination in by Alfonso Vazquez 146-158 the Gulf of Mexico. Botello. Pollution research and monitoring for halogenated hydrocarbons and by Eugene Corcoran. 159-168 pesticides. Pollutant transfer and transport in by Gunnar Kullenberg. 169-205 the sea. Health aspects of coastal water 206-216 pollution. by Eric W. Mood. Political aspects of marine pollution and development of political awareness 217-235 of marine pollution problems. by Lennox Ballah. 236 AUTHORS' AND LECTURERS' ADDRESSES 1 INTRODUCTION The International Workshop on Marine Pollution in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions was held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, from 13 to 17 December 1976 under the sponsorship of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (through its Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission), and the United Nations Environment Programme. Eight invited lectures were given at the Workshop so as to provide a common framework for discussion amongst the participants, who were mainly, but not entirely, scientists actively studying marine pollution problems in the region. The marine science infrastructure in the Caribbean region is not yet strong and it was not possible to ensure the participation of marine pollution experts from all the countries of the region. In some cases technical people concerned indirectly with marine pollution, particularly fishery experts, were invited. The report of the Workshop (IOC Workshop report no.11) has been published separately and previously, in response to a request from the participants that it should be issued as soon as possible. At the same time, the participants wished to have the texts (or extended abstracts) of the eight lectures, as well as those of two information papers, also published. Since this would have delayed the publication of the report, the texts of the lectures and information papers have been published in the present supplement. All invited participants, including the lecturers, took part in the Workshop in their individual capacity as experts in marine pollution or related fields. In collecting these information papers and lectures in a supplement, some editorial changes have been made to provide a greater degree of uniformity of style and presentation, and to take account of the fact that they were prepared several months ago, before the Workshop, but are now being published after the Workshop. PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF PROBLEMS OF MARINE POLLUTION IN THE CARIBBEAN AND ADJACENT REGIONS This information paper was prepared by FAO. IOC/FAO marine pollution questionnaires answered by Member States were the main source of information for this paper. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction 2. Description of the Region and Some 5 Hydrographic Aspects 2.1 Introduction 5 2.2 Surface-water circulation 6 2.3 Sea-surface temperature: areas of upwelling 6 3. Sources and Effects of Pollution 7 3.1 Introduction 7 3,2 Mexico 8 3.3 United States 10 3.4 Colombia 16 3.5 Cuba 17 3.6 Jamaica 18 3.7 Trinidad and Tobago 19 3.8 Bahamas 19 3.9 Belize 20 3.10 Guatemala 20 3.11 Nicaragua 21 3.12 Panama 21 4. Summary 22 Table Figures 1. Introduction The International Co-ordination Group (ICG) for the Co-operative Investigations of the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CICAR) at its sixth session in Cartagena, Colombia, in 1973 noted the increasing concern about marine pollution matters in the CICAR area. The meeting therefore recommended that FAO and IOC immediately take the necessary steps to obtain from countries in the CICAR area the basic information needed to hold a workshop on marine pollution. A questionnaire on marine pollution in the Caribbean region was sent out by IOC in April 1974 to member countries of CICAR and by FAO to member countries of FAO not members of CICAR, and the Operations Co- ordinator of CICAR visited the CICAR member countries to obtain additional information on marine pollution in the region. At the seventh session of the ICG for CICAR (Mexico, April 1975), it was recognized that the response to the questionnaires, so far, was unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, the CICAR National Co-ordinators were of the opinion that there existed a distinct urgency regarding marine pollution problems in the CICAR area, and therefore recommended that the Workshop on marine pollution be convened in 1976. A Steering Committee was established to organize the "International Workshop on Marine Pollution in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions"; the Committee first met in Trinidad in October 1975. The Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) of FAO recognized at its first session in Trinidad (October 1975) the importance of this Workshop, and agreed that it should be a joint WECAFC/CICAR effort. