(& Gilbert) Islands
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Planning an Expedition to the Marshall (& Gilbert) Islands PCC 586A Winter Qtr. 2008 Toward a Prioritized List of Targets Tracking the ITCZ Through Time Best Options thus far based on location (annual rainfall) & lake/lagoon Arno at 7°N fills an important gap: Lake/Swamp? Arno Lake/Swamp - images-2 Winter ‘08 PCC Seminar: “Planning an Expedition to the Marshall Islands” Prof. Julian Sachs, OCEAN 586A, 2 Credits • We will plan an expedition to core lakes, bogs & lagoons in the Marshall Islands for the purpose of reconstructing hydrologic changes during the last 2,000 years, including ENSO & ITCZ. • Questions & Objectives: – What are the best locations to core so that we sample the full range of climate? – Identify suitable lakes, bogs &/or lagoons to core – Make local contacts to help facilitate the fieldwork – Identify & solve logistical hurdles getting our crew & gear around the islands – What permits are required? How to obtain? • 1+ students may be able to participate on the expedition (Spring or Summer 2009) • Enrollment limited to 12. One 2-hr mtg/wk. • 1st Meeting: Thurs. 1/10/08, 3:00 PM, OSB 425 Outline for Today • Introductions • Course overview & expectations • 20-min presentation (AGU 12/07 talk)-- context & motivation for the expedition & this course • Overview of the Marshall Islands & where the expedition planning stands now Introductions Course Organization & Expectations • Meet Thursdays 3-5 pm in OSB 425 ! Thursday Feb 21st is last meeting (due to Clipperton expedition) • Course website: http://courses.washington.edu/marshisl/index.shtml • Conduct web-based & literature research, plus correspondence, & report back to group each week --> 4 working groups ! Weekly report should be in Powerpoint for editing by others ! Weekly reports to be uploaded to course website, along w/ articles, maps, correspondence, etc. from each group • Each working group to write a final report with distilled findings ! Format to be an action plan ! Length based on nature of the findings, but w/ sufficient detail to move forward with expedition planning (ca. Summer ‘09) • 1+ particiapnts in seminar expected to go on expedition, pending fiunding ($1,000 already committed by QRC) Course Website http://courses.washington.edu/marshisl/index.shtml Working Groups 1. Climate & meteorology – Seasonal, annual & inter-annual T, rainfall – ENSO & monsoon impacts – Modern ITCZ range – Historical climate data & Paleo records 2. Northern RMI Targets 3. Southern RMI Targets 4. Logistics – Permits (what is needed, how to obtain) – Travel within RMI (flights--commercial & charter, airstrips, boat charters, vehicle rentals, etc.) – Local involvement (RMI gov’t., NGOs, schools, etc) – Outfitters, supply shops (e.g., wood, piping, tubing, tools, etc.) Motivation for this Work 20-Minute Talk from AGU Meeting in San Francisco Dec. 12, 2007 Motivation for this course & expedition Now we want to confirm that: 1. The ITCZ was SOUTH of its present location during the LIA (1400-1800 A.D.) 2. & NORTH of present location during MWP (800-1300 A.D.) Marshall Islands Palau Christmas & Washington Islands Galapagos Wallace, Mitchell & Lau: Legates/MSU Mean Annual Rainfall ‘79-’96, http://jisao.washington.edu/legates_msu/ Motivation for this course: 1. Combine our knowledge, creativity & resources to develop a plan to recover the best sediment cores from the most climatically important locations throughout the RMI in order to reconstruct the position of the ITCZ during the last 2,000 yr 2. Develop skills analyzing climate data, understanding paleoclimate proxies, reading & interpreting literature in geology, geography & climate, planning fieldwork in remote locations, etc. Overview of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) • Coring targets, contacts & logistics Map of Marshall Islands “Included are 29 coral atolls and 5 table reefs, flat coral islands with no lagoons, or at most small ponds of fresh or brackish water.” - Mueller-Dombois & Fosberg (1998) Vegetation of Tropical Pacific Islands, Springer, p. 297. http://www.majurochamber.net/RMI_Map.gif Climatic Zonation of RMI Marshall Islands Mueller-Dombois & Fosberg (1998) Vegetation of Tropical Pacific Islands, Springer, p. 312. Labeled relief map of the RMI http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Maps/ Marshall Islands Bathymetry Map http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/map-mf/mf2324/ Targets • Individual Islands & associated Lakes, Bogs or Lagoons Mejit Island (10°17’N 170°53’E) w/ Freshwater Lake MEJIT ISLAND SOLAR POWER SYSTEM Mejit Island. (New Year Island) Location 10°16.6725N 170°52.7847E Lagoon Area 0 sq miles = 0 sq km Land Area 0.72 sq miles = 460 Acres = 186 Hectares Population 416 (1999 census) No. of Homes 80 http://www.mecrmi.net/Mejit.htm Mejit is one of the few islands (rather than atolls) in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. With an estimated population of 400 people, the island is lush in pandanus, breadfruit