Ground water-surface water interactions sensor technology, Savannah, Georgia, March 7-9, 2005: workshop proceedings

The Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT) held a Workshop on Sensor Technology for Assessing Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions in the Coastal Zone on March 7 to 9,2005 in Savannah, GA. The main goal of the workshop was to summarize the general parameters, which have been found to be useful in assessing groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) interactions in the coastal zone. The workshop participants (Appendix I) were specifically charged with identifying the types of sensor systems, if any, that have been used to obtain time-series data and to make known which parameters may be the most amenable to the development/application of sensor technology. The group consisted of researchers, industry representatives, and environmental managers. Four general recommendations were made: 1. Educate coastal managers and agencies on the importance of GW-SW interactions, keeping in mind that regulatory agencies are driven by a different set of rules than researchers: the focus is on understanding the significance of the problem and providing solutions. ACT could facilitate this process in two ways. First, given that the research literature on this subject is fairly diffuse, ACT could provide links from its web site to fact sheets or other literature. Second, ACT could organize a focused meeting for managers and/or agency groups. Encourage development of primary tools for quantifying flow. The most promising technology in this respect is flow meters designed for flux chambers, mainly because they should be simple to use and can be made relatively inexpensively. However, it should be kept in mind that they provide only point measurements and several would need to be deployed as a network in order to obtain reliable flow estimates. For evaluating system wide GW-SW interactions, tools that integrate the signal over large areas would be required. Suggestions include a user-friendly hydrogeologic models, keeping in mind that freshwater flow is not the entire story, or continuous radon monitors. Though the latter would be slightly more difficult to use in terms of background knowledge, such an instrument would be low power and easy to operate and maintain. ACT could facilitate this recommendation by identifying funding opportunities on its web site and/or performing evaluations of existing technologies that could be summarized on the web site. (pdf contains 18 pages)

Seabed Sensor Technology, Savannah, Georgia, February 1-3, 2006: workshop proceedings

Future coastal management practices require that a holistic, ecosystem management approach be adopted. Coastal ecosystems, however, present a variety of specific and unique challenges relative to open ocean systems. In particular, interactions with the seabed significantly influence the coastal ecosystem. Observing technologies must be developed and employed to incorporate seafloor interactions, processes and habitat diversity into research and management activities. An ACT Workshop on Seabed Sensor Technology was held February 1-3, 2006 in Savannah, Georgia, to summarize the current state of sensor technologies applicable to examining and monitoring the coastal seabed, including the near-bed benthic boundary layer and surface sediment layer. Workshop participants were specifically charged to identify current sensors in use, recommend improvements to these systems and to identify areas for future development and activities that would advance the use of sensor technology in the observation, monitoring and management of the coastal benthic environment. (pdf contains 23 pages)

Impact of technology on Indian fisheries

The large increase in world output from fisheries and its increased use as food by people all over the world have been the result of successful application of newer knowledge in fisheries technology. The paper deals with some of the important fields in which modern technology has influenced the course of events in the development of Indian fisheries.

Eyes on their fingertips: some aspects of the arts, science, technology and culture of the fisherfolk of Trivandrum, India

Eyes on Their Finger Tips deals with the traditional marine wisdom of a set of people and the rarest of rare experiences they have had at sea. Through these numerous chapters he takes us into the seas of the fishers. It is a voyage which we cannot make in reality. But through the heroic deeds of his father, the riddles of oldman Sebesti, the shark story of brother Kamalappan, and the rituals of his mother, we get a fascinating peep into the wisdom of the watery world of the small-scale fishers of Trivandrum, Kerala, India.