The mouth of the Raritan River provided some decent fishing for striped bass over the weekend while fishermen are still waiting on the main body of Raritan Bay to catch fire Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the bass turned on a bit at the mouth of the river last Thursday when anglers were catching them on rubber shads A few for-hire boats went back that way over the weekend and came back with keeper fish on the deck said fishermen found fish working around the bridges starting from the Driscoll and heading east The Prowler 5 party boat had a light crowd Saturday and was in that area boating a nice keeper bass The Fish Monger charter boat found a good bite there Sunday Jerry Postorino said the fish were particular to what they chased with the C&B rubber shads being the most often hit lure in the batch of tackle they tried On the Delaware River the shad migration is in full swing but Steve Meserve of Lewis Fishery said he's still waiting on the first big haul of the season at his point on the river in Lambertville Meserve was out Friday evening and the conditions looked favorable The river water temps had climbed to 56 degrees and he had little wind to interfere with maneuvering More: Trout season opens, kids contest at Spring Lake is on - rain or shine He was running 150 yards of net out but it got hung up. He said the top line, or cork line, got caught on itself and the net did not hang in the water right. They tried to pull it out as they were moving, but couldn't budge it. "We had to finish the haul and hope for the best. Otherwise, the haul looked good," Meserve said. The rain held up Saturday morning for the Shark River Surf Angler's Kid's Trout Contest on Spring Lake. Once again the lake banks and bridges was lined with young anglers and their parents. While plenty reeled in trout from the well-stocked lake, only one youth angler could take home the grand prize and that honor was won by 12-year-old Douglas Apsley, whose 7-pound, 4-ounce rainbow trout topped the field. The blackfish were chewing out on the wrecks and rock piles, though it was tough sledding for fishermen to hook the fish. The Dauntless party boat was out both days over the weekend. His fares had to shake off some dogfish, but he at least had a couple of anglers between the two days catch their four-fish limit of blackfish, or tog as some prefer to call them. When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him at dradel@gannettnj.com. Environmental Informatics and Remote Sensing Volume 11 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1181627 The river mouth shows the influence of the dynamics of sediment deposition and the processes organising the deposits as with other coastal systems in the Guianas are influenced by the deposition of mud banks from the Amazon River and other rivers This study analysed and probed the influence of the riverine and marine influences on small river mouth morphological developments the morphological dynamics of the system were carried out from satellite images through the comparison of the inter-annual morphodynamics of the river mouths complemented by data from hydrodynamic processes among others This study demonstrates that the recent advancement and availability of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) allow for the classification of migrating river mouth action and processes; effective monitoring of mudflats development and spit formation; and the exhibition of river mouth transitioning and infilling Sentinel-1 images of the Mahaica-Mahaicony river mouth in Guyana were processed and analysed using Google Earth Engine (GEE) and ArcGIS to observe the mud dynamics and its effects on deflecting the river mouth influencing the development of spit and mangrove dynamics The results of the analyses show that the dynamics of the mud shoal and river mouth are governed by feedback from various estuarine and hydrodynamic processes resulting from the interactions between the river and ocean The results have not only highlighted the importance of mud infilling and sediment build-up for spit development and river-mouth deflection but the impact of the sediment morphological dynamics on the ecosystem (mangrove) associated with the river mouth there is limited or no study of the dynamics at the mouth of small river systems This study is there not only aimed at highlighting the importance of mud infilling and sediment build-up at the mouth of large river systems as reported in other studies but to emphasise the dynamics of areas in front of small river systems for sediment accumulation and new landform development This study analysed and probed the influence of the riverine and marine influences on river mouth morphological developments This study documents the short-term morphological changes at the mouth of the Mahaica River system in response to smaller-scale (local) mud-bank dynamics as a significant contribution to the understanding of morphodynamics at the mouth of a small river system Understanding the short-term timescales of muddy movement (for accretion or erosion) and evaluating the pattern of sediment concentration and segregation in this muddy setting as it affects spit development and mangrove dynamics are the two primary objectives of this investigation Location of the study area (Inset: Map of Guyana showing the region and the map of the region showing the study site) Sentinel-1 images captured at lowest tide for each year for study sites (2015–2020) The spatial-temporal dynamics of the mudbank at the Mahaica River Mouth were achieved by utilising the Jupyter Notebook and the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform This analysis covered the period from 2015 to 2021 focusing on the estuary of the Mahaica River The Jupyter Notebook was used to plot the tide data to visually interpret the lowest tide for each year which coincide with the available Sentinel-1 dataset the tide data for each month of the year was downloaded and displayed on an Excel spreadsheet before being saved as a CSV file The results were then plotted on a scattered chart displaying the available Sentinel-1 dataset for each month The available datasets for each month were then compared against each other to determine which datasets were captured at the lowest tide and were then chosen for further analyses in GEE The ee.ImageCollection function was used to import the images for the years being studied These images were then filtered by area of interest and by the date that recorded the lowest tide for every year They were further filtered to get the vertical transmit vertical receive (VV) and horizontal transmit vertical receive (VH) dual polarization and look angle (ascending or descending) which is the orbit flight path of the satellite Two classes were defined and merged to run the model; those classes are non-mudflat and mudflat then included in the model and applied to the image the samples were assembled for the model and trained using the ee.Classifier.smileCart function The classification was then applied to the Sentinel 1 composite and clipped to the area of interest so a mask was created to mask out unconnected pixels This created an image that shows the number of pixels each pixel is connected to then filter out all pixels connected to 4 or fewer The results were then used to update the classification and add them to the map for visual interpretation The mudflats that were displayed as a result of the classification for the years were exported for further analysis The exported mudflats for each year were uploaded into ArcMap 10.5 and these were analysed to show how the mudflat eroded and accreted over time To investigate the land cover changes in the study area from 2015 to 2021 This dataset contained all the available Sentinel-1 images for the area of interest within the study period The study period was further broken down into minor periods which begin from January 1st to December 31st of each year and the function (.filterMetadata) was used to give each year’s dataset a cloud coverage assessment of less than 25% The combination of the colour infrared bands is intended to highlight both healthy and sick vegetation It is particularly effective at reflecting chlorophyll because it uses the near-infrared (B8) band The composite image was then further filtered using the function (.filterMetadata) via the Military Grid Reference System tile (MGRS_tile) Then the function (.limit) was used to return the limited collection which is sorted by “system:time_start” and set to false (descending order) Visual parameters were then applied to the filtered image This process was carried out in Google Earth Engine (GEE) Google Earth Pro image and depiction of the idealized spit development and destruction at Mahaica river mouth on a contemporary time scale Starting from (A) October 2014 when there was no indication of the development Mud-bank dynamics in the vicinity of Mahaica River 2015–2016 (A) and 2016–2017 (B) 2017–2018 (A) and 2018–2019 (B) 2019–2020 (A) and 2020–2021 (B) Estimation of the extent of mudbank deposit at the mouth of river Mahaica per year The extent of changes in mudbank deposits per year The significant wave height at the mouth of Mahaica River is ∼0.25 m with mean wave height at 0.4 m and all are from the Northeasterly at ∼80% FIGURE 8. Wave roses showing the frequency of wind direction (A) and significant wave height (B) at the mouth of Mahaica River. (Source from AP MER https://www.seastates.net/explore-data/) Tidal height at the mouth of River Mahaica This section of this study examines how the mangroves in the vicinity of the study area have responded to the yearly mud-bank dynamics Mangrove dynamics in the vicinity of Mahaica River 2018 and 2019 (D) and 2019 and 2020 (E) respectively as vital factors for consideration in understanding the different and annual dynamic responses presented by this unique ecosystem The results of the analyses show that the dynamics of the mud shoal and river mouth are governed by feedback from various estuarine and hydrodynamic processes resulting from the interactions between rivers and seas The results of this study have not only highlighted the importance of mud infilling and sediment build-up for spit development and river-mouth deflection but the influence and morphological dynamics of the sediment (principally mud at the study site) also impact spit development at the river mouth in addition to influencing the marine ecosystem processes especially mangrove dynamics at the study site This study which analysed and probed the spatial and temporal structure of the river mouth forms and the mangrove coverage utilised the change detection technique in Google Earth Engine (GEE) on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images which allowed for the identification of sediment and mud deposit changes and mangrove forest cover changes of the study area during the short-term period considered Although there are widely established findings in the literature that indicate the influence of large rivers in modifying the river mouth morphology and dynamics the findings reported here have shown that the mouth of a small river system also impacts river mouth morphology significantly by the sediment deposited and also by the metocean factors that contribute in the deflection alongshore of deposited sediments (mud) for spit development and mangrove dynamics The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author writing—reviewing and editing; NEDD All authors listed have made a substantial and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication We appreciate United Nations Development Programme –Indonesia and Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum for the 2021 Archipelagic and Island States Innovation Challenges Award given for ideas in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation project which led to the concept and study presented in this paper The authors would like to fully acknowledge that this study is part of a larger project entitled Guyana Catchment Coastal Observatory which has received financial support through the Greater Guyana Initiative a joint funding venture between ExxonMobil Hess Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Corporation The authors also want to acknowledge through the Office of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana the secretariat support for the Greater Guyana Initiative provided by the Philanthropy Alumni and Civic Engagement Office of the University of Guyana TDTO also appreciates and acknowledges the 2022 Association of Commonwealth Climate Resilience Challenge Grants awarded in support of his ongoing research on data integration and analysis for the monitoring of coastal dynamics The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher A coupled model for sediment transport dynamics and prediction of seabed morphology with application to 1DH/2DH coastal engineering problems CrossRef Full Text | 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Temitope D. Timothy Oyedotun, dGVtaXRvcGUub3llZG90dW5AdW9nLmVkdS5neQ== Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish please have patience while we stay live during this process Terms of Service Privacy Policy Subscribe to our mailing list to get a weekly local news recap in your Inbox We use cookies to provide you with a great experience and to help our website run effectively Photo contributed from the U.S Forest Service The Forest Service is proposing a new site development in efforts of enhancing recreation opportunities at Klickitat Mile One (Klickitat County Park) and launch site for hand-carried boats could start as early as May 2020 The proposal is addressing existing impacts to water quality and vegetation in the lower Klickitat National Wild and Scenic River Corridor The Klickitat Trout Unlimited (TU) Chapter has developed a long-term goal for site management and restoration aiding the Forest Service in the new site development.   Bank erosion where boats have been pulled down at the already existing Mile One site. Phto contributed from The Klickitat Trout Unlimited Chapter. Klickitat Mile One has been a desirable area for river access among visitors The Klickitat TU reports “the unmanaged recreational use at Klickitat Mile One has resulted in damage to and removal of: natural vegetation; visible surface and streambank erosion; and improper disposal of garbage and human waste.”  which has left people making their own roads and parking spaces causing damage to the vegetation The existing site also lacks a designated boat launch and river access trails This has resulted in the creation of numerous user-created trails and gullies that are eroding and contributing sediment into the Klickitat River There are no restrooms available for day use and overnight visitors causing sanitation issues Some are defecating and urinating at the site and leaving behind sanitation and toilet product waste.  have expressed concerns about sanitation and visitor safety at the site,” The Klickitat TU reports.  These conditions have raised concern for the Klickitat TU and have helped to shape their development plan for a site management strategy that will combat the main listed issues.  The Klickitat TU released a statement on their management plan proposal “there is a need to develop a site management plan that will protect and enhance natural and scenic resources at the site while providing for safe access to and enjoyment of recreational opportunities.”  The Columbia Gorge Forest Service left a statement in their proposal about the Mile One site “There is a need to reduce visitor impacts such as What the site development would look like/project proposed  The site being developed would be approximately 2.13 acres of a 4.0-acre parcel Development of the site would include a designated parking area and rehabilitation and revegetation of existing user-created trails The Forest Service has considered some management options that include a paved onsite parking area that would restrict vehicles from driving off-road by placing blocked foot/bike-only trail gates Hard overview of the soon-to-be developed site The Klickitat TU’s long term proposed site management plan was set with the goal of  Maintaining valued resources and characteristics of the river corridor Provides a positive public recreation experience to visitors.  The site management plan was developed on the principles of natural resource restoration and recreation site development objectives.  Klickitat TU has listed the main objects they wish to achieve for both of the principles; resource restoration and site development Reduce sediment deposition and erosion by removing and rehabilitating user-created trails and river access points along the river bank; Reestablish natural streambank vegetation; Restore natural upland vegetation and improve soil quality in areas impacted by off-road vehicular travel; Establish developed recreation facilities for day use only Create a designated parking area designed to prevent vehicular access outside of that parking area; Design the river access trail to provide an opportunity to launch small non-motorized boats that can be easily hand-carried; Prohibit launching of larger boats (defined as those that can not be hand-carried to the water via the river access trail and/or require a trailer for transport) and motorized boats from National Forest System lands at the site; The Consistency Determination was signed on August 21 The Klickitat TU wrote “Our lower Klickitat River grant proposal was funded!” on October 15 There are still some steps needed between now and when site construction can begin the light at the end of the tunnel is nearing.  the Klickitat Chapter received a grant from the Embrace A Stream program to support this project and now has a chance to win additional funds to complete the work the chapter has a chance to win its share of $20,000 in cash prizes to help fund the Mile One restoration.  The community can help in funding the Klickitat project by visiting www.embraceastream.org and donating between Nov 2-8 2020 Forest Supervisor of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area signed the document finalizing the Klickitat Mile One proposal.  “The Forest Service has identified a need to develop a site management plan that will protect and enhance natural and scenic resources at the site while providing for safe access to and enjoyment of recreational opportunities,” Burditt wrote.  The signed final proposal means the site can officially begin its developments The Forest Service projects the implementation of the development to begin in May of 2021 Haley is an environmental advocate schooling in sustainability studies Rainier and has lived in the Gorge area for the past couple of years Get local news updates from the Mid-Columbia region in your inbox Columbia Community Connection was established in 2020 as a local honest and digital news source providing meaningful stories and articles CCC News’ primary goal is to inform and elevate all the residents and businesses of the Mid-Columbia Region Contact us: News@columbiacommunityconnection.com - Tel: (541) 980 - 2756 Powered by Immense Imagery Columbia Community Connection409 Lincoln St,The Dalles Privacy Policy Terms of Service Orion Magazine Expand image captionBernd Dittrich/Unsplash Every day I could walk the trails and call the dunes home Thousands of days like beads on a rosary or mala but whether or not I touched them did not change the world When I did touch them they startled me with their symmetry Subscribe Now Already a digital subscriber? Sign in here Knute Berger digs into the fascinating and dangerous history of the place nicknamed the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” where the river meets the sea The wreck of the Peter Iredale is still visible from Clatsop Spit The tumultuous mouth of the Columbia River Thousands of ships have capsized and wrecked on its shores over the centuries.  