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) agreed to co-sponsor and financially support the Workshop, and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago generously offered to host it. The present report is a preliminary one. Originally it was intended to prepare a more complete review of the state of marine pollution, as was done for the two international workshops on marine pollution that were organized by IOC, FAO and UNEP for the Mediterranean Sea (Monaco, September 1974) and East Asian Waters (Penang, Malaysia, April 1976). However, the scarcity of information on pollution problems in many countries of the region, which was reflected in the replies to the questionnaires, did not allow such an extensive review to be prepared in advance of the Workshop. This preliminary review therefore only provides some background information for the deliberations at the Workshop which will identify the main pollutants and the most urgent problems to be solved through regional co-operation. It is hoped that the experts who participated in the Workshop will complete as much as possible the information on the pollution problems in their respective countries so that a "Review on the State of Marine Pollution in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions" can be prepared at a later date to assist in any action to follow up the Workshop. 5 The information contained in this preliminary report was received from: (i) Replies to the questionnaire on marine pollution from the following CICAR and FAO member countries: Bahamas, Belize, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States. (ii) Papers presented at the FAO Technical Conference on Marine Pollution and its Effects on Living Resources and Fishing. Rome, 9-18 December 1970. (iii)United Nations and FAO publications; e.g., UN Statistical Year- book 1974, FAO Production Yearbook 1974. (iv) Papers presented by Colombian, Cuban and Mexican participants at various FAO/SIDA Training Courses on Marine Pollution concerning pollution problems in their respective countries. The present paper was prepared by Mr A. Wenblad, FAO Technical Secretary of the Workshop, and Dr G. Tomczak, FAO Fishery Resources and Environment Division (Chapter 1). 2. Description of the Region and Some Hydrographic Aspects 2.1 Introduction The area under consideration for the purpose of the Workshop encompasses the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and is bordered on the north, west and south by the American continent and on the east by the islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles. 6 2 The total area of this region is 4.31 x 10 km . As the mean water depth is 2,174 m.1 the total volume of the water masses in the region is 9.37 x 106 km- 3. The greatest water depth is found in the Cayman trench (6,895 m) to the west of Jamaica. The Caribbean Sea can be subdivided into various basins which are bordered by submarine sills. Thus, a sill of mostly less than 200 m between Jamaica and Honduras separates the Yucatan Basin in the north of the Caribbean Sea from the main part of this sea; several sills with depths of less than 3,000 m also divide this main body of the Caribbean Sea into three different basins: the Colombian Basin in the west, the Venezuelan Basin in the middle of the area, and the small Grenada Basin to the west of the Leeward and Windward Islands.
Recommended publications
  • Trade, War and Empire: British Merchants in Cuba, 1762-17961
    Nikolaus Böttcher Trade, War and Empire: British Merchants in Cuba, 1762-17961 In the late afternoon of 4 March 1762 the British war fleet left the port of Spithead near Portsmouth with the order to attack and conquer “the Havanah”, Spain’s main port in the Caribbean. The decision for the conquest was taken after the new Spanish King, Charles III, had signed the Bourbon family pact with France in the summer of 1761. George III declared war on Spain on 2 January of the following year. The initiative for the campaign against Havana had been promoted by the British Prime Minister William Pitt, the idea, however, was not new. During the “long eighteenth century” from the Glorious Revolution to the end of the Napoleonic era Great Britain was in war during 87 out of 127 years. Europe’s history stood under the sign of Britain’s aggres­ sion and determined struggle for hegemony. The main enemy was France, but Spain became her major ally, after the Bourbons had obtained the Spanish Crown in the War of the Spanish Succession. It was in this period, that America became an arena for the conflict between Spain, France and England for the political leadership in Europe and economic predominance in the colonial markets. In this conflict, Cuba played a decisive role due to its geographic location and commercial significance. To the Spaniards, the island was the “key of the Indies”, which served as the entry to their mainland colonies with their rich resources of precious metals and as the meeting-point for the Spanish homeward-bound fleet.