and taro. It has a beautiful fresh water lake (rare in the Marshall Islands) with resident ducks. Famous for its pandanus leaf mats. -->Wikipedia Mejit Island, cont’d Mejit is a small and beautiful coral island of lush taro patches and an abundance of coconut, breadfruit and pandanus trees. It also has a small freshwater lake that makes for a lovely swim. Since Mejit doesn't have a protective lagoon, fishing and the unloading of boats can be perilous, especially in November and December when the winds kick up. California Beach on the northwest side of the island is tops for swimming and snorkelling. Best of all, and unlike the other Marshalls, Mejit has no poisonous fish. The island is also known for its pandanus-leaf mats, woven by the Mejit women, and for the quality of its schools. Mejit Island, cont’d Mejit [1373] Group: Ratak Chain Archipelago: Marshall Islands Country: Marshall Islands Region: Oceania 14 Lat: 10.32º N Long : 170.67º E Area: 1.8 sq. km Altitude: ? m Land < 5 m elevation: 1.8 sq. km Sea level rise risk: 9 Depth to nearest land: 4000 m Nearest island: 90 km group: 800 km Nearest continent: Australia Distance: 3800 km Isolation Index: 99 ISLAND TYPE: low coral island, central pond Natural Protection Indicator: 0 CLIMATE: tropical CATASTROPHIC THREATS: cyclones Threat Indicator: 1 ECOSYSTEMS: Number of Ecosystems - Terrestrial: 3 Marine: 2 Mangroves in channel from central pond to sea; fringing reef. Percent shoreline: Coral Reef: 99% Mangrove: 0% Species Richness Indicator - Terrestrial: 0 Marine: 2 HUMAN OCCUPATION: Inhabited, well cultivated Population: 329 (1980) Density: 182.8 persons/sq. km Growth Rate: 3.0%/yr Increasing rapidly Major Human Activities: coconuts and breadfruit Percent population in agr/mining/fishing: 80% Human Threat Indicator: 3 Gross Domestic Product: $ 811 per capita Economic Pressure Indicator: 0 DATA RELIABILITY: Data Rel. Indicator: 1 HUMAN IMPACT INDEX HI: 12 CONSERVATION IMPORTANCE INDEX CI-Terrestrial: 2 Low CI-Marine: 6 Moderate Last updated: 25/10/88 http://islands.unep.ch/ILL.htm#1373 Mejit Island, cont’d Lib Island Lake: Lib’s Pond From: "RMI Historic Preservation Office" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Lakes in the Marshall Islands Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 15:00:03 +1200 Dear Mr. Sachs, The RMIHPO team has done field surveys in most of the outer islands of the Marshalls. Mejit and Lib Islands both have ponds, I have to check about the one in Wotje. I am more knowledgeable about the one in Lib since I was involved in the survey. It the most unique physical feature on the island. It also possesses traditional significance. While swimming, we dredged large amounts of silt from the bottom, as well as numerous dead bivalves. I might be able to look at the other atoll surveys and find out if they have ponds and lakes, but almost all have lagoons. If you want more info on the Lib pond, I might be able to help you. Josepha Maddison Lib's pond Lib Island - Freshwater Pond Lib Island This island or table reef lies at 08" 19' N, 167" 25' E, south of Kwajalein. It has a large fresh-water pond in the eastern half, apparently containing some mangroves (Bruauiera ?) . No scientific information is available, but I examined the island briefly from the air in 1960. It is inhabited and partly planted to coconuts. However, there is considerable native forest remaining on the north side and around the pond. Tournefortia, Scaevola, Calo~hvllum, Pandanus, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Bruauiera, A ~ ~ O C ~ ~anDd U S Cocos, could be identified with some confidence from the air. This island would well repay a visit and careful study. I know of no collections of plants, birds, or other scientific specimens from Lib. -Fosberg (1990) Atoll Res. Bull. No. 330, pp. 84-85 ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN NO. 330 “A REVIEW OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS” BY F. RAYMOND FOSBERG ISSUED BY: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A. January 1990 Lib Island Pond - photo Arno Atoll: w/ an enclosed lagoon? http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/ArnoAtoll_ASTER_2002jul25.jpg Arno Atoll: General Info from Fosberg (1990) ARNO ATOLL Arno, lying at 07" 05' N, 171' 41' E, is a large, 21 miles long, 6-15 miles wide, irregularly crescent shaped atoll, with many (said to be 133) islets well-distributed around its reef, several of them, Ine, Ijen, and Rakaru quite elongate, occupying much of the southern reef. It contains approximately 5 square miles of land surface. The site of the 1950-1952 Pacific Science Board study, Arno is certainly the best studied of the Marshall Group, though perhaps more time has been devoted to Bikini and Eniwetak. Outstanding among the published results of the PSB study is the treatment of the vegetation by Hatheway (1953) . This multifacetted treatment should be consulted by all the members of the Biodiversity Project team. Here will be given some generalizations from Hatheway's work.