That’s earned it the menacing nickname “Graveyard of the Pacific,” although that’s not the only gloomy moniker in the region.  Subscribe to Mossback on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, or Podbean Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored some of this history in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series but there are more stories left to tell.  Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to discuss the early explorers who coined so many of the area’s depressing names from Cape Disappointment to Dismal Nitch; the natural forces that make the river’s mouth so treacherous; some of the area’s most famous shipwrecks; and the deadliest tragedy ever to occur here and its uncanny parallel to Berger’s own family history Berger shares his adventures from scouting and shooting the video for Mossback’s Northwest sandy mishaps and barking sea lions.   Knute “Mossback” Berger is an editor-at-large at Cascade PBS Stephen is formerly a senior video producer at Crosscut and KCTS 9 Enjoy a few extra bites with your favorite guests as host Rachel Belle shares fresh audio from the cutting-room floor Wildlife and Parks (FWP) has announced that beginning at midnight full fishing closures will be in effect at the mouth of some tributaries of the Clark Fork River Full fishing closures prohibit any fishing at all Meanwhile, FWP has announced hoot-owl restrictions will take effect at 2 p.m. Wednesday on the entire North Fork Flathead River and sections of the St Hoot-owl restrictions prohibit fishing from 2 p.m Click here to view a full list of FWP fishing restrictions Scientists from our Water and Land team have investigated reports of increased algal growth around the Rakaia River mouth A holiday season of easterly winds and few nor’westers may have left many Cantabrians feeling like summer’s only just arrived it’s also had the effect of lowering river flows in our large alpine rivers Recreational water users have reported substantial algal growth around the Rakaia River mouth this year Water and Land Science Manager Dr Elaine Moriarty says the lack of rain in the Alps means there hasn’t been a “fresh” of water through the river for some time Our freshwater ecology team is visiting the alpine rivers to assess any effect these low flows are having on the freshwater ecosystem Dr Moriarty says it may take some time to analyse the algae but the best solution is for a large amount of rain to fall in the mountains creating a high flow that would flush much of the algae out “We acknowledge that low flows and algal growth can be a source of distress for recreational river users,” Dr Moriarty says “Our science team are currently working to understand the extent of these issues and to see what Waitaha/Canterbury has experienced La Niña weather patterns These bring frequent easterlies and more rain to the plains This is why much of the region has been cooler and wetter than recent summers this weather pattern results in fewer nor’westers and drier than usual conditions on the West Coast and Southern Alps – the catchments that feed our large braided alpine rivers The recent weather pattern is why the Waiau Uwha Ahuriri and other rivers are low and restrictions on water take are in place in these catchments Learn about water restrictions, irrigation schemes, and recommended irrigation techniques and how to comply with regulations for dams irrigation ponds and fish screening facilities in Waitaha Soil moisture anomaly showing for 18 February 2025 illustrating relatively wet summer on the plains with irrigation schemes and hydroelectricity generators using water While climate is the ultimate driver of river levels these modifications have some influence on flow: Print Back to top Find out about irrigation restrictions for a specific area There are many ways that farmers can access water in dry times without affecting river levels George Municipality is aware of inaccurate statements circulating regarding public access to the Gwaing River Mouth The area being referred to is a natural system and altering its composition—such as by removing rocks—can destabilize the shoreline and lead to erosion According to Section 13(1) of the Integrated Coastal Management Act (ICMA) every person in the Republic is entitled to use and enjoy coastal property provided their use does not adversely affect the rights of other members of the public to enjoy coastal property does not hinder the State in fulfilling its duty to protect the environment and does not cause adverse environmental effects the municipality cannot implement any man-made access interventions at the Gwaing River Mouth that may trigger activities resulting in environmental harm or instability Section 20(1) of the ICMA outlines the responsibilities of municipalities in managing coastal access land within whose jurisdiction coastal access land falls must ensure that the provision and use of such land and its associated infrastructure do not result in any adverse environmental effects The Gwaing River Mouth and Beach has been awarded the Green Coast Award for the second year in a row which recognizes the area’s exceptional environmental quality and conservation efforts The municipality remains committed to preserving this pristine natural environment for future generations while balancing public access needs We thank the public for their cooperation in maintaining the ecological integrity of this sensitive area gmun@george.gov.za MORE CONTACTS George Municipality © 2020 | All rights reserved Volume 8 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.00355 Rivers provide important sediment inputs to many littoral cells thereby replenishing sand and gravel of beaches around the world there is limited information about the patterns and processes of littoral-grade sediment transfer from rivers into coastal systems Here I address these information gaps by examining topographic and bathymetric data of river mouths and constructing sediment budgets to characterize time-dependent patterns of onshore which builds a mixed sediment Gilbert-style delta which builds a cross-shore dispersed sand delta from hyperpycnal flows During and after sediment discharge events both systems exhibited a similar evolution composed of three phases: (i) submarine delta growth during offshore transport of river sediment (ii) onshore-dominated transport from the submarine delta to a subaerial river mouth berm and (iii) longshore-dominated transport away from the river mouth following subaerial berm development Although stage (ii) occurred within days to weeks for the systems studied and was associated with the greatest rates of net erosion and deposition onshore transport of sediment from submarine deposit to the beach persisted for years following the river discharge event These morphodynamics were similar to simple equilibrium profile concepts that were modified with an onshore-dominated cross-shore transport rule both study sites revealed that littoral-grade sediment was initially exported to depths beyond the active littoral cell (i.e. below the depth of closure) during the stage (i) Following several years of reworking by coastal processes bathymetric surveys suggested that 14 and 46% of the original volume of littoral-grade sediment discharged by the Santa Clara and Elwha Rivers continued to be below the depth of closure this suggests that integration of river sediment into a littoral cell can be a multi-year process and that the full volume of littoral-grade sediment discharged by small rivers may not be integrated into littoral cells because of sand and gravel “losses” to the continental shelf Sediment discharge from the Santa Clara River and reworking of this sediment into river mouth bars as observed from oblique imagery High flows on the river occurred in January 2005 which deposited sediment at least 500 m offshore of the river mouth as evidenced by breaking waves in panel (b) This sediment was reworked toward the shore as shown during the following 1.5 years (c,d) Imagery sources: (b) aerial photography by California Coastal Conservancy Google Earth imagery rotated to the same orientation as the aerial photograph in panel (b) These littoral-grade sediments may be considered “lost” from the beach system if they are initially deposited at depths beyond the active littoral cell it is opportune to explore river-mouth morphodynamics with the goal of developing a better understanding of the transfer of river sediment from river to deltaic deposits to littoral cells Several fundamental questions are examined: How do coastal profiles at river mouths respond to new contributions of river sediment How are longshore and cross-shore transport processes related to river mouth morphodynamics and how do they vary with time Under what conditions will littoral-grade sediments get exported offshore and become “lost” from the littoral cell What processes should be included in future investigations of river mouth and littoral cell morphodynamics To address these questions, this paper will examine the mouths of the Elwha River, Washington and the Santa Clara River, California (Barnard and Warrick, 2010; Warrick and Barnard, 2012; Warrick et al., 2019) Observations of both systems include large sediment discharge events but they differ in the depositional forms and beach morphology at each site Results from these systems are compared and used to develop conceptual models that form the basis of simple rules-based geometric models and generalized hypotheses about river mouth morphodynamics and each have detailed topographic and bathymetric (“topo-bathy”) surveys both before and after river sediment discharge events small watersheds that discharge measurable volumes of sediment to the coast during hydrologic events Extensive glaciation of this area occurred during the Quaternary and these glacial processes resulted in an abundance of glacially derived sediment Figure 3. Topographic and bathymetric profile surveys lines for the Santa Clara River mouth of California (34.232° N, 119.264° W) collected between 2003 and 2010 and used for analyses. The highlighted profile (number 7) is located down the axis of the deltaic lobe of sediment deposited in January 2005 (cf. Figure 1) The primary data to explore sediment transport patterns, rates and processes at the two river mouths were from topo-bathy surveys. Topo-bathy surveys allow for detailed analyses of the locations, patterns and rates of landform change, which can be used to assess sediment transport patterns and rates (Zăinescu et al., 2019) topographic measurements were taken at low tide with survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers and bathymetric measurements were collected with similar GNSS receivers combined with single-beam echo sounders operated from small-motorized watercraft Uncertainties in the GNSS methods are a function of survey platforms, satellite constellations, system communications, and user errors. An assessment of the Elwha River bathymetric measurements reported a mean systematic bias of 0.026 m and mean random uncertainty of 0.036 m (Gelfenbaum et al., 2015). Over long distances, such as profiles, random errors generally cancel such that uncertainty is primarily a function of the systematic bias (Anderson, 2019) This suggests that change uncertainty along a surveyed profile is ∼0.03 m for the ∼600 m profiles of the Elwha and 1200 m profile of the Santa Clara the uncertainties of change are 20and 40 m3/m both of which were derived from stream gaging data from the USGS’s National Water Information System Summary of the five events used to evaluate river mouth profile morphodynamics it is possible that some littoral drift will enter into the apex profile from one of the adjacent beaches especially as the shoreline straightens with time the longshore transport calculations described below cannot be assumed to be total longshore transport but rather net longshore transport introduced by the depositional lobe An overall volume balance along the profiles is also calculated by comparing the first and last post-event profiles Onshore transport is defined to be the net deposition above the MLLW and offshore transport is defined to be the net deposition below MLLW Longshore transport away from the deltaic lobe is calculated from the loss in the net volume for each profile which is calculated by the difference between net erosion and net deposition and longshore) are measured along profile data the results are reported in units of volume change per unit profile width (m3/m) Each of the three transport terms is also normalized by the total net erosion during each survey interval to produce scale-independent results for comparisons across systems and among events The Santa Clara River surveys did not commonly achieve overlap between the topographic and bathymetric portions of the surveys so gaps were filled with linear interpolations the total volumetric uncertainties for surveyed areas were 36,000 and 150,000 m3 for the Elwha and Santa Clara Rivers From the combination of the sediment volume balances and the evolution of the profile shapes, generalized conceptual models of the river mouth morphodynamics were developed for each site. Because these models compared favorably with equilibrium profile concepts (e.g., Dean, 1991) a rules-based equilibrium model was developed and compared to observations This model was run along a profile following a river sediment discharge event and subsequently allowed to change according to simple geomorphic rules of onshore and longshore transport that are presented in detail in the “Discussion” section where multiple bars had formed during the three months between river sediment discharge and the topo-bathy survey Areas of accretion and erosion are highlighted with shading colors Figure 6. (a–d) Volumetric change along profiles of the Elwha River mouth for the four depositional events shown in Figure 4 Both net deposition (orange) and net erosion (blue) are shown for each interval of time Net deposition is separated into deposition on the subaerial Results are presented for the depositional event (left-hand side) survey-to-survey intervals (center) and for the overall survey record (right-hand side) Uncertainty in these measurements are ±20 m3/m Figure 7. Volumetric change along the profile of the Santa Clara River mouth for the January 2005 depositional event. Consistent with Figure 6 both net deposition (orange) and net erosion (blue) are shown for each survey interval and interval dates are shown below each plot Error bars show the profile-length uncertainty (±40 m3/m) in change measurements A compilation of the time-dependent volumetric changes along apex profiles of both river sites provides additional information about sediment transport patterns (Figure 8). For this presentation, the volumetric changes were normalized by net erosion for each interval of time to enable comparisons across the order-of-magnitude range of change values (Figure 8) longshore transport rates were estimated from the sediment volume balances as noted in the Methods section above The temporal changes of the sediment volume budgets for the profiles of the Elwha River and Santa Clara River mouths Data presented as the percent of net erosion for each survey interval that was transported in the following directions: (a) onshore Dashed line is the expoential fit through (a) and (b) with the corresponding correlation coeficients and shading shows both one and two standard deviations of variation around the fit For (c) the dashed line is the mean value (6.1%) and shading shows one and two standard deviations about the mean Offshore transport of sediment is generally a secondary or negligible pathway of sediment the longshore transport is inhibited during the initial profile adjustment Here these results are explored further by examining: (i) the cause of onshore-dominated sediment transport during berm formation (ii) generalized conceptual models of sediment transport from rivers to littoral cells and (iii) a comparison of these results to other river mouths throughout the world Although it will be shown that new understanding was gained in this research I will also highlight several hypotheses and unanswered questions that may be addressed by future investigations most relationships are developed for full beach profiles intertidal and submarine portions of the profile This inhibits application to the river mouths shown here the profiles initially do not have intertidal or subaerial sections (i.e. To develop a theoretical understanding for these settings better understanding of the physical processes is needed here I examine observed and hypothesized characteristics of river mouths and use the existing understanding to hypothesize why onshore transport dominates the early morphodynamics Turbid waters are observed to spread offshore of many of these channel-like features suggesting that they may serve as important conduits for return flow (a–c) Oblique aerial photographs of the Elwha River mouth from September 27 2013 highlighting wave-breaking patterns on river mouth bars that are related to cross-shore and longshore sediment transport Hypothesized flow pathways are highlighted in the lower right panel showing onshore flow across bars (yellow arrows) and offshore return flow through channels in the gaps between bars (black arrows) Photo credits: Neal and Linda Chism of LightHawk flow over river mouth bars will be strongly landward the morphology of the submarine-to-intertidal river mouth bars are hypothesized to result in onshore flow and sediment transport on the bars the hydrodynamic conditions of these transient morphodynamic settings are not well know and may be considered an important area for further investigation although the toe of this deposit may extend much farther out onto the continental shelf (a–e) Generalized morphodynamic model for river mouths with Gilbert-like delta during and after sediment input from the river based on observations from the Elwha River of Washington The onshore and offshore fluxes (Qon and Qoff respectively) of sediment are shown with arrows and the vertical exacerbation (V.E.) is approximately 15 Figure 11. (a–e) Generalized morphodynamic model for river mouths with dispersive or hyperpycal deltas during and after sediment input from the river based on observations from the Santa Clara River of California. Consistent with Figure 10 the vertical exacerbation (V.E.) is approximately 15 Additional rules included: (i) an angle of repose was assumed for all new depositional regions (ii) the cross-shore and longshore-dominated intervals were assumed to be discrete in time and bounded by the full establishment of the sub-aerial berm and (iii) longshore transport was assumed to proceed at a constant rate until the river mouth berm reoccupied its original