    [Show full text]
  • City of Port-Of-Spain Mass Egress Plan Executive Summary
    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction Port-of-Spain (POS), the Capital City of Trinidad and Tobago is located in the county of St. George. It has a residential population of 49,031 and a population density of 4,086. Moreover, it has an average transient population on any given day of 350,000 persons. The Port of Spain Corporation (POSC) is vulnerable to a number of natural, man-made and technological hazards. The list of natural hazards includes, but not limited to, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and landslides. Chiefly and most frequent among the natural hazards is flooding. When this event occurs, the result is excessive street flooding that inhibits the movement of individuals in and out of the City for approximately two-three hours, until flood waters subside. The intensity of the event is magnified by concurrent high tide. The purpose of the City of Port-of-Spain Mass Egress Plan is to address the safe and strategic movement of the mass number of people from places of danger in POS to areas deemed safe. This plan therefore endeavours to facilitate planned and unplanned egress of persons when severe flooding occurs in the City. Levels of Egress Fundamentally, the City of Port-of-Spain Mass Egress Plan establishes a three-tiered egress process: . Level 1 Egress is done using the regular operating mode of the resources of local government and non-government authorities. Level 2 Egress of the City overwhelms the capacity of the regular operating mode of the resources of local entities. At this level, the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) of the POSC will take control of the egress process through its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
    [Show full text]
  • Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua): Patterns of Human Rights Violations
    writenet is a network of researchers and writers on human rights, forced migration, ethnic and political conflict WRITENET writenet is the resource base of practical management (uk) independent analysis e-mail: [email protected] CENTRAL AMERICA (GUATEMALA, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, NICARAGUA): PATTERNS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS A Writenet Report by Beatriz Manz (University of California, Berkeley) commissioned by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Status Determination and Protection Information Section (DIPS) August 2008 Caveat: Writenet papers are prepared mainly on the basis of publicly available information, analysis and comment. All sources are cited. The papers are not, and do not purport to be, either exhaustive with regard to conditions in the country surveyed, or conclusive as to the merits of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. The views expressed in the paper are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Writenet or UNHCR. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms ................................................................................................... i Executive Summary ................................................................................ iii 1 Introduction........................................................................................1 1.1 Regional Historical Background ................................................................1 1.2 Regional Contemporary Background........................................................2 1.3 Contextualized Regional Gang Violence....................................................4
    [Show full text]
  • Central America and the Bitter Fruit of U.S. Policy by Bill Gentile
    CLALS WORKING PAPER SERIES | NO. 23 Central America and the Bitter Fruit of U.S. Policy by Bill Gentile OCTOBER 2019 Pullquote Bill Gentile in Nicaragua in the mid-1980s / Courtesy Bill Gentile Bill Gentile is a Senior Professorial Lecturer and Journalist in Residence at American University’s School of Communication. An independent journalist and documentary filmmaker whose career spans four decades, five continents, and nearly every facet of journalism and mass communication, he is the winner of two national Emmy Awards and was nominated for two others. He is a pioneer of “backpack video journalism” and the director, executive producer, and host of the documentary series FREELANCERS with Bill Gentile. He teaches Photojournalism, Foreign Correspondence, and Backpack Documentary. TheCenter for Latin American & Latino Studies (CLALS) at American University, established in January 2010, is a campus- wide initiative advancing and disseminating state-of-the-art research. The Center’s faculty affiliates and partners are at the forefront of efforts to understand economic development, democratic governance, cultural diversity and change, peace and diplomacy, health, education, and environmental well-being. CLALS generates high-quality, timely analysis on these and other issues in partnership with researchers and practitioners from AU and beyond. A previous version of this piece was published by the Daily Beast as a series, available here. Cover photo: Courtesy Bill Gentile 2 AU CENTER FOR LATIN AMERIcaN & LATINO STUDIES | CHAPTER TITLE HERE Contents
    [Show full text]
  • Snapshot of American in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Bermuda 01 Network
    Snapshot of American in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Bermuda 01 Network American flies more than 170 daily flights to 38 destinations in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Bermuda from seven U.S. hub airports, as well as from Boston (BOS) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Freeport, Bahamas (FPO) Year-round Seasonal Both Year-round: MIA Seasonal: CLT Marsh Harbour, Bahamas (MHH) Seasonal: CLT, MIA Bermuda (BDA) Year-round: JFK, PHL Eleuthera, Bahamas (ELH) Seasonal: CLT, MIA George Town/Exuma, Bahamas (GGT) Year-round: MIA Seasonal: CLT Santiago de Cuba (SCU) Year-round: MIA (Coming May 3, 2019) Providenciales, Turks & Caicos (PLS) Year-round: CLT, MIA Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (POP) Year-round: MIA Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI) Year-round: MIA Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ) Nassau, Bahamas (NAS) Year-round: MIA Year-round: CLT, MIA, ORD Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) Seasonal: DCA, DFW, LGA, PHL Year-round: BOS, CLT, DFW, MIA, ORD, PHL Seasonal: JFK Grand Cayman (GCM) Year-round: CLT, MIA San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) Year-round: CLT, MIA, ORD, PHL St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (STT) Year-round: CLT, MIA, SJU Seasonal: JFK, PHL St. Croix, US Virgin Islands (STX) Havana, Cuba (HAV) Year-round: MIA Year-round: CLT, MIA Seasonal: CLT Holguin, Cuba (HOG) St. Maarten (SXM) Year-round: MIA Year-round: CLT, MIA, PHL Varadero, Cuba (VRA) Seasonal: JFK Year-round: MIA Cap-Haïtien, Haiti (CAP) St. Kitts (SKB) Santa Clara, Cuba (SNU) Year-round: MIA Year-round: MIA Year-round: MIA Seasonal: CLT, JFK Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe (PTP) Camagey, Cuba (CMW) Seasonal: MIA Antigua (ANU) Year-round: MIA Year-round: MIA Fort-de-France, Martinique (FDF) Year-round: MIA St.
    [Show full text]
  • Surface Currents Near the Greater and Lesser Antilles
    SURFACE CURRENTS NEAR THE GREATER AND LESSER ANTILLES by C.P. DUNCAN rl, S.G. SCHLADOW1'1 and W.G. WILLIAMS SUMMARY The surface flow around the Greater and Lesser Antilles is shown to differ considerably from the widely accepted current system composed of the Caribbean Current and Antilles Current. The most prominent features deduced from dynamic topography are a flow from the north into the Caribbean near Puerto Rico and a permanent eastward-flowing counter-current in the Caribbean itself between Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Noticeably absent is the Antilles Current. A satellite-tracked buoy substantiates the slow southward flow into the Caribbean and the absence of the Antilles Current. INTRODUCTION Pilot Charts for the North Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea (Defense Mapping Agency, 1968) show westerly surface currents to the North and South of Puerto Rico. The Caribbean Current is presented as an uninterrupted flow which passes through the Caribbean Sea, Yucatan Straits, Gulf of Mexico, and Florida Straits to become the Gulf Stream. It is joined off the east coast of Florida by the Antilles Current which is shown as flowing westwards along the north coast of Puerto Rico and then north-westerly along the northern edge of the Bahamas (BOISVERT, 1967). These surface currents are depicted as extensions of the North Equatorial Current and the Guyana Current, and as forming part of the subtropical gyre. As might be expected in the absence of a western boundary, the flow is slow-moving, shallow and broad. This interpretation of the surface currents is also presented by WUST (1964) who employs the same set of ship’s drift observations as are used in the Pilot Charts.