position Parameters for a simple rules-based morphodynamic model to evaluate the effect of cross-shore transport directions are not likely valid for the complex sediment transport settings of river mouths Generalized schematic of sediment from rivers into littoral cells showing the morphodynamic stages before (a) Top row shows a scenario in which ocean waves approach normal to the shoreline; (b) the bottom row shows the effects of oblique wave directions Sediment transport vectors from fluvial and littoral processes are shown with brown arrows (c) A generalized model for post-event sediment transport directions (d) References that provide further information about the patterns and processes of river mouth morphodynamics; horizontal lines highlight the applicable stages and processes of each reference Additionally, exceptionally large sediment discharge events have been shown to fundamentally alter shoreline morphodynamics and coastal sediment budgets. For example, a catastrophic volcanic eruption in 1902 within the Samala River, Guatemala, increased river sediment loads and resulted in 7 km of seaward progradation of its delta during the subsequent two decades (Kuenzi et al., 1979) This massive expansion of the delta resulted in lateral redistribution of sand into the littoral cell and a modern arcuate shoreline form that continues to extend ∼1 km seaward of the pre-1902 shoreline it should be acknowledged that the time scales for the coastal adjustment from a river sediment discharge event may range from months to decades depending on the volume of sediment and the coastal processes acting on the sediment during the post-event interval the offshore “loss” of littoral-grade sediment may also occur off of the foresets of Gilbert-like delta as shown for the Elwha River herein there is considerable evidence from other river mouths that the fundamental pathways and time-dependent patterns of sediment transport described here are broadly applicable to wave-dominated river mouths with infrequent sediment discharge events Exceptions and variations to these models certainly exist and specific watershed and river mouth conditions likely play important roles in the ultimate transfer and transport of sediment into and around the coast A synthesis of the morphodynamics of river mouths was derived from surveys of sediment discharge events at markedly different systems This resulted in a new understanding of time-dependent cross-shore and longshore sediment transport patterns following river sediment discharge events onshore-dominated transport occurs during the transformation of the submarine river mouth bar into a subaerial berm this transitions into longshore-dominated transport with overwash-controlled berm retreat These findings appear to be consistent with observations of other small river mouth settings especially those along tectonically active settings Although generalized conceptual models were derived from a synthesis of quantitative results, there remain several hypotheses and unknowns about river mouth morphodynamics that could use further investigation. These include the discontinuous morphology of the river mouth bars observed at the Elwha River (Zurbuchen et al., 2020) and whether this is representative of other river mouth settings Why do river mouth bars become discontinuous and how is this related to the coastal and riverine setting how are water and sediment transport patterns related to this three-dimensional bar morphology And how does this complex morphology evolve with time to become the more continuous river mouth berm The greatest rates of morphologic change were consistently measured during the intervals immediately following river sediment deposition when onshore transport dominated and the river mouth bar emerged from a submarine to a subaerial state What are the dominant patterns and processes that dictate these morphodynamics Are there feedbacks between the morphology and the physical processes that alter the river mouth bars It is hypothesized that coastal waves are a dominant factor in these bar-to-berm transformations especially around three-dimensional coastal landforms and in areas with net flow from river and tidal conditions It would be useful to measure or simulate these physical processes under varying conditions to build a better understanding for the rates styles and drivers of river mouth transformation Although the initial transport following deposition of river sediment was found to be largely onshore subsequent offshore transport was measured for some limited conditions of the Elwha River This transport may be related to the adjustment of the beach profile during a time when longshore transport was inhibited by the broader morphology of the delta landform It would be valuable to better characterize both the conditions under which offshore transport occurs as well as the frequency and magnitude of this offshore transport to better constrain coastal sediment budgets and stratigraphic models of deltas Lastly, the results of both the Elwha and Santa Clara River systems suggest that littoral-grade sediment may be deposited in water depths from which the sediment may not return to the shoreline and littoral cell (Table 1) This may be considered an incomplete integration of the littoral-grade river sediment into the littoral cell thereby resulting in a “loss” of potential littoral sediment Although this is an important finding that is consistent with literature on hyperpycnal flows from rivers it would be valuable to better characterize the applicability of these findings to other systems perhaps with a synthesis of shelf sediment deposits offshore of modern river mouths Publicly available datasets were analyzed in this study. 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deposition and storm removal of sediments in front of a deltaic wave-influenced river mouth A model for the growth and development of wave-dominated deltas fed by small mountainous rivers: insights from the Elwha River delta Citation: Warrick JA (2020) Littoral Sediment From Rivers: Patterns Rates and Processes of River Mouth Morphodynamics Copyright © 2020 Warrick. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) *Correspondence: Jonathan A. Warrick, andhcnJpY2tAdXNncy5nb3Y= You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. The West Coast Regional Council is reviewing its rules for digging out blocked ocean outlets, at the urging of Cr Peter Ewen after last year’s Wairoa flood disaster. The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council was accused of failing to open the Wairoa River bar in time to save the town from a one-in-250-year flood during Cyclone Gabrielle. And an independent review recommended closer monitoring and preventive measures, including an overflow trench. Cr Coll said the merits of an Orowaiti "cut" had been hotly debated over the years, but he believed it deserved another look. "If we ever need to tweak the planned stopbanks, it could give us a bit of wiggle room in terms of water levels — a safety valve of sorts." The Orowaiti and its lagoon act as an overflow for the Buller River, effectively turning the town into an island in large flood events. A Niwa report in 2015 said the idea of a cut through the sandbar should be explored but warned it could also expose the town to the risk of flooding from tidal surges. More than 40 rivers and creeks on the coast can have their ocean outlets opened as a permitted activity. No resource consent is needed. Three more on the "permitted" list — Karamea, Pororari and New River — can have their outlets to the sea opened when floodwaters back up to a "trigger" level, threatening property. But the council cannot dig out a new, more sustainable outlet without resource consent even when the current one is likely to be quickly choked again by sediment. That rule was written after consultation with Doc and iwi some years ago, staff reported — but more flexibility could be helpful. Cr Ewen said he supported Cr Coll’s suggestion the Orowaiti should be on the "permitted" list, and he would also include the Hokitika River. "The biggest flood Hokitika ever had was in 1947 when the sand bar was choking the river mouth — the water was all through the town. We should be looking back at our history." The committee approved the staff’s proposed work programme and noted the issues raised would be up for review shortly as work began on the new coastal plan. — LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Volume 7 - 2019 | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00103 This article is part of the Research TopicCoastal Risk: Shores and Deltas in PerilView all 12 articles Human modifications in response to erosion have altered the natural transport of sediment to and across the coastal zone thereby potentially exacerbating the impacts of future erosive events Using a combination of historical shoreline-change mapping and hydrodynamic modeling of nearshore and inlet processes this study explored the feedbacks between periodic coastal erosion patterns and associated mitigation responses focusing on the open-ocean and inner-inlet beaches of Plum Island and the Merrimack River Inlet Installation of river-mouth jetties in the early 20th century stabilized the inlet allowing residential development in northern Plum Island multi-decadal cycles of alternating beach erosion and accretion along the inner-inlet and oceanfront beaches the formation and southerly migration of an erosion “hotspot” (a setback of the high-water line by ∼100 m) occurs regularly (every 25–40 years) in response to the refraction of northeast storm waves around the ebb-tidal delta Growth of the delta progressively shifts the focus of storm wave energy further down-shore replenishing updrift segments with sand through the detachment Monitoring recent hotspot migration (2008–2014) demonstrates erosion (>30,000 m3 of sand) along a 350-m section of beach in 6 months local residents and governmental agencies attempted to protect shorefront properties with a variety of soft and hard structures The latter have provided protection to some homes Although the local community is in broad agreement about the need to plan for long-term coastal changes associated with sea-level rise and increased storminess real-time responses have involved reactions mainly to short-term (<5 years) erosion threats A collective consensus for sustainable management of this area is lacking and the development of a longer-term adaptive perspective needed for proper planning has been elusive With a deepening understanding of multi-decadal coastal dynamics including a characterization of the relative contributions of both nature and humans we can be more optimistic that adaptations beyond mere reactions to shoreline change are achievable Conceptual model of the natural and anthropogenic factors influencing sediment delivery to and along coastal zones across spatial and temporal scales we present the results of a case study of beach morphologic change over timescales of months to multiple decades along one such developed and stabilized beach-inlet system: Plum Island and the Merrimack River Inlet we reconstruct the causes for alternating erosion and accretion along this inlet-beach system Beach sectors (S) shown in (B,C) are: (S1) Reservation Terrace; (S2) Right Prong; (S3) Salient; (S4) Center Island; (S5) Annapolis Way; (S6) Fordham Way; and (S7) Refuge Two techniques were used to consistently identify the HWL on recent (1970s to present) satellite and georeferenced aerial imagery the division between dark and light sands on the beach was mapped indicating the extent of wave run-up during the previous high tide In the cases where the sand division was either not apparent or the imagery resolution was too poor the HWL was mapped as the seaward edge of the wrack line Historical shorelines (1952–2018) along (A) Reservation Terrace (S1); and (B) the Right Prong (S2) and northern Center Island (S4) portions of Plum Island beach overlain on 2008 and 2001 imagery (times of near-maximum beach extent for each region) Scales of (A,B) are the same and red arrow in each points to the same house top) are normalized to long-term mean area of mapped beach extents [dashed black line in (A,B)] Annual beach volume fluxes are calculated following the United States Army Corps of Engineers beach area-volume guideline (1 ft2 beach area = 1 yd3 sand) Mapping uncertainties (Supplementary Tables S1, S2) are estimated based on mapping resolution, historical uncertainty, and, if applicable, rectification image uncertainty, following the methods of Hapke et al. (2011) and Thieler et al. (2013) These are treated as a compilation for each shoreline thereby creating a single uncertainty value for each paleo-shoreline position Horizontal shoreline mapping uncertainty is in a range of 0.5–4.3 m even the larger error value is well within the range of horizontal shoreline position change (10 s of meters between mapped years) equivalent to the maximum common area mapped in all 15 surveys Beach volumes at each time step were calculated as the difference between the beach elevation surface and a horizontal plane (clipped to same extent) at 1.0 m below mean sea level (lowest mapped elevation of low-tide terrace) Monthly RTK-GPS data have an average error of 0.028 m horizontally and 0.048 m vertically from sampling Root mean square errors for DTM-based beach sediment volumes is 0.013–0.021 reflecting the density of data collected for each survey and along-shore consistency in beach morphology DTM sediment volume errors are ca.±25,000 m3 less than 5% of the minimum monthly beach volume (605,000 m3) Volume changes of <10% (given an assumed maximum beach volume error of ±5%) are considered insignificant and omitted from analysis 100 g dry sand) were collected from 10 cm below the sediment surface from three stations along each transect: central low-tide terrace Where no berm or other break-in-slope was present samples were collected from the approximate midpoint between the low tide line and the foredune toe Samples were dried, split, and organic debris and shell hash were removed by hand-picking. Textural analysis was conducted using a Rapid Sediment Analyzer (settling tube), which estimates grain-size distributions from -1 to 4 φ in 0.125 φ bins based on Stokes’ settling velocities. Grain-size statistics were calculated as per Folk (1968) A hydrodynamic model (Delft3D; Lesser et al., 2004) previously developed and validated with deployments in Plum Island Sound was used to provide time-dependent water level and current velocities in the vicinity of the Merrimack River Inlet we added a higher-resolution nested domain covering the study focus (northern 3 km of Plum Island and along Reservation Terrace) to examine the role of nearshore waves on observed erosional trends were simulated to evaluate wave transformation over the nearshore bars and in the inlet and to elucidate mechanisms that contribute to Plum Island and Reservation Terrace erosion Developed portions of Newbury and Newburyport (northern Plum Island) are sub-divided into seven shoreline sectors, from north to south (Figures 3B,C): (S1) Reservation Terrace (beach inside the Merrimack River Inlet; 1,100 m); (S2) Right Prong (850 m); (S3) Salient (600 m); (S4) Center Island (450 m); (S5) Annapolis Way (150 m); (S6) Fordham Way (150 m); and (S7) Refuge (300 m) eastern Reservation Terrace beach by up to ca 250 m is commonly associated with the growth of the smaller erosive periods represent a net volume loss of an estimated 8.0 × 105 m3 of sand from Reservation Terrace as compared with periods of near-maximum beach area Two phases of erosion hotspot formation and southerly migration along Plum Island beach as captured in historical high-water shorelines between 1974 and 1978 (A) and 2008 and 2018 (B) Background imagery is 2001 color orthophotos from MassGIS (Commonwealth of Massachusetts EOEA) (A) Monthly change (difference from previous survey) in beach volume per meter alongshore for northern Plum Island sectors S3–S7 (B) Monthly percent change (difference from previous survey) in beach volume normalized by volumetric change across the full northern 2.8 km of Plum Island (sectors S2–S7) (C) Average (three sampling stations per transect) monthly mean grain size at each sector S5–S7) monthly mean grain size at each sampling point along transects (E) Significant wave height data are from Jeffery’s Ledge Buoy (NOAA NDBC Station 44098) Figure 7. Short-term migration of the erosion “hotspot” to the south along the northern Plum Island beach (see location, Figure 3D) in 2014 (approximately same time as shown in Figure 6) to 2015. Digital topographic models (top) are derived from RTK-GPS surveys (Figures 3C,D) Photos (bottom) are taken at the same period of the tidal cycle (mid- to high tide) looking south standing along Annapolis Way beach toward Fordham Way beach Whereas beach and dune samples gradually fine and show increased maturity (semi-rounded to rounded quartz grains decreasing rock fragments) to the west along Reservation Terrace beach (S1) low-tide terrace samples are more spatially heterogeneous several of the coarsest low-tide terrace samples collected from the northwest corner of Reservation Terrace contain abundant coarse (<1 mm diameter) rock fragments a characteristic not observed along any oceanfront Plum Island samples and low-tide terrace sediment samples collected in August 2015 (south of Merrimack River Inlet) and July 2016 (Reservation Terrace) Seasonal variations in grain size were also observed along the northern, developed oceanfront Plum Island beach (S2–S7): sediments fined during the late summer period marked by low wave energy (July to September) and then coarsened between September and December, notably along the low-tide terrace and mid-beach (Figures 6C,D) a substantial coarsening is observed along all transects coincident with the period of high wave energy and erosion between November and December 2014 sampling periods All samples in northern Plum Island remained moderately well to very well sorted (sorting: 0.16–0.85) during the entire sampling period significant wave height gradients are approximately 0.5 m (A) Significant wave height distribution resulting from a storm wave (Hs ∼5 m; Ts ∼12 s) approaching from the northeast (ca Vectors show wave energy transport direction (a proxy for sand transport) and solid black lines show depth in meters below mean sea level (MSL) Wave energy transport resulting from two storm wave conditions are shown in the vicinity of the Reservation Terrace (B) and the 2008–2018 erosional hotspot (C) and for one they approach from the southeast (ca and both offshore waves are similar (Hs ∼5 m; Ts ∼12 s) (D) Alongshore variation of wave-energy transport through the erosional hotspot [along transect shown as black dashed line in (C)] for each of the two events (NE approach: solid line near the center of the Right Prong beach sector (S2) sediment accumulation south of the groins (and attendant erosion along the north side) as far south as Annapolis and Fordham ways (S5 and S6; 2,300 m south of the South Jetty) demonstrates the seasonal (or longer) dominance of northerly transport along the Newburyport and northern Newbury beaches Merrimack River Inlet jetty sediment transport (A) Refracted northeast storm waves propagate through a beach in the South Jetty during high tide (credit: R (B) Merged panoramic of waves delivering sediment through the breach in the South Jetty to proximal Reservation Terrace (credit: M (C) Aerial view of northern Plum Island following jetty repair showing erosional beach of Reservation Terrace and growth of oceanfront beach south of Merrimack River Inlet South Jetty (credit: P and thus the section of beach impacted by northerly long-term transport is restricted to only beach sector S2 Restricting the region of analysis of oceanfront shoreline change to only S2 would decrease the 1994–2008 beach loss volume to ca or only half of the volume gained along Reservation Terrace during that same time as well as the presence in 2008 at the South Jetty of remnants of coir logs originally placed along Center Island) that at least during periods of hotspot erosion the nodal point is as much as 2 km down-beach from the South Jetty (see section “Hotspot Migration and the Merrimack Inlet Ebb-Tidal Delta”) in spite of a clear westward fining trend along Reservation Terrace away from the jetty immature sand along the northern low-tide terrace and mid-beach reveals the occurrence of some exchange of sediment between the Merrimack River and the Reservation Terrace beach sediment delivered to Reservation Terrace is not solely derived from the oceanfront beach The Merrimack River Inlet has also undergone routine dredging throughout both periods including the removal of 5.4 × 105 m3 of sediment during the 1960s and 1970s period of erosion along Reservation Terrace no such dredging immediately preceded erosion along Reservation Terrace in 2008: the most recent prior river-mouth dredging was the removal of ∼11,000 m3 of sand in 1999 followed by removal of another ∼11,000 m3 in 2010 coincident with this period of erosion alone Reservation Terrace (pers Changes in offshore wave climate and/or the orientation of the Merrimack River thalweg are likely to alter the magnitude of the transport system and ultimately the rate in which sand is transferred between the estuary and the Reservation Terrace beach These are likely to be partly responsible for observed changes in the width and volume of Reservation Terrace Formation and long-term migration of the Plum Island erosion hotspot along Center Island and Annapolis Way between 2005 (A) and 2018 This current phase of erosion initiated north of the Center Island Groin in 2007 and was followed by gradual southerly migration of the erosion hotspot to north of the Annapolis Way Groin between 2009 (B) and 2014 (C,D) and then between the Annapolis Way and Fordham Way groins between 2014 and 2018 (D–F) TerraMetrics except: (A) MassGIS (Commonwealth of Massachusetts EOEA) and (B) USDA Farm Service Agency but during periods when the beach is at its narrowest [generally following high-energy or high-water (extreme high tides such as occurred in August 2014) events] the 300–800 m long hotspot becomes most apparent Continued sediment delivery to the northern 1.5–2.5 km of the oceanfront beach by refracted/diffracted waves traveling to the north from the hotspot-associated nodal point allows for accretion proximal to the South Jetty and for delivery of sand across the jetty to Reservation Terrace This process can release large volumes of sand in the form of swash bars welding to the beach and contributing sand north and south to the longshore transport system and influence shoreline behavior >10 km from the inlet the processes observed along the Plum Island beach are not unique to this site here they have been met by a series of reactionary responses to short-term erosion associated with a lack of a collective consensus for best management and a longer-term perspective needed for proper planning and adaptation Examples of shoreline erosion and accretion associated with inlet processes at engineered and unstructured inlets which continues to yield significant benefits to homeowners and vacationers and contributes to local and state tax bases Examples of erosion and mitigation responses along Plum Island (A) Erosion in 2010 along central Center Island (S4) exposes stabilizing footings for housing structure (deck) (credit: C (B) Sand-filled coir logs placed along dune toe at southern Center Island (S4) (credit: C (C) Beach scraping (building artificial dunes with sand pushed landward from the low-tide terrace and beach berm) in advance of nor’easter (credit: C (D) Construction of rip-rap revetment along Annapolis Way (credit: B (E) View north along Annapolis Way section of Plum Island Beach Not visible in photo in far distance is a crane repairing the Merrimack River Inlet South Jetty (credit: G Although these were destroyed by waves within days a similar approach was undertaken along Reservation Terrace (S1) in 2018 in response to ongoing erosion threats to homes that had been fronted by 200 m of beach as recently as 2008 These groins serve to “pin” the southerly migrating erosion hotspot focusing higher wave energy associated with the break-in-bar along a narrower section of the beach likely resulting in enhanced fluxes of sand to Reservation Terrace from the Plum Island oceanfront beach mark a major change in attitudes toward human habitation of Plum Island but one lacking precedent and a clear future Within the context of Plum Island’s unique dynamic coastal environment these efforts comprise a general approach to the engagement of scientists with stakeholders in the optimistic expectation that a more informed community can debate the merits of the full array of potential adaptive responses More than 200 years of human alteration of the lower Merrimack River and Plum Island beaches have produced a sizable tax base and recreation site for the Town of Newbury unintended consequences associated with the same shoreline hardening structures that stabilized the northern 3 km of the island have led to periods of severe erosion threatening both public and private homes and infrastructure Both refraction of northeast storm waves around the Merrimack River Inlet ebb-tidal delta and strong southeast swell produce a local reversal of net southerly longshore transport which can be enhanced at times of spring tides transporting sand across the landward end of the South Jetty feeding the inner-inlet beach (Reservation Terrace) combined with tidal- and wave- induced currents inside the inlet 7.5 × 105 m3 of sand along the Reservation Terrace beach it is largely at the expense of the oceanfront beach to the south Superimposed on the local transport system are smaller-scale variations in wave energy along the shore which correspond to shifting configuration of the ebb-delta platform This process creates southerly migrating erosion hotspots (setback of the high-water line by ∼100 m) that can focus severe erosion on a small portion of the developed beach while leaving other areas stable or accretionary These hotspots can last 5–10 years in an aperiodic pattern and associated beach volume changes associated can be more than 30% of those measured over multi-decadal cycles along the inner-inlet Reservation Terrace beach The Plum Island case serves as just one example of how humans have greatly altered sediment transport dynamics along an inlet-associated coastal beach but have failed to develop sustainable strategies to balance the dynamic interacting natural and human processes that were the consequence Although communities on Plum Island and surrounding towns now have recognized the need to plan for long-term coastal changes associated with climate change real-time mitigation continues to be reactive responding to short-term (<5 years) erosion threats A collective consensus for best management is lacking and the development of a longer-term perspective needed for proper planning and adaptation has been elusive With a deepening understanding of the coastal dynamics on Plum Island we can be more optimistic that adaptations beyond mere reactions to shoreline changes are achievable and PH designed the study and obtained the funding and GM conducted field data collection and laboratory analyses as part of graduate masters (AF) and undergraduate senior (SB and GM) theses at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) *Correspondence: Christopher J. Hein, aGVpbkB2aW1zLmVkdQ== An official website of the United States government Latest Earthquakes A new study that examines sediment transport adjacent to the Columbia River Mouth incorporates both physical observations and modeling techniques to track how strategically placed dredged material can resupply sand to nearby beaches Major rivers such as the Columbia-Snake River system are ancient conduits for commerce carrying millions of tons of international trade each year The Columbia River also carries a lot of sediment from the interior: As North America's largest river by volume flowing into the Pacific Ocean every year the Columbia transports an estimated 5 million tons of sediment downstream.  and currents distribute this sediment across adjacent coastal areas—some will be deposited onshore and in nearshore environments while some is transported further offshore with rock jetties that concentrate its flow into navigable channels Before the inlet was improved for navigation in the early 20th century passage from the river mouth to the ocean was so treacherous that the area was known to mariners as the “Graveyard of the Pacific” the MCR has been dredged to facilitate safe passage of large commercial vessels the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dredges between 1.7 and 3.5 million tons (between 2 and 4 million cubic meters) of sediment from the six-mile-long entrance channel at the river mouth each year some dredged sediment was disposed of offshore in deep water This process can have significant impacts on adjacent beaches over time by depriving them of sand And as rising sea levels accelerate coastal erosion a steady supply of quality beach sand is critical to keeping coastal areas above water Bathymetric and topographic surveys performed annually by the U.S and Oregon State university revealed that over 2 million cubic meters of sediment eroded from Benson Beach between 2014 and 2019 Studying the complex interactions of dredging and coastal processes at the MCR to inform sediment management required understanding the concerns of a diverse set of stakeholders For years, the Lower Columbia Solutions Group and other State and community constituents met regularly to address sediment management at the MCR A top priority identified by the group was to address coastal erosion impacts adjacent to the inlet.  finding solutions to coastal erosion can be problematic. One way to combat coastal erosion is by applying dredged sand from a nearby inlet directly on the beach and may restrict public access to beaches.  New research provides evidence that strategically depositing dredged sediments nearshore where coastal processes can then redistribute them is a viable alternative to direct beach nourishment.  The study, published in Coastal Engineering is a collaboration between researchers from USGS and Delft University of Technology.   “This work is the culmination of more than 20 years of research and state and federal agencies to do the right thing based on what the science was telling us,” said Hans R USACE Hydraulic Engineer and co-author of the study.  Prior to passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1970 deposited in ways that can negatively impact Dungeness crab habitat prompting outcries from the shellfish industry USACE was directed to deposit dredged material further offshore and limit the size of the placement sites to protect crab habitat This led to the unintended formation of sandy shoals at the river mouth Other research revealed that sediments placed far offshore could not be transported shoreward to accumulate in nearshore environments—they were Sediment lost to sea is not only a wasted resource Just as sediment supply dwindles from the Lower Columbia River estuary the need for sediment grows: erosion is undermining the stability of the entrance jetties as well as the loss of public beaches and dune areas and State and federal agencies thus wanted to limit the amount of sediment lost to deeper water offshore while still maintaining navigable channels and healthy nearshore habitats at the river mouth achieving these goals in a region as dynamic as the mouth of the Columbia River where the outflow of the river meets ocean swells of the Pacific “We wanted to be able to predict where dredged sand goes after it is placed and how much moves toward the coast to increase the sand supply to beaches,” said Andrew Stevens USGS Oceanographer and lead author of the study.  approximately 216,000 cubic meters of sediment dredged from the MCR was experimentally deposited nearby as a submerged the team repeatedly monitored the changing morphology of the berm tracking its dispersion to nearshore habitats they tested a hydrodynamic and sediment transport model to accurately predict the observed changes and quantify the amount of sediment delivered toward the coast.  “Instead of removing sediment from the littoral system this approach allows for natural processes to transport a portion of the sediment from the placement site to desired onshore locations replenishing beaches in a more natural way,” said George Kaminsky Coastal Engineer with the Washington State Department of Ecology and a co-author of the study “To change the practice of how a system like this is managed takes coordination presenting it to policy makers and soliciting their feedback this study represents an approach to solving complex coastal management issues that could be applied to other large river systems.”  “Results from this study improve our understanding of how natural processes re-work dredged sand placed within nearshore waters at the river mouth enabling us to improve beneficial use of dredged material without causing ecological harm,” said Moritz “The sustainability of the inlet and its 100-year-old jetty system is dependent on how we beneficially use dredged material to maintain the inlet’s tidal shoal morphology Without the tidal shoals on which the jetties were built there can be no engineered inlet at the river mouth.” Read the related press release about this study These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics You can install and RSS reader browser extension or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added they may look strange because they are simply XML code An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program News Natural Hazards Mission Area News Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center News Region 9: Columbia-Pacific Northwest News United States of America News From the image of an otter on the banks and mouth of the Llobregat River in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona it is very likely that these small mammals have returned to the area And it is striking because they disappeared from the rivers a few decades ago intelligent and very demanding when choosing the habitat where they live which makes them the best indicator to measure the environmental quality of their surroundings otters have only been seen on very few occasions in the Llobregat River in the area of Castellbisbal was the last time a specimen was seen in February 2020 the presence of some specimens was also observed Their official name is Lutrinae and they belong to the mustelidae family They were removed from the rivers due to the contamination of these water sources around the 1990s since 1973 the alert was launched because it was considered an endangered species and was declared a protected species by the Spanish State Otters are semi-aquatic carnivorous mammals that live in lakes Because they are so demanding on environmental conditions they are considered “bioindicators” of river systems Its reappearance this year is the best indicator that the river has good ecological connectivity there are natural corridors that species use to move freely Stock images by Depositphotos La venta de la nuda propiedad Copyright © 2022 Salirporbarcelona , All rights Reserved. Created by JEZZ Media “The lessons I learned will always stay with me and steer me in the right direction.” I ended up with a most dreadful gown tan at graduation The day was out of the brochure W&L sends prospective students in the mail I remember sitting with my fellow graduates It’s the end?” As President Ruscio delivered his commencement address I couldn’t help but wonder about the river to which he compared Washington and Lee — constantly moving away from its source carrying the same water to exciting new places one I think of often as I wake each morning to go to work… and not class I have a feeling most graduates get a taste of what I now call “wandering syndrome.” It is the realization (and possible denial) that your college river has reached its mouth on the edges of a big “Wandering Syndrome” began like Lexington’s spring rainstorms: quick and unannounced I was five weeks into my current Elrod Fellowship position with a non-profit called Linden Resources I had just emailed my “ex” professors updates about working to find employment opportunities for people with disabilities and wounded veterans I greeted an older man on the sidewalk with a smile and “hello,” realizing from his confused reaction that the Speaking Tradition was not universal A lot of things outside of Lexington struck me in that moment as totally foreign to non-Generals The wonderful sorority chefs aren’t around to make mac and cheese for me anymore The barista at Starbucks still doesn’t remember my order and felt like I was back on the graduation stage would ever be like my time at Washington and Lee There is something freeing about graduating: the world is yours because it has to be There is no going back — admissions won’t have it and that’s not how this river metaphor works with the pressure to be the same successful student you were on campus The more my experiences at W&L become memories the more I realize how the lessons I’ve learned in those four years are perhaps the best protection in the “harsh conditions” of my new reality I decided to pretend as if the Speaking Tradition was universal after my sidewalk revelation I bring W&L with me now like a little lifejacket to keep from drowning I occasionally listen to a recording of “Oh Shenandoah” by the University Singers when I’m feeling really blue Even though I’m thankfully only ‘cross the Shenandoah River the song speaks to the longing I have for what is familiar I never imagined I would feel so connected to a well-constructed pile of red bricks; however I cannot fathom who I would be without Washington and Lee now because of the University’s Elrod Fellowship program I am who I am because of the amazing opportunities that were so generously made available to me I finally understand why so many graduates fervently hate change when it makes news back on campus: It feels like our time there is becoming history That version of the story seems far too morose to be the story of us gentlemen and gentlewomen I want to think that like that gown tan I still have our memories of Washington and Lee travel with us forever The feelings and appreciation we have now are what remain constant for future graduates — the bonds that connect graduates throughout the years You can take the woman out of Washington and Lee but you can’t take Washington