    [Show full text]
  • Caribbean Current Variability and the Influence of the Amazon And
    ARTICLE IN PRESS Deep-Sea Research I 54 (2007) 1451–1473 www.elsevier.com/locate/dsri Caribbean current variability and the influence of the Amazon and Orinoco freshwater plumes L.M. Che´rubina,Ã, P.L. Richardsonb aRosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, FL 33149 Miami, USA bDepartment of Physical Oceanography, MS 29, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 360 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 0254, USA Received 5 February 2006; received in revised form 16 April 2007; accepted 24 April 2007 Available online 18 May 2007 Abstract The variability of the Caribbean Current is studied in terms of the influence on its dynamics of the freshwater inflow from the Orinoco and Amazon rivers. Sea-surface salinity maps of the eastern Caribbean and SeaWiFS color images show that a freshwater plume from the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers extends seasonally northwestward across the Caribbean basin, from August to November, 3–4 months after the peak of the seasonal rains in northeastern South America. The plume is sustained by two main inflows from the North Brazil Current and its current rings. The southern inflow enters the Caribbean Sea south of Grenada Island and becomes the main branch of the Caribbean Current in the southern Caribbean. The northern inflow (141N) passes northward around the Grenadine Islands and St. Vincent. As North Brazil Current rings stall and decay east of the Lesser Antilles, between 141N and 181N, they release freshwater into the northern part of the eastern Caribbean Sea merging with inflow from the North Equatorial Current. Velocity vectors derived from surface drifters in the eastern Caribbean indicate three westward flowing jets: (1) the southern and fastest at 111N; (2) the center and second fastest at 141N; (3) the northern and slowest at 171N.
    [Show full text]
  • A Tale of Twenty Cities a Tale of Twenty Cities
    NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES CHICAGO, ILLINOIS NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES DENVER, COLORADO NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES DETROIT, MICHIGAN NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES GUADALAJARA, MEXICO NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES HAVANA, CUBA (MARKED ON MAP AS LA HABANA) NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES HOUSTON, TEXAS NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES MANAGUA, NICARAGUA NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (IDENTIFIED ON MAP AS MEXICO) NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES MONTERREY, MEXICO NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES MONTREAL, QUEBEC NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES PHOENIX, ARIZONA NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES PUEBLA, MEXICO NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES SAINT DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA NORTH AMERICA A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES A TALE OF TWENTY CITIES ST.
    [Show full text]
  • Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Sint Maarten, 2013–2014
    SPECIAL ISSUE ON CHIKUNGUNYA IN THE REGION OF THE AMERICAS Pan American Journal Brief communication of Public Health Chikungunya virus outbreak in Sint Maarten, 2013–2014 Maria Henry,1 Lorraine Francis,2 Virginia Asin,1 Karen Polson-Edwards,2 and Babatunde Olowokure2 Suggested citation Henry M, Francis L, Asin V, Polson-Edwards K, Olowokure B. Chikungunya virus outbreak in Sint Maarten, 2013–2014. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2017;41:e61. ABSTRACT This report describes the outbreak of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Sint Maarten, a con- stituent country of Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the southern part of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, from 22 December 2013 (first reported case) through 5 December 2014. The outbreak was first reported by the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin in the northern part of the island—the first site in the Americas to report autochthonous transmission of CHIKV. By 5 December 2014, Sint Maarten had reported a total of 658 cases—an overall attack rate of 1.76%. Actual prevalence may have been higher, as some cases may have been misdiagnosed as dengue. Fever and arthralgia affected 71% and 69% of reported cases respectively. Of the 390 laboratory-confirmed cases, 61% were female and the majority were 20–59 years old (mean: 42; range: 4–92). The spread of CHIKV to Sint Maarten was inevitable given the ease of movement of people, and the vector, island-wide. Continuing their history of collaboration, the French and Dutch parts of the island coordinated efforts for prevention and control of the disease.