and Lee out of the woman I might submit business reports instead of term papers now but the lessons I learned will always stay with me and steer me in the right direction Because of Washington and Lee I can comfortably say I have no idea what I want to do after I finish my fellowship somewhere in the sometimes dark waters below me at least one of those currents originated from our enduring alma mater I’ve decided wandering isn’t so bad after all I at least know our Annual Fund committee will always find me If you know any W&L alumni who would be great profile subjects, tell us about them! Nominate them for a web profile. The spit fishery at the mouth of the Klamath River will be closed to angling at 11:59 p.m Based on California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) projections of the recreational fall-run Chinook salmon harvest anglers will have met the “spit area” adult fall-run Chinook salmon quota of 15 percent of the total Klamath River Basin allotment by that time Meeting the quota triggers the closure of the spit fishery at the mouth of the Klamath River within 100 yards of the channel through the sand spit formed at the Klamath River mouth The spit area is downstream of the Highway 101 bridge located near the town of Klamath Recreational fishing will remain closed in the spit area to all fishing for the remainder of the 2022 season remain open to adult fall-run Chinook salmon harvest at this time Anglers may keep track of the quota status of open and closed sections of the Klamath and Trinity rivers by calling the information hotline at (800) 564-6479 For more information regarding Klamath River fishing regulations please consult the 2022-2023 California Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations on CDFW’s website The Otago Regional Council looks after Otago’s environment ensuring activities comply with legislation Council meetings and projects open for your participation and feedback The Otago Regional Council works with communities to preserve native animals and plants We ensure natural resources – such as our water Our harbourmaster keeps people safe on the water. We promote sustainable behaviours towards natural resources The Resource Management Act 1991 sets out how we should manage our environment and forms the foundation for many of our rules Learn how the Council works to identify risks and help communities coordinate Otago Regional Council Harbourmaster Steve Rushbrook wants to make sure you do so safely “Always do your preparation,” says Mr Rushbrook have a chat with the locals about the best place to cross and always let people know your intentions The Harbourmaster’s advice comes as the recreational boating season in Aotearoa New Zealand gets underway There have been several bar crossing fatalities in 2024 already and with the holiday season fast approaching and thousands of people preparing to head to Otago’s coastal waters this year’s summer safety campaign is focused on knowing your stuff and checking your gear A bar crossing safety evening will be held at the Brighton Surf Life Saving Club on 21 October The event will be a chance to hear from several speakers including Coastguard on lifejacket use a local fisherman on bar crossing safety and his personal experience crossing the Taieri Bar on beach launching and Marine Search and Rescue on the logistics of a Search and Rescue as well as ORC’s Harbourmaster team on VHF radio usage and looking at the marine weather forecast Mr Rushbrook says signage has also been employed to reinforce the importance of care around bar crossing “Otago Regional Council has recently updated signage at Taieri Mouth at Karitane for bar crossing safety and further signage will be placed at Owaka.” “Whether you’re a boatie planning to cross a bar or a keen paddleboarder or kayaker heading out on an Otago lake or river take the time to do a thorough check of your vessel and all your gear before you head off,” says Mr Rushbrook check the weather conditions and know the rules,” he says and find out about basic boating safety rules to protect you and your loved ones it’s about enjoying our amazing environment and coming home safe at the end of the day remembering the boating safety code is integral.” The Boating Safety Code (on the Harbourmaster page of the ORC website alongside other helpful information for boaties) reinforces five key messages: Whatever your level of experience, the ORC Harbourmaster team have made a series of videos containing some great advice to keep you safe Watch them here: www.orc.govt.nz/saferboating Follow the ORC Harbourmaster team on Facebook to keep up to date with events in your area: www.facebook.com/orcharbourmaster  Check out our advice on recreational boating basics to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience Let's keep our waters safe for everyone We are the Harbourmaster team - a team within the Otago Regional Council whose mahi is to promote safe navigation of all coastal waters lakes and navigable waters and waterways within the Otago region (excluding QLDC lakes) Before crossing the Taieri Mouth Bar a bar it's crucial to understand its current conditions so local knowledge is essential to avoid potential dangers View the current conditions from the Taieri mouth bar camera 0800 800 033 0800 474 082 The mouth of the Hakatere / Ashburton River is a hugely important place for the Ashburton region for many reasons provides a range of recreational opportunities The mouth of the Hakatere / Ashburton River But ongoing concerns over the compatibility between these values led to the decision to develop a management strategy for the area The development of the Ashburton Hakatere river mouth strategy (PDF file, 3.49MB) was led by us with input from landowners and custodians Land Information New Zealand and Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua provides a variety of recommendations to protect and enhance the internationally significant bird habitat as well as to provide recreation opportunities and cultural values One of the study’s key recommendations is the development of an enhanced area for birdlife at the river mouth The establishment of this area is a way we can recognise and protect the significant biodiversity values of the region It can also serve as a driver for changing the culture of use we have developed a plan to protect and enhance the biodiversity values of the site while allowing access to recreational activities modified plan was created after consultation with individuals and groups that objected to aspects of the first plan A meeting was held with key stakeholders in late 2019 in which the implementation of the Hakatere / Ashburton River Mouth Strategy was discussed and an implementation plan was presented.  Regular visitors to the river mouth will see a continuation of the work undertaken over previous seasons to protect nesting colonies from disturbance and pests New work over the next two years will include: For more on the Hakatere / Ashburton River Mouth Strategy, please contact Donna Field Print Back to top The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth) (ALRA) was the first and most influential land justice scheme dating from the Whitlam era (though passed into law by the Fraser government).  Almost half of the land in the Northern Territory is now held as Aboriginal freehold under the ALRA You would think that the meaning of "land" in the ALRA had been resolved during the many decades since its enactment.   However, much to Justice Bromberg's delight, the decision Northern Territory of Australia v Aboriginal Land Commissioner [2023] FCA 1183 required the Court to consider whether the mouth of a river (ie an estuary) was "land" that could be granted under the ALRA.   "where the does the sea end and the land begin?" the Land Council made two land claim applications on behalf of Aboriginal groups claiming to be the traditional Aboriginal owners of the following areas of unalienated Crown land in the Northern Territory:  the Commissioner recommended that the land claims be granted and that the grants include the mouths of the respective rivers.   The Northern Territory sought judicial review of this aspect of the decision It did not dispute that the Aboriginal claimants were the traditional owners of the areas claimed but argued that the grants were beyond the Commissioner's jurisdiction as they included areas which did not constitute "land in the Northern Territory" within the meaning of the Act.  There was no disagreement between the parties that:  The question in dispute was whether the mouth of a river — ie an estuary — was considered "land" for the purposes of the Act.  The Court noted that the parties were "literally miles apart" on this issue.  In 2002, the High Court held in Risk v Northern Territory of Australia (2002) 210 CLR 392 that the seabed of bays and gulfs within the limits of the Northern Territory cannot be subject to a claim under the ALRA.   The Risk decision concerned an appeal against the Commissioner's refusal to grant land over thousands of square kilometres of seabed beyond the low water mark in Darwin harbour and offshore areas the Northern Territory asserted that the Commissioner had misapplied the reasoning in the Risk decision and had therefore acted beyond its jurisdiction in making recommendations in respect of areas that did not constitute "land" for the purposes of the Act.  the Northern Territory argued that the Risk decision also applied to estuaries The Court rejected the Northern Territory's arguments an important distinction was made between:  The Court found that the Commissioner was correct to reject the contention that the reference made to "bays and gulfs" in the Risk decision was intended to extend to a "bay The Court noted that Gummow J in Risk explicitly noted that "nothing decided by this litigation denies the efficacy of grants under the Act in respect of areas including rivers and estuaries".  The Court found that the Commissioner had correctly reviewed the evidence and formed its view of the proper characterisation of "land" in respect of the areas subject to the claims the Court was not persuaded that the Commissioner's recommendations were tainted by the jurisdictional errors advanced by the Northern Territory.  the application was dismissed.    Ownership of river estuaries is a very significant right.  Succeeding in this claim ensures that the Traditional Owners become the key decision makers in respect of the use of this "land" rich in fauna and flora As at June 2023, 26 years after the sunset date for land claims under the ALRA, there were still 34 claims yet to be resolved (see the Aboriginal Land and Sea Action Plan Yearly Report 1 2022 - 2024) Who knows whether any of these claims will present the Federal Court with further opportunities to consider fascinating issues like the ones which delighted Justice Bromberg in this decision The information provided is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice or to cover all aspects of those referred to.Readers should take legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions Moderate rainfall in the catchment area has led to increased water levels in the Touw River The river mouth has been breached by SANParks to manage water flow and prevent flooding Strategically placed dredged material can supply sand to nearby beaches Dredged sediments placed in waters near the mouth of the Columbia River, where waves and coastal currents can redistribute them, helps to reduce erosion along nearby beaches, according to new research published this month New data collected and models developed during the study help resource managers optimize strategies to manage the sand The Columbia-Snake River System is a conduit for commerce carrying millions of tons of international trade by large container vessels each year The river also moves large amounts of sediment eroded from the landscape As the largest river by volume flowing from the Americas into the Pacific Ocean the Columbia transports an estimated 5 million tons of sediment downstream toward its mouth each year Army Corps of Engineers dredges between 2 and 4 million cubic meters (about 800-1600 Olympic swimming pools worth) of sediment from the six-mile-long entrance channel at the river mouth each year to maintain safe passage for large vessels.  based on what the science was telling us” said Hans R Army Corps of Engineers Hydraulic Engineer and co-author of the study.  This creates a secondary management challenge of how to balance dredging needed for large vessel safety with the desire to maintain beach sand.    Geological Survey Oceanographer and lead author of the study.  approximately 216,000 cubic meters of sediment equivalent to about 86 Olympic swimming pools’ worth was dredged from the river mouth and experimentally deposited nearby as a submerged scientists repeatedly monitored the changing shape of the berm tracking its dispersion toward nearby beaches scientists tested a hydrodynamic and sediment transport model to accurately predict the observed changes and quantify the amount of sediment delivered toward the coast as well as optimal locations for the dredge sand berms.  Dredged material management strategies have adapted over time based on input from stakeholders concerned with impacts to coastal erosion dredged sediment has been disposed in deep water offshore which can have significant impacts on adjacent beaches over time by depriving them of sand.    and State and federal agencies continue their work together to limit the amount of sediment lost to deeper water offshore while still maintaining navigable channels and healthy nearshore habitats at the river mouth.   placement of some dredged sand in small areas near the river mouth created mounds on the seabed that inadvertently impacted Dungeness crab habitat or created navigation hazards to mariners. More recently new placement techniques spread the dredged sand in thin layers over large nearshore areas limiting impacts to sensitive habitats and allowing natural processes to transport the sand towards the coast The models developed for this study provide critical information to resource managers and stakeholders about where and how quickly the dredged sediment disperses after it is placed on the seabed.  Read more about this story.  Evolution of the shoreline around the Elwha River mouth Two large dams were removed from the Elwha River between 2011 and 2014 in the largest dam removal worldwide thus far releasing more than 20 million tons of sediment downstream These images show the effects of new sediment depositing around the river mouth and being reworked by waves and currents The Elwha River and other recent dam-removal sites are generating new understanding of ways in which river and coastal systems respond to human activity a team of scientists characterize the response of the coastal environment to a massive input of sediment following the removal of two.. Brazil — From the balcony of his two-story wooden house Aurélio Marques gazes out over the Amazon River The middle-aged boat pilot calculates how long it will take for the tide from the Atlantic Ocean to reach the riverbed increasing the water level and allowing him to navigate to a nearby community with his boat “I’ve been reading nature since I was a child but I am no longer able to decipher it.” Climate change coupled with man-made actions in the Bailique Archipelago a group of islands at the mouth of the Amazon River in the Brazilian Amazon has changed the water cycle and made life increasingly arduous over the past four years Natural phenomena are becoming more aggressive and unpredictable are living now what people from other parts of the world will likely face in the future buffalo ranches and hydroelectric dams far away from the islands gradually diverted the course of creeks and tributaries to the Amazon River An enhanced river current is accelerating house-engulfing landslides on its riverbanks where the Amazon River and its tributaries are becoming weaker silting up in part by the land being washed and dragged away from the south and leaving residents sometimes stranded is infiltrating the islands from the north for a progressively longer period of the year Broader changes in the Amazon are also playing a role. In past rainforest rainy seasons, temperatures were higher than usual, and the Amazon had one of the most severe dry seasons in 2023, enabling the worst drought ever registered on the Amazon River helping the ocean to push back the mighty river farther into the continent is becoming salty due to the brackish water and açaí palm trees on the banks of the Amazon River are being devoured by fast-paced landslides the Amapá state government and the municipality of Macapá the state’s capital that manages Bailique are unable to mitigate the effects of the environmental changes which have driven part of the population out of the archipelago Amapá’s government estimated last year that roughly 13,000 people were living along the archipelago’s eight islands about 180 km (111.8 miles) and a 12-hour boat ride from Macapá Brazil’s official census from 2023 registered no more than 7,300 people living in Bailique “There’s a lot of attention on the Amazon Rainforest which stretches from the state of Maranhão to Venezuela being one of the most dynamic ecosystems in the world in terms of sensitivity to change,” Valdenira Ferreira a scholar from the Scientific Research Institute of Amapá State (IEPA) who has been researching Bailique for two decades “We’re talking about one of the most vulnerable areas on the continent There are no measurements or data beyond the superficial to draw up plans to adapt to these changes that are becoming more common each year,” she said the boat driver who was calculating when the seawater would enter the riverbed in front of Livramento a community founded by his father in the middle of the last century says Bailique’s residents are divided about what to do in this scenario His children went off to study and work in Macapá but his elderly parents don’t want to leave the place Livramento was isolated from the outside world for a few hours a day No boats could enter or leave it because of the Amazon River’s drought something that had never happened before — there are no roads to or into the archipelago The dilemma about staying or leaving is boosted by the recent decline in living conditions endured the last seven months of 2023 without “really heavy” rain necessary to endure an increasingly salty water river period “We’ve learned to catch rainwater and filter it,” Francidalva Farias told Mongabay while showing an improvised hose connecting her house roof rail to an open cistern covered with a blanket in her backyard Almost every house in Bailique has three water tanks: one with saltwater which they use for bathing and washing dishes “We use the first tank as a filter,” Farias said Because [the water from the river] is getting saltier and saltier a dozen sparse wooden houses connected by wooden walkways Farias said she had never seen so many changes at the same time in the region now heavily dependent on supplies from outside managed to navigate the low level of the river to get to the community Due to the above-average heat registered in past winters stinging residents more often and multiplying faster to the point where they formed several colonies at the community’s school “Going to school is becoming dangerous [due to the wasps] And we have to save potable water as much as we can Children get mild burns [due to the saltwater] The clothes have to be dried soon; otherwise And the soap doesn’t lather like in the freshwater; it’s weird,” Farias said Some families manage to buy potable water from Macapá but others have to go through the salinization of the water period — it has been up to eight months a year in the north of the archipelago — exclusively with the water collected from rain they have no choice but to drink the salty water “Saltwater intrusion is happening all along the mouth of the Amazon River “Both have to do with rising sea levels and changes in the Amazon River Basin If the discharge of water at the mouth decreases If sediment loads increase along the rivers due to deforestation more dirt is carried to the Amazon’s mouth a Cuban doctor who worked in seven countries before settling in Brazil skin diseases and parasites are the most common health issues in the archipelago Tito arrived in the north of the islands in the middle of last year and living in a room in a wooden house with no home appliances or even a bed complains that the state government and Macapá City Hall have not offered him a suitable health structure or basic medicine Tito is the first doctor to work in the north in eight years “They threw me here and left,” he told Mongabay while sitting on a worn-out plastic chair “I work in a room where I had to improvise a curtain as a wall between the triage but this is the place with the most adverse working conditions I’ve never seen so many recurring problems especially because of the water,” Tito said The salinization of the archipelago’s waters once was a rare phenomenon restricted to the north of the islands the elders who spoke with Mongabay recalled happening once every few decades as a result of a severe drought in the Amazon River the general temperature rise in the region and the warming of the oceans have made the cycle of floods and droughts of the world’s largest river increasingly extreme responsible for Bailique water supply management started dealing with the periodic salinization of the archipelago only in 2023 when it provided desalination plants in the archipelago’s main community of Vila Progresso it didn’t work due to the level of saltiness and sediments of Bailique’s water greater than the machines were able to filter a study is being carried out to measure the current level of salinization and residues are expected to be placed in several communities by the end of the year Macapá City Hall spent the second half of 2023 sending drinking water from the capital city in boatloads or in plastic bottles after declaring a state of emergency in the archipelago — which enables public officials to acquire services and goods with less bureaucracy and spending-proving control Some of Bailique families received nothing more than a pack with six 1.5-liter (0.4-gallon) bottles as boats stranded on riverbanks due to the drought The state government and Macapá’s mayor were questioned by Mongabay about the water supply and whether they have plans to mitigate the effects of changes in the archipelago’s environment but received no response Valdenira Ferreira and other experts of IEPA are awaiting funding from the federal government to carry out a continued measurement of Bailique’s salinization and erosion The fund was promised in July 2023 by the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development “We’ve got no response so far [about when the government will send funds] We need research funding because the current policies for Bailique are being made without precise and continuous measurements It is all being done within an emergency frame but what we are seeing is that these phenomena won’t fade out in the upcoming years Erielson Pereira dos Santos doesn’t rely on government aid to survive He lives with his family in a house on the banks of the Amazon River in the southern part of the archipelago he began sustainably managing açaí palm trees on his land taking away the palm trees and his livelihood with it Just as Aurelio Marques looked at the dried-up river in front of his house Santos sees his land being eaten away by a river with a stronger current day after day “I had 400 meters [1,312 feet] of planted açaí trees counting from the riverbank into the island,” he told Mongabay the açaí berries will probably be salty on the next harvest which didn’t happen on this part of the island before,” he said changing the taste and making it harder to sell the crop Santos is planting more açaí trees as far from the riverbank as he can hoping that the landslide phenomenon will decrease its intensity over the next few years he plans to leave for Macapá with his family Some institutes and universities in the region are trying to monitor the phenomenon, but there are few studies about the scale of what is happening in Bailique. A 2018 report from IEPA calculated that in some communities erosion ate 10 m (32.8 ft) of land from the riverbank that year Santos estimates that the yearly landslide in his plot is now four times larger has been helping riverine people since 2017 to sustainably manage the archipelago’s main economic activity they opened an açaí processing plant in Macapá and started to sell the industrialized organic açaí pulp to other parts of Brazil and the United States “We’re worried about these changes,” Amiraldo Picanço “We know that the ocean level is going to keep on rising and it’s certainly going to push the river a little further in and that we will have more extreme drought and floods in the Amazon River It’s a bit of a characteristic of the archipelago that the land falls in one place and appears in another but what we have now is a maximized phenomenon combined with the pressure made by human activity.” About a 30-minute boat ride into the archipelago from the main community resembling one of the many major tributaries of the world’s largest river which runs in parallel with the Amazon River farther north and has been suffering from siltation A boom of buffalo ranches that were spared on Amapá’s mainland riverbanks in the past years plus the construction of hydroelectric dams on the Araguari creating a new course of water that runs to the Amazon River before getting into the sea the Urucurituba River was a small creek feeding the mighty Amazon it is a large and deep brownish river helping to accelerate land erosion in the south of the archipelago the faster the houses on the riverbank are falling down has already lost four houses in the last decade A resident of the main village of Vila Progresso said he has been living in his sixth house in the last eight years residents move what they can of their wooden houses farther into the islands but many communities are starting to get cornered by private-owned buffalo ranches “How can you invest on this island if you know that you can lose your house?” boat pilot Aurelio Marques told Mongabay assessing the increasing unpredictability of the environment at the “dancing waters” archipelago He takes another look at the river and estimates that the sea tide shouldn’t fill the riverbed in front of Livramento until dawn The trip to the next community is postponed to the following day “I keep thinking: We’re surrounded by the biggest river in the world but we have to bring drinking water from the capital or move around as nomads,” he said “I’m going to wait for the next few years Banner image: A boat carrying potable water from Macapá city by the government is stranded because of the siltation of the Amazon River in front of Livramento community This story was produced with the support of the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) in partnership with the Agence Française de Développement and the Open Climate Initiative/Centre for Investigative Journalism (OCRI/CIJ) as part of the Environmental Defenders project The ideas and opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Agence Française de Développement With half its surface water area lost, an Amazonian state runs dry FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure in East Africa as protected areas become battlegrounds over history and global efforts to halt biodiversity loss Mongabay’s Special Issue goes beyond the region’s world-renowned safaris to examine how rural communities and governments are reckoning with conservation’s colonial origins and trying to forge a path forward […] Print LOS ALGODONES Mexico — When the Colorado River reaches the U.S.-Mexico border Nearly all the remaining water is shunted aside into an immense canal and flows toward the farmlands and cities of Baja California the last of the river disappears in the desert The sandy riverbed meanders on through fields of wheat and curves past the town of San Luis Rio Colorado where for years little or no water has flowed beneath its bridge Mexico is entitled to receive 1.5 million acre-feet of water per year under a 1944 treaty Mexico has also agreed to take part in reductions when there is a shortage A group of farmers met recently at the office of the National Water Commission in Mexicali to hear from government officials and experts about what the reductions mean, and to discuss ways of conserving. Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Todd, the agency’s regional director, spoke to the group. “The Colorado River Basin is facing an extraordinary drought, which affects both the United States and Mexico,” Rodríguez told the farmers, explaining the reduction in supplies. Colorado River in Crisis: A Times series on the Southwest’s shrinking water lifeline Colorado River in Crisis is a series of stories, videos and podcasts in which Los Angeles Times journalists travel throughout the river’s watershed, from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the river’s dry delta in Mexico. He said climate change is shrinking the river at its source, and that requires efforts to adapt. “We must strive to improve water management,” Rodríguez said. “We have to improve and move towards efficiency.” The workshop covered topics including measuring flows and switching crops to save water. “We have to begin to act,” said Carlos de la Parra, who leads the environmental nonprofit group Restauremos El Colorado. He told the farmers that if the shortage continues to worsen, even larger cuts may come, and they will need to adapt by becoming more efficient. Climate & Environment The Colorado River is approaching a breaking point Years of drying have taken a toll at the river’s source in the Rockies only our crop is the cultivation of ecosystems,’’ De la Parra said His group is one of six organizations in a coalition called Raise the River which focuses on restoring flows in the Colorado River Delta Much of the Colorado River Delta has shriveled to stretches of dry riverbed with only small remnants of its wetlands surviving (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) More than a century ago the river’s delta spread across 1.9 million acres of wetlands and forests described it as “a hundred green lagoons” and said he paddled through waters “of a deep emerald hue.” He described it as an oasis that teemed with fish the river was dammed and its waters were sent flowing in canals to farms and cities so much water has been diverted that the river seldom meets the sea Much of the delta has shriveled to stretches of dry riverbed After the pulses of water, De la Parra and his colleagues have seen vegetation flourish along the river channel. Biologists have counted about 120 species of birds. And motion-activated wildlife cameras have captured images of beavers swimming and gnawing on tree trunks. In the Coachella Valley, water continues flowing to lakes and golf courses, even as the Colorado River reaches new lows. Critics say it’s time to limit heavy water use. De la Parra and others say the efforts in the delta have been a resounding success, showing that even small amounts of water can be used to revive ecosystems that were largely destroyed decades ago. De la Parra said he believes it’s crucial that the restoration work continue. But although the conservation groups have water rights to maintain some wetlands, the river’s decline poses challenges for their efforts. In the Colorado River Delta estuary, fishermen wait for the tide to rise and lift their boat out of the muddy flats to head out to the Sea of Cortez. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) The river’s crisis also presents a pivotal moment for farms and cities to adapt, De la Parra said. “I’m hoping that we can really understand that crisis is not something that we ought to waste,” he said. “We need to use it to thrust ourselves into a different model.” Las Vegas has dramatically cut water use by targeting grass. Its water czars are pushing for bigger changes to fix the Colorado River’s water deficit. For cities, De la Parra said, that means initiatives such as recycling wastewater, capturing stormwater and probably investing in building a new desalination plant in Baja California. For farmers, he said, there are opportunities to save water by installing efficient irrigation systems and moving away from thirsty crops like alfalfa to ones that use less water. “It is a water revolution that needs to happen,” De la Parra said. El Indiviso, a fishing village in the Colorado River Delta in Mexico, draws its drinking water from groundwater. The river dries up in the delta to the north of the village. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) He said he’s confident people can improve their livelihoods while using less and “embracing this water revolution.” He’s also optimistic future generations can have a river delta with a functioning ecosystem. In June, the water that was released brought back a flowing stretch of river for about 40 miles in the lower delta. The water eventually reached the Gulf of California during high tide. As the federal government pushes states to reduce usage of dwindling Colorado River water, Imperial Valley farmers fear a “worst-case” scenario. The flowing river attracted attention. Beside a road, where the riverbed was transformed into a wide pond, families began coming to relax on the weekends and children waded in the water. Angela Melendez, who works for the conservation group Sonoran Institute, said she felt excited and emotional seeing the river come back. She said it hurts “when our environment is degraded and hurt and exploited.” When the river doesn’t reach the sea, she said, “it’s like if one of your veins didn’t reach the heart.” Climate & Environment A visual journey along the Colorado River, from the headwaters to Mexico, that shows the environmental toll on the depleting resource. Most of the time, the estuary is starved of a river. The shores near the river’s mouth have long been sculpted by the incoming and outgoing tides, which have left branching treelike patterns imprinted in the sands. The Native Cucapá people who live in the delta have traditionally depended on fishing. The Cucapá still push wooden boats into the estuary to fish for corvina. But there are fewer fish than there used to be. Hilda Hurtado Valenzuela, a 68-year-old tribal member and president of a Cucapá fishing cooperative, said that when she was growing up, the river always had water. Willows stood along the banks, and her mother would bend a wire to make a hook, baiting it with a piece of tortilla. As climate change and overuse threaten the Colorado River, Native American tribes seek a larger role in the river’s stewardship. “There were a lot of fish because the river always brought water,” Hurtado said. “Not anymore. Now it doesn’t have anything.” She said the freshwater flowing into the saltwater creates vital habitat for fish to reproduce in the estuary. Without that water flowing in, she said, the fish have suffered. “The Colorado River Delta should have water,” Hurtado said, sitting outside her home in the town of El Indiviso. “Fishing for the Cucapá people is what we live from, how we feed ourselves, but it’s also part of our culture. The Colorado River is part of our culture.” She said she worries a time will come when the remaining fish disappear because there is no water flowing. “We would like to see a river with life,” she said. “We need the Colorado River’s water for the survival of the fish, but also for the survival of the Cucapá people.” So much could be saved, she said, if even a small amount of water were set aside to let the river be a river again, and flow to its end. The Times podcast: Colorado River in Crisis Ian James is a reporter who focuses on water and climate change in California and the West. Before joining the Los Angeles Times in 2021, he was an environment reporter at the Arizona Republic and the Desert Sun. He previously worked for the Associated Press as a correspondent in the Caribbean and as bureau chief in Venezuela. Follow him on Bluesky @ianjames.bsky.social and on X @ByIanJames. Albert Brave Tiger Lee is a Southern California native, son of Korean immigrants, a father and a staff videographer at the Los Angeles Times. His work spans various mediums of visual storytelling and has been recognized for various disciplines including a national Emmy Award for News and Documentary, an RFK Journalism Award, Pictures of the Year International honors, the National Press Photographers Assn.’s Best of Photojournalism Award and Columbia University’s Dart Award. California Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Internet Explorer lacks support for the features of this website please use a modern browser such as Chrome A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States Strategic habitat restoration projects across the Klamath River watershed are laying the groundwork for future dam removals Once underway, the anticipated removal of four dams along the Klamath River would result in the largest such dam removal effort ever undertaken. But when reopening rivers for migratory fish removing barriers like dams and culverts is just the beginning There also needs to be plenty of high-quality habitat for fish to access upstream and community members have worked to build a network of restored habitat and other species throughout the Klamath River watershed.  The Klamath River flows through southern Oregon and northern California. It provides habitat for dozens of native fish species, including threatened coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead trout as well as multiple species of lamprey and suckers The river’s fisheries provide important subsistence and cultural resources for tribal communities They also support the region’s recreational and commercial fishing industries The Klamath was once the third largest salmon-producing river on the West Coast have contributed to declines in salmon and steelhead abundance Fish are blocked from accessing their habitat in much of the watershed The decline in fish populations has impacted tribal and commercial fisheries and the communities and economies they support.  