    [Show full text]
  • Development and Implementation of Sargassum Early Advisory System (SEAS)
    Development and implementation of Sargassum Early Advisory System (SEAS) By Robert K. Webster Ph.D. candidate, Marine Sciences Department [email protected] Dr. Tom Linton Professor, Marine Science Department [email protected] Texas A&M University at Galveston, P.O. Box 1675, Galveston, Texas 77553 ABSTRACT hardship, since their annual budgets have little or no room for The Texas Gulf Coast consists of 367 miles of coastline, unforeseen expenditures. To assist beach management efforts, primarily sandy beaches. The slight slope of these beaches scientists at Texas A&M University at Galveston have been creates many large expanses of beach where the public can investigating the use of satellite imagery to forecast Sargas- enjoy a variety of activities such as beach combing, surfing, sum landings along the Texas coastline. This Sargassum Early swimming, and surf fishing. Communities that manage these Advisory System (SEAS) is designed to give coastal managers areas rely heavily on tourism as a primary source of income. as much warning as possible, allowing them to adjust their Texas beach tourism generates approximately $7 billion per allocation of resources for the management of Sargassum year, according to the Texas General Land Office’s (TGLO) landings. SEAS model uses satellite imagery from Landsat website (http://www.glo.texas.gov). Public use of these beaches Data Continuity Mission (LANDSAT) satellites to track the can be severely restricted by the periodic mass landings of movement of Sargassum as it approaches each sector along the free-floating plant Sargassum, commonly referred to as the Texas Gulf Coast. During 2012, a total of 38 advisories seaweed.
    [Show full text]
  • Doug Wilson C/O NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, 410 Severn Avenue
    2.4 THE NOPP YEAR OF THE OCEAN DRIFTER PROGRAM Doug Wilson NOAA/AOML, Miami, FL organize themselves until they approach the 1. INTRODUCTION Yucatan Channel, where they form into a coherent northward flow known as the Yucatan Current. Beginning in March of 1998, over 150 WOCE Once through the Yucatan Channel, the flow type drifting buoys, drogued at 15 meters depth, were launched in the Gulf of Mexico and the becomes the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico Caribbean Sea and their approaches, providing in and then the Florida Current east of the excess of 30,000 drifter days of data to date. southeastern U.S. coast. The manner in which Buoys were provided by the U.S. National Ocean these warm western Atlantic and Caribbean currents organize into the powerful Florida Current / Partnership Program; launch co-ordination was provided by NOAA and academic research Gulf Stream system is not well understood. scientists interested in regional ocean circulation studies; and logistical and data processing support The Caribbean Sea is also the location of some was provided by the NOAA/AOML Global Drifter of the richest coastal and reef habitats in the tropical oceans. As the Caribbean Current flows and Data Assembly Centers. Buoys were launched with the cooperation of commercial ships, the westward on its way to the Yucatan Peninsula, it Colombian Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and passes through very productive zones of coastal research vessels working in the region. Drifter track upwelling (produced by the easterly winds) north of figures and data have been made available in real Venezuela and Colombia, fertile coastal "nurseries" and estuaries such as the Cienaga Grande de time via the WWW at www.IASlinks.org and www.drifters.doe.gov.
    [Show full text]
  • Drugs, Consumption, and Primitive Accumulation in Managua, Nicaragua
    1 Working Paper no.71 URBAN SEGREGATION FROM BELOW: DRUGS, CONSUMPTION, AND PRIMITIVE ACCUMULATION IN MANAGUA, NICARAGUA Dennis Rodgers Crisis States Research Centre October 2005 Copyright © Dennis Rodgers, 2005 Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in this Working Paper, the Crisis States Research Centre and LSE accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims or accuracy of information provided by contributors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher nor be issued to the public or circulated in any form other than that in which it is published. Requests for permission to reproduce this Working Paper, of any part thereof, should be sent to: The Editor, Crisis States Research Centre, DESTIN, LSE, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE. 1 Crisis States Research Centre Urban segregation from below: Drugs, Consumption, and Primitive Accumulation in Managua, Nicaragua Dennis Rodgers Crisis States Research Centre Introduction This paper explores the emergence of new forms of urban segregation in contemporary Managua, Nicaragua. Although the country has historically always been characterised by high levels of socio-economic inequality – with the notable exception of the Sandinista revolutionary period (1979-90), when disparities declined markedly – the past decade in particular has seen the development of new processes of exclusion and differentiation, especially in urban areas. In many ways, these are part of a broader regional trend; as several recent studies have noted, many other Latin American cities are undergoing similar mutations.
    [Show full text]