Partners from across the region have collaborated for years on a plan to reopen more than 400 miles of habitat by removing four dams on the lower Klamath River efforts to improve fish passage and restore habitat elsewhere in the watershed have also progressed When the anticipated future dam removals occur they will allow fish to access many miles of habitat strategically restored by NOAA and partners Among the projects are several supported by NOAA Fisheries funding and technical assistance NOAA supported these and other projects in the Klamath River region through funding sources such as the Community-based Restoration Program and the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund Our staff also provided technical expertise needed to move projects forward by helping coordinate funding strategies each of the many projects in this region is providing important fish passage and water quality benefits these collective efforts are helping to reconnect a network of habitat for the salmon and other species that depend on the Klamath River and its tributaries Check out more trout reports and post your own in our inshore fishing forum. If you aren’t already a member of the site, be sure and register to get started today This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access. Eleven-year-old girl bags huge Bayou Bienvenue crab Captain Aaron Pierce will run to the structures and rigs in Terrebonne and Timbalier bays looking for the big trout coming out of the marshes.[…] said his go-to place to fish in April is the Sulphur Mine in Lake Pelto.[…] Anglers across Southeast Louisiana have seen a dramatic increase in not only the number of speckled trout but also the size of these fish.[…] ©2025 Louisiana Sportsman, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Employee Information The rebuilding of Toronto's long-lost Don River mouth is nearing completion, and will soon become the jewel in the crown of the City's $1.3 billion Port Lands Flood Protection Project (PLFP) Excitement over the recently flooded artificial river mouth — which forms the new Villiers Island as it snakes through the post-industrial landscape — has been building since the project crossed a pivotal milestone in February when the river valley was filled to the water level of Lake Ontario Over the months that followed, new views of the new naturalized river mouth have continued to captivate the public, including the removal of one of two plugs dividing off the waterway from its surroundings plant life has started to overtake the artificial valley bringing it closer to the verdant space promised in pre-construction renderings Videographer Jonathan Careless has been capturing aerial views of the Port Lands' transformation for the last several months and the latest drone footage shows how plant life has begun to quickly populate the banks of the new river valley Captured in crystal-clear 4K, this drone footage highlights how the newly greened river banks will blend into surrounding park spaces and invite passersby to interact with the naturalized waterway The public already got its first taste of the reconfigured Port Lands when futuristic new bridges opened earlier this year More will be revealed when new parks open in the spring and summer of 2025, and development of the newly flood-protected blocks for housing is expected to begin shortly after Jonathan Careless/YouTube Subscribe to our mailing list to get the latest news on the cleanup progress See our privacy policy to learn more about how we store your details We send a newsletter every month—stay tuned for the next one check your spam folder or reach out so we can look into it together Rivers are the main source of ocean plastic pollution. They are the arteries that carry waste from land to the ocean. According to our research, 1000 rivers are responsible for roughly 80% of riverine pollution we need not only to clean up what is already out there but also stop new plastic from entering the ocean our goal is to tackle the most polluting rivers all over the world Every single year, marine plastic costs the economy (6 to 19) billions of dollars – impacting tourism And that doesn’t include the impact on our health and on the marine ecosystem Intercepting plastic in rivers is much more cost-effective than dealing with the consequences downstream and tides all have a major influence on the success of a river intervention we have a family of technology solutions to choose from we investigate the most suitable and effective ways to intercept plastic in other rivers on a case-by-case evaluation and more solutions will be added to our portfolio The Interceptor Original is our first river cleanup technology The Interceptor Original is a high-tech solution with solar-powered mechanics and connectivity for easy performance tracking we entered a partnership with Konecranes to begin manufacturing for more locations Due to its autonomous and large cleaning capacity this is the primary technology we evaluate for feasibility in any new river we plan to tackle We currently have deployed this technology in six locations: Indonesia The Interceptor Barrier is a solution that consists of a standalone floating barrier anchored in a U-shape around the mouth of a small river This intercepts the trash and buffers it until it is removed from the water The design builds on our experience from our existing Interceptor deployments it is a variation of the barrier we use to concentrate trash toward the mouth of a standard Interceptor most of the barrier is permeable and is thereby optimized to efficiently buffer trash in the water The Interceptor Tender was developed to work alongside our Interceptor Barriers This small powered barge uses a conveyor belt to scoop up the trash from a barrier and offload it into a dumpster onshore While the Interceptor Barrier is a tool to intercept trash it’s not capable of extracting and offloading on its own This is where the Interceptor Tender comes in This mobile extraction and offloading unit – developed in collaboration with Berky GmbH – is capable of servicing multiple barriers and we expect to see multiple Interceptor Barrier deployments in close proximity to others This means that the cost of extraction/offloading equipment is shared over multiple Interceptor sites The Interceptor Barricade was installed for testing in the Rio Las Vacas in late May 2023 to halt the yearly tsunamis of trash that flood down the river during the rainy season To withstand these exceptional high-pressure events we developed a new Interceptor concept for this location The Interceptor Barricade consists of two booms: one upstream and one downstream The one upstream will take the majority of the pressure and the waste This location is best suited for effective plastic extraction The boom downstream catches any plastic missed or lost due to the pressure build-up and rapid trash accumulation in this uniquely challenging river The Interceptor Guard was first deployed in D’Aguilar Gully The Interceptor Guard is specifically suited for shallow waters The Interceptor Guard can also be used in combination with an Interceptor Barrier we see that wind and waves can move trash too far from the reach of the Interceptor Tender – making extraction and processing more difficult the Interceptor Guard can be installed to prevent captured trash from flowing back upstream in the gully We currently have 17 Interceptors deployed in 8 countries Keep track of upcoming and deployed Interceptor Solutions on our dashboard we see ourselves as the architects of river projects to stop the inflow of plastic into the oceans We bring the knowledge (where and how to intercept riverine plastic) and use an extensive network to raise awareness Given the scale and the urgency of the issue can help us in reaching our goal of tackling plastic in the 1000 most polluting rivers "The Interceptor 004 in the Dominican Republic has catalyzed nationwide discussions and concrete action on the system around the system and the whole plastic and waste management chain This collaboration serves as a reference for other global developments under the collaboration agreement between The Ocean Cleanup and UNDP" "We are excited about the possibilities to embed more sustainable practices into our operations including new ways to support our existing cleaning methodology in Klang River that can withstand strong currents and manage both organic and inorganic waste" "The project is super exciting and a great learning opportunity It’s a game changer for the cleanup of the Kingston Harbour What I love about it is to see the buy-in from our government partners the private sector and from the general public." "It has brought tremendous satisfaction to see so many people invested in cleaning up Kingston Harbour This project is now our legacy to those who follow; nothing is impossible and if we continue to work together everyday we’ll get closer to ridding our world’s oceans of plastic." "I’m happy to be able to contribute so far especially on the water-based waste collection before it enters the sea and being able to capture plenty of waste." "Working together with The Ocean Cleanup to clean some of the most polluted rivers in Indonesia is a blessing for me It provides me with an opportunity to give back to my beloved country Indonesia Let’s work together to leave cleaners rivers and oceans for the future generation!" Join us in tackling 1000 rivers – by helping to spread the message about riverine pollution and supporting our mission a nearly 15-mile waterway in Alcona County that flows into Lake Huron has had an issue where sand moves and builds up at the mouth that lets water into Lake Huron but for water crafts such as canoes and larger boats Many residents and officials have different reasons for the origin of the stronger currents that create this buildup but there is no clear answer for how this started All anyone knows is that it’s an issue that needs resolution The issue was apparent in a television episode of “Michigan Out-of-Doors,” a series dedicated to looking at the many aspects of nature in the state a professional angler in Northeast Michigan showed the show’s hosts the small and narrow mouth of the river He could not get out onto Lake Huron from the boat launch on Black River Alcona Township handled the parks around the river and the river itself the township had Lafave Excavating come and dredge the sand out of the entryway the sand is back to block watercrafts from entering or exiting to Lake Huron the township gave that responsibility to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources while it handles the parks the DNR bears the responsibility to fix the issue the DNR continues to dredge the sand and lay it out on the beach and Marlena Mac Neill are locals near Black River who are upset with the lack of resolution to the ongoing issue Each of them have worked with government officials to try to get the ball rolling on a solution but are frustrated with the lack of any progress then they charge back the state of Michigan for the amount of money that’s going to be spent on dredging “This is nearly crazy when they’ve got the study to do something out here.” The study Gauthier refers to was conducted by GEI Consultants of Michigan in Oct It was a study that the DNR paid for to figure out the best long term solution to the overbearing siltation GEI found the two solutions that meet the objectives of its study would be constructing jetties or a breakwall; although it said jetties would be “less costly and more likely to be permitted with the appropriate design and sediment transport studies.” A jetty is a long narrow structure that protrudes out and into the water for people to walk on The study said constructing this solution would cost $2 million and that “if the DNR spent as much as $50,000 annually to dredge the mouth of the Black River the capital cost of the jetties would be equivalent to 44 years.” DNR parks and recreation division Gaylord district supervisor but that an average dredge costs the department $12,000 they want it due to concerns for safety and the wellbeing of people “The fire department provides fire and emergency services to the entire Alcona Township area to include water emergencies on Lake Huron or Black River,” Alcona Township Fire Department Fire Chief Chad Kamischke said in an email “Traversing through the mouth is always of great concern as it gets plugged up so frequently We strongly support fixing the mouth to provide a safe and reliable mouth to access lake huron Our next closest rescue resource would have to come either from the sheriff in Harrisville or the coast guard out of Tawas.” Residents like Gauthier also worry for the wellbeing of fish that spawn seasonally in Black River Gauthier was a part of the Alcona Black River Watershed Advisory Council a group created in 2006 to support the wildlife of the river which look like small arches for the river to flow through made the water move faster as it went through the passage creating problems for fish that swam upstream in the river to lay eggs As the council worked closely with government officials to perform studies on the many fish that inhabit the river it learned that Black River holds native fish species such as Chinook salmon The culvert and water flow issue was resolved and the council parted ways Gauthier is concerned that the digging of sediment is disturbing the fish’s life cycle “It’s certainly not good to be dredging out here when the fish are spawning,” Gauthier said you don’t want you just don’t want this mess It’s not ecologically good just for the sole reason of all the species of wildlife that use the Black River.” Hill said the DNR has a permit to dredge up the mouth of the river and it does not have any restrictions in concern for fish spawning “We recognize that the river naturally builds up sediment and it creates a challenging issue to resolve,” Hill said we are evaluating what this could look like.” Hill said no final decisions have been made for a definitive solution and the DNR is always looking into the matter has become aware of the issue from residents who call in to his office He said he thinks it is a large public safety concern and will support the DNR if they decide to ask the state government for funds on a construction project “The DNR does a great job with helping the state’s waterways and the people that live around them I will be supportive and give letters of recommendation if they need it the Alcona Township board unanimously approved the formation of a committee to push a solution forward Gauthier is the lead person for the committee Today's breaking news and more in your inbox Copyright © 2025 Alpena News Publishing Company | https://www.thealpenanews.com | 130 Park Place MAYPORT - Looking and sounding like something out of a Stephen King movie a huge oceangoing ship passed within a few hundred yards of us because we heard its groaning marine fog horn every few minutes - sounding menacing and eerie in the near-zero visibility Next we heard the ship's thumping and powerful engines and then its huge bow wave crashed into nearby giant rock jetties at the mouth of the St sloshing whitewater and foam six feet high "Not a very good time to be crossing the river in a little fishing boat from one jetty to the other," said well-known Jacksonville area guide Kirk Waltz "Think we'll just stay right here and keep working the edge of the jetty rocks well out of the foggy shipping channel." who right then snapped a rod hook set and drove a one-fourth-ounce jig barb into a deep unseen fish that struck on the north side of the north jetties at the mouth of the river that fought deep and stubborn against his light spinning rod Kogan skillfully worked the fish close and lifted it into Waltz's new 22-foot Pathfinder "I think this one fits legally in the slot limit and would be pretty good for my dinner tonight," said Kogan better known as the "kayak man" for his local prowess with the little paddle craft so popular with many area anglers That was the third and last keeper redfish for our crew that morning and Kogan's thick-body 26-incher looked to weigh close to 7 pounds the redfish limit doubles for North Florida sportsmen and North and Northwest regional anglers then can collect two slot redfish apiece While we caught and released plenty of other redfish - some pushing 10 pounds - we filled the boat cooler with other good-eating fish that struck around the inlet jetties locally but incorrectly known as ringtails It was a banner day of light-tackle fishing launching at the Mayport public ramp and running up-river near the little jetties of the St Johns - where the south side of the Intracoastal Waterway crosses the river First stop was over a broken-bottom area in 20 to 25 feet of water at a place Waltz said had been giving up lots of weakfish casting one-fourth- to three-eighths-ounce jigs tipped with chartreuse Berkley GULP bodies but there were enough keepers to make it interesting where the difference in ocean water temperature turned a light fog into a thick But Waltz fishes the area often and knows the rocks and the fishy citizens well He positioned the Pathfinder within easy casting distance of the giant jetties and we boated an occasional porgy - a strange little saucer-shaped fish abundant this time of year as they spawn at the rocky mouth of the St so you'll land only one of every three or four that strike and the porgy action became non-stop once the tide began to flood early and the fog burned off by afternoon The fish were jammed in slack backwater pockets where a lightweight jig tipped with a piece of shrimp and allowed to slowly swirl and sink around the jetties Non-stretch braided line and a deft hand at the hook set were needed Pieces of fresh shrimp on jigs were important for best success Yet tipping even scent-enhanced GULP jigs with shrimp was helpful "I don't know where all the sheepshead are holding now," lamented Waltz as we headed back to the ramp on a balmy maybe they're offshore on reefs and wrecks getting ready to spawn I'm not seeing many flounder or black drum either river mouth fishing is still very productive - fun The Saginaw River Boating Access Site Expansion project will increase the number of boat launches at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources-operated boat launch near the Saginaw River outlet to Saginaw Bay The project will add three new boat launch lanes including at least 25 spaces able to accommodate vehicles with trailers Return to Tittabawassee River Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration main page plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices The fish rearing pond operated by the Kenosha Sportfishing and Conservation Association sits along the Pike River near the mouth where it exits into Lake Michigan The Pike River mouth closed in summer 2016 which reduces the situations that the city can open the river mouth by dredging The fish rearing pond run by the Kenosha Sportfishing and Conservation Association sits along the Pike River near the mouth where it exits into Lake Michigan the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will bring 40,000 baby salmon These salmon are part of wider efforts to sustain Lake Michigan fish populations Millions of salmon and trout are stocked each year across Wisconsin these fish are also the basis of a significant fishing tourism industry with people coming from across the region and even the country to go fishing along Kenosha’s shores and riversides But issues concerning the outlet of the Pike River could put future fishing seasons at risk according to Kenosha Sportfishing and Conservation Association leadership said the DNR recently expressed concerns about using the Kenosha Salmon Rearing Pond the DNR has a lease with the City of Kenosha for the rearing pond and KSFCA has a lease with the DNR to operate of the facility This has been the case for a number of years with the DNR providing the fingerlings and KFSCA taking care of the rest Kreuser said the DNR considers the pond one of the more successful in the state but recent city permit changes mean there are fewer situations when the city can dredge the mouth of the Pike River “The mouth of the river is too unpredictable They’re afraid if we release the salmon that they’re going to go upstream and die and not go out into the lake,” Kreuser said DNR would need to haul the salmon to the lake the DNR says it could stock the baby salmon in alternate locations Kreuser said while that’s a good backup plan the harbor comes with increased risks that could negatively impact future fishing seasons Unlike the temperature-controlled rearing pond Kreuser said a warm spring would require releasing the young fish early so they don’t die in the warmer water But an early release puts the young fish at risk of being eat by predators the rearing pond pumps in water from the Pike River they return to the waters of the familiar river draws fishing enthusiasts from across the region “If they leave Kenosha Harbor and go into the lake we lose that spawning opportunity,” Kreuser said The club is working with the city to rewrite the lease to make KFSCA responsible for the rearing pond a plan for which DNR officials have expressed support The club would have to raise funds for a tank trailer and fish pump should the river mouth close Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network Executive Director Dave Giordano has been working with Kreuser and other local leaders is a connection point between the potential environmental financial and recreational benefits that Root-Pike WIN’s conservation work can bring our community brand breaks down and our recreational opportunities break down.” both lifelong Kenosha residents and fishing enthusiasts “The banks were lined with people,” Kreuser said Giordano said enthusiasm for fishing often evolves into a focus on wildlife and nature conservation which has made extensive efforts to restore natural areas and parks the rearing pond and fishery are part of a broader push toward making the county an inviting area to the region Email notifications are only sent once a day An early morning fire has destroyed the former Uncle Mike's Highway Pub building Piggly Wiggly has been a neighborhood staple for groceries on Kenosha’s north side Two Pleasant Prairie women were charged May 2 in connection to a traffic death in the village The 54-year-old man whose body was recovered from a drainage culvert in the 10300 block of County Highway S appears to have died from exposure… A Lee Enterprises investigation found most states fail to protect vulnerable women and few law enforcement agencies punish the owners of the b… Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account Click here to see Canada's most comprehensive listing of projects in conceptual and planning stages Construction crews are in the process of creating a new mouth for the Don River in Toronto where it flows into Lake Ontario The project is part of the $1.25-billion Port Lands Flood Protection Project (PLFPP) a series of improvements and infrastructure work aimed at protecting swaths of land in the city’s southeastern downtown during extreme weather when floodwaters from the winding watercourse can overflow its banks The project will create a new mouth for the river in the middle of the Port Lands between the Ship Channel and Keating Channel as well as the foundations of a new urban island neighbourhood called Villiers Island There is still plenty of work to do but Waterfront Toronto is confident the project will be completed by the end of 2024 soil remediation and earthworks at Waterfront Toronto says the PLFPP project is going well and some important milestones have already been celebrated such as the partial opening on the new Cherry Street alignment last fall and the arrival and installation of four new bridges Re-engineering and re-naturalizing the mouth of the Don River is a complex project but will protect hectares of land from flood risks “The project will also deliver a substantial return on investment by helping set the stage for and facilitate future residential and commercial development in the Port Lands,” says Forbes Creating a new mouth for a still-flowing river is a complex project that has many moving parts had to be installed to separate the existing Don River from the new river valley a series of holes were drilled into the bedrock and filed with concrete to create piles Piles were drilled next to each other and overlapping to create the structure The walls extend up to three metres into the bedrock to support excavation sidewalls allow for continuous dewatering of the river valley during construction and prevent groundwater from entering the river valley Much of the soil in the river valley was geotechnically unsuitable and contaminated and was remediated for use elsewhere on the site A system of drains and pipes has been installed to draw down the groundwater and ensure the excavation remains dry during construction of the river finishes Crews installed a special liner to act as a barrier between the remaining soil and the newly constructed river valley clay levy cores and riverbanks were built on top of the liner were installed as part of the cutoff walls that ring the entire river valley to keep water from flowing in from other watercourses form something like a giant underground bathtub except that they keep the water outside of the bathtub,” explains Forbes along with the plug walls at different times “As we inundate the river by pumping in water from the lake the bathtub will still be in place,” notes Forbes “Once the water level in the river is roughly the same as the lake level we’ll remove the portions of the wall that align with the existing Don River channel and the new mouth at Lake Ontario to allow the water to flow.” The first plug to be removed will allow water from the Ship Channel to flow in an out of the Don Greenway A second plug connecting the new river with the Polson Slip and Lake Ontario and a third plug which connects the new river valley with the existing Don River will be the last to be removed Crews are still excavating some remaining sections of the river valley near the plugs Current work is focused in an area that was under the old alignment of Cherry Street between Commissioners and Polson streets Work also continues to install the river liner and underdrain and crews are doing below-grade earthworks and utilities installation in surrounding parks EllisDon is construction manager on the project Various subcontractors working on the project include those in trades related to excavation Engineers working on the project designed the new river valley to mimic a natural watercourse as much as possible a natural river meanders over time and engineers had to take that into account Forbes says they “bio-engineered” riverbanks that use a crib-wall system to create meanders but also stabilize the location of the river so that it doesn’t change its route “This is a system of logs with their roots still attached that are buried with the roots exposed to the river The structure is very resistant to erosion and has the added benefit of providing high-quality aquatic habitat.” 1.25B Port Lands flood protection one of the biggest projects in Toronto’s history TORONTO — Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Stevenson Memorial Hospital have invit.. — Construction of a phased expansion is underway for a new emergenc.. TORONTO — Ontario is taking a concrete step toward an idea Premier Doug Ford has.. TORONTO — Work is now underway on the third stage of the Gardiner Expressway Sec.. OHIO — The chief executive of Capital Power Corp TORONTO — The Canadian Mental Health Association says living with a mental healt.. — A long-delayed project promising nonstop rail service betwe.. Scientists astonished to find 600-mile long reef under the muddy water in a site already marked for oil exploration A huge 3,600 sq mile (9,300 sq km) coral reef system has been found below the muddy waters off the mouth of the river Amazon governments and oil companies who have started to explore on top of it which ranges from about 30-120m deep and stretches from French Guiana to Brazil’s Maranhão state was not suspected because many of the world’s great rivers produce major gaps in reef systems where no corals grow there was little previous evidence because corals mostly thrive in clear and the equatorial waters near the mouth of the Amazon are some of the muddiest in the world with vast quantities of sediment washed thousands of miles down the river and swept hundreds of miles out to sea But the reef appears to be thriving below the freshwater “plume”, or outflow, of the Amazon. Compared to many other reefs, the scientists say in a paper in Science Advances on Friday the Brazilian government has sold 80 blocks for oil exploration and drilling at the mouth of the Amazon and 20 of these are already producing oil – some “These [exploration] blocks will soon be producing oil in close proximity to the reefs but the environmental baseline compiled by the companies and the Brazilian government is .. Such large-scale industrial activities present a major environmental challenge,” said the study’s authors collecting water from an area over 7m sq km said: During ongoing search efforts at Kei River Mouth Police K9 Search and Rescue (Police divers and Police K9 team) located and recovered the body of a man in the vicinity of Kei River Mouth The body of the man was taken into the care of Police and Government Health Forensic Pathology Services Condolences are conveyed to family and friends of the deceased man While formal identification of the deceased man by family is in progress it is believed that the body of the man located and recovered is the local 22 year old male who went missing in the water at Kei River Mouth on Sunday while swimming with friends following reports of a drowning in progress on holiday in the area and who happened to be there at the time had entered the water to search for the local man who had gone missing while swimming KWAG (Kei Watch Action Group) and the SA Police Services responded while NSRI East London were placed on alert The lifeguard was joined by NSRI Kei Mouth rescue swimmers where free dive search efforts revealed no signs of the missing man NSRI Kei Mouth and KWAG members conducted shoreline search efforts continued in the ongoing search efforts and on Monday afternoon a body We’re proud to announce that our newly rebuilt NSRI Station 21 in St Francis Bay is now officially open we held a blessing ceremony for two new state-of-the-art rescue vessels: the Spirit of St Francis III .. Gqeberha — The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) today officially celebrated the blessing of its latest state-of-the-art Offshore Rescue Craft (ORC) at a ceremony held at the PE Deep Sea Angling Club building Subscribe today for information about NSRI rescues A woman has been found dead after going missing in the water in Northland near the mouth of the Waipu River after a massive search effort by Coastguard and Surf Life Saving volunteers Emergency teams spent the morning searching for the woman after she was reported missing overnight The alarm was raised around midnight when the woman’s friends saw her enter the water near the mouth of the Waipu River but not return Coastguard and Waipu Cove Surf Life Saving conducted shoreline searches Police said she was found by volunteers from Coastguard Whangārei around midday Saturday A Coastguard spokeswoman said six volunteers from Coastguard Whangārei launched rescue vessel Circa Rescue at 12.40am before searching the area until 3am They resumed their search shortly after 8am with the Coastguard volunteers finding the woman at 12.13pm Northland Coastguard Air Patrol’s Cessna was also involved in the search “Our heartfelt thoughts are with her family and friends during this incredibly difficult time We extend our gratitude to all those involved in the search for their efforts,” the spokeswoman said Sign up to The Daily H a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday we aren’t managing the risks for our young people well.' .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a} From the headwaters to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River (photos) Ohio - Although the Cuyahoga River begins just 30 miles south of Lake Erie it meanders for more than 80 miles before it finally empties into the lake near downtown Cleveland The river starts off as a trickle behind a farm field in Montville Township as the East Branch of the Cuyahoga River and eventually meets up with the West Branch of the Cuyahoga River in eastern Geauga County  The southern most point of the river is in the Chuckery area of Cascade Valley Metro Park the river flows through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park then through Independence and into the industrial valley of Cleveland To see all of our coverage of the Cuyahoga River as we approach the 50th anniversary of the famous 1969 fire, click here See the different sections of the Cuyahoga below The East Branch of the Cuyahoga River starts as a tiny stream behind a farm field in northeast Geauga County just northeast of the intersection of US 6 (also known as the Grand Republic of the Army Highway) and Clay Street in Montville Township  The West Branch of the Cuyahoga River starts south and west of there east of Chardon This is the first easily visible sign of the river a trickle of water about to enter a drainage pipe at the intersection of US 6 and Clay Street.(David Petkiewicz the river passes through a drainage pipe beneath US 6 (following the crack in the road) as it starts its journey The official beginning of the Cuyahoga River is off in the distance in the woods behind this farm on Plank Rd The West Branch of the Cuyahoga River starts east of Chardon and it too flows south the two branches of the river will eventually meet to become the Cuyahoga River This section of the West Branch of the Cuyahoga River passes under Chardon-Windsor Road Headwaters Park in Claridon and Huntsburg Townships Headwaters Park is the home of the East Branch Reservoir and is owned by the City of Akron  It is leased by the Geauga Parks District and is controlled by a dam and spillway at the south end of the park East Branch Reservoir stores much of the water that will eventually flow to Lake Erie after serving the residents of Akron and its suburbs Although the sign says Cuyahoga River at the south end of the Headwaters Park the river still hasn't met up with the West Branch to fully form the Cuyahoga River Maps at this location still list the river as the East Branch of the Cuyahoga River home of the merged rivers forming the Cuyahoga River Just about 1 mile north of this spot (not accessible on foot) are where the West Branch and East Branch of the Cuyahoga Rivers meet and become one river  At this point there is probably about 80 miles of winding river to go before the river empties into Lake Erie (although it's just about 30 miles as the crow flies) Cuyahoga Falls is the home of the Little Falls one of the few places on the river with naturally occurring waterfalls Akron Water Treatment Plant on the Cuyahoga River The water plant supplies nearly 35 million gallons of water to Akron and some of its surrounding suburbs It's at this point in the Chuckery area of Cascade Valley Metro Park that the river starts to head north towards Cleveland The river passes through the CVNP providing many places to enjoy the river and plenty of places for scenic photography The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad passes over the river during its sight-seeing trips The towpath trail in the park comes right up to the river in a few spots The river approaches Cleveland in Independence One of the last spots along the river before it works its way into the industrial valley is in the Ohio and Erie Canal Reservation in Independence  The path in the reservation has both the river on one side Ohio and Erie Canal Reservation in Independence Both the Cuyahoga River and the canal pass under the Valley Railway Bridge that was built in 1884 The Brecksville Road bridge passes high over the Cuyahoga River in Independence The industrial valley along the Cuyahoga River Industries lined the shores of the Cuyahoga River near downtown Cleveland for decades and were responsible for the pollution and fires along the river  Much of the river has been cleaned up and some industry Recreation and dining are the two biggest draws at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River  During the summer there is plenty to do at the end of the Cuyahoga River's journey The yellow spots on the map are where the GPS on my camera marked the places where I took most of the photos for the project  And it roughly follows the path of the Cuyahoga River from start to finish Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site Ad Choices  The river continues south toward Akron  The southern most point of the river is in the Chuckery area of Cascade Valley Metro Park To see all of our coverage of the Cuyahoga River as we approach the 50th anniversary of the famous 1969 fire, click here Water flows with great force from the Amazon River into the sea at its mouth Credit: Universal Images Group North America LLC/Alamy A Brazilian petrochemical company wants to drill exploratory oil wells in the ocean near the mouth of the Amazon Although Brazil’s environmental-protection agency has so far rejected the state-run firm’s request researchers worry that the plan might one day be approved encouraging further offshore drilling in the area they are concerned about the effects of the drilling — and inevitable oil leaks — on a vast reef system nearby Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02187-3 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00142 (2018) Download references The distribution of subsurface microplastics in the ocean Wide-swath satellite altimetry unveils global submesoscale ocean dynamics SWOT satellite provides a finer view of climate-driving ocean dynamics Plant diversity dynamics over space and time in a warming Arctic When a great ball of fire came crashing down Trade tariffs could worsen deforestation in South America Why the green-technology race might not save the planet Trump blew up the global fight against AIDS Why we need to measure people’s well-being — lessons from a global survey HT is an interdisciplinary research institute created and supported by the Italian government whose aim is to develop innovative strategies to pr.. UNIL is a leading international teaching and research institution with over 5,000 employees and 17,000 students split between its Dorigny campus Department of Energy and Environmental Materials and advance cancer research in a leading translational institute Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute We are seeking a tenure-track associate professor to promote interdisciplinary research in nanoprobe life sciences or related interdisciplinary field Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science