http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/31/2860925.htm
Lack of oxygen kills fish
Posted Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:49am AEDT
MAP: Pinjarra 6208
Authorities are blaming last week's storm for the deaths of about 1,000 fish near Pinjarra, south of Perth.
The bream were found along the Murray River near the Dandalup River mouth.
The Department of Water says there was a lack of oxygen in the water after fresh water was flushed into the river by the storm.
The Department's Leon Brouwer says the fish would have suffocated as a result.
"The rainfall event causes a lot of organic matter and other things to flow down through the water column, so the oxygen demand in the water column is very high and it essentially just strips out what available oxygen there is in the water column in a very quick time.
"Some species have been seen, like mullet and herring, swimming upstream from the areas we located the fish kill but others that do get caught out in those pockets where there's no oxygen can suffocate."
Fish kills have also been reported in the Swan and Canning rivers over the past week.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Lake Okeechobee Performance Measure - Diatom / Cyanobacteria Ratio
http://www.evergladesplan.org/pm/recover/recover_docs/et/lo_pm_cyano-diatom.pdf
Lake Okeechobee Performance Measure
Diatom/Cyanobacteria Ratio
Last Date Revised: March 7, 2007
Acceptance Status: Accepted
1.0 Desired Restoration Condition
The target is to substantially reduce the dominance of cyanobacteria relative to diatoms. This can be expressed as a numeric target of having a long-term pelagic ratio of biovolume (diatoms: cyanobacteria) greater than 1.5:1.
2.0 Justification
Studies of phytoplankton taxonomic structure of Lake Okeechobee in the 1970s indicated that the community was dominated by diatoms; today the community is dominated by pollution-tolerant bloom-forming cyanobacteria (Havens et al. 1996). The five-year mean diatom to cyanobacteria ratio for 2000-2005 was 0.63 (SFER, 2006). If phosphorus loads are substantially reduced the percentage of the community comprised of cyanobacteria should decline (LATHROP et al., 1998).
--------------------------
The target of this approach is to reduce phosphorus to reduce the cyanobacteria population. The alternative of increasing Silica to increase Diatoms population is not being discussed. This is an easier solution.
Lake Okeechobee Performance Measure
Diatom/Cyanobacteria Ratio
Last Date Revised: March 7, 2007
Acceptance Status: Accepted
1.0 Desired Restoration Condition
The target is to substantially reduce the dominance of cyanobacteria relative to diatoms. This can be expressed as a numeric target of having a long-term pelagic ratio of biovolume (diatoms: cyanobacteria) greater than 1.5:1.
2.0 Justification
Studies of phytoplankton taxonomic structure of Lake Okeechobee in the 1970s indicated that the community was dominated by diatoms; today the community is dominated by pollution-tolerant bloom-forming cyanobacteria (Havens et al. 1996). The five-year mean diatom to cyanobacteria ratio for 2000-2005 was 0.63 (SFER, 2006). If phosphorus loads are substantially reduced the percentage of the community comprised of cyanobacteria should decline (LATHROP et al., 1998).
--------------------------
The target of this approach is to reduce phosphorus to reduce the cyanobacteria population. The alternative of increasing Silica to increase Diatoms population is not being discussed. This is an easier solution.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Harmful Algal blooms increasing and causing low DO levels
http://blog.cleantechies.com/2010/03/29/ocean-oxygen-catastrophic-change/
Lower Ocean Oxygen Levels Predict Catastrophic Change
Published on March 29th, 2010 by Celsias
Posted in Climate Change & Carbon Emissions, Pollution, Water Resources
Leave comment »
There is a cascade failure going on in the world’s oceans that promises nothing but trouble in the future, and the problem stems in part from agricultural practices developed over the last half-decade aimed at growing more food on the same amount of land to feed rising populations.
A cascade failure is the progressive collapse of an integral system. Many scientists also call them negative feedback loops, in that unfortunate situations reinforce one another, precipitating eventual and sometimes complete failure.
The agricultural practices relate to “factory farming,” in which farmers grow crops using more and more chemical fertilizers, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, which are the first two ingredients (chemical symbols N and P) listed on any container or bag of fertilizer. The last is potassium, or K.
But farmers aren’t the only culprits. Lawn enthusiasts add to the problem with their massive applications of fertilizer designed to maintain a species of plant that doesn’t provide either food or habitat, and is grown merely to add prestige. And groundskeepers at parks and large corporate headquarters are equally guilty. In fact, a whole generation needs to rethink its addiction to lawns.
Whoever is guilty of applying the fertilizer, these megadoses are eventually washed off the fields and lawns and into waterways. From there, they migrate to the nearest large bodies of water, where they spark such tremendous and unnatural growth in aquatic plants that the result is eutrophication , or lack of oxygen in the water as bacteria act to reduce the sheer mass of dying organic matter.
One of these aquatic growths is algae, or phytoplankton. Moderate algal growth can produce higher fish yields and actually benefit lakes and oceans, but over-stimulation leads to a whole host of problems whose integral relationship to one another threatens not only aquatic but human life.
A classic example would be the Baltic Sea, where phytoplankton are raging out of control. The Baltic Sea is, as a result, home to seven out of ten of the world’s largest “dead zones,” aquatic areas where nothing survives.
One of the other three is the Gulf of Mexico, where a 2008 dead zone the size of Massachusetts is expected to grow in future years thanks to the U.S. government’s biofuel mandate. Most of the crops for biofuel are grown along the Mississippi River, which drains directly into this dead zone.
In the Baltic, as elsewhere, overfishing has exacerbated the problem. Fish feed on smaller aquatic organisms, which themselves feed on the algae. Take the fish out of the equation, and the balance is lost. It’s very much like removing the wolves that keep down the deer population in order to protect the sheep, and it doesn’t work in the ocean any better than it works on land.
Once the algal blooms begin to thrive, they block sunlight to deeper water and begin to kill off seaweeds and other aquatic plants which are home to fish species. The dying plants then consume more oxygen as bacteria consume them. And, as the seaweeds die, the few remaining fish and shellfish species move away, deprived of habitat.
This is a classic example of a negative feedback loop, and it is reinforced by every meal of fish, every instance of Scotts lawn fertilizer, and every ear of corn grown with a little help from Cargill or Dow, to name just two multinational fertilizer manufacturers.
Another example is occurring in the Pacific Northwest , along the West Coast of the United States, where — in Washington State, Oregon, and even Northern California — piles of Dungeness crab shells on the ocean floor mark areas of severe eutrophication well within sight of land.
Elsewhere along the Pacific shoreline, bird deaths – ranging from pelicans to sea ducks – predict a failure in the natural world that can’t help but reverberate among the planet’s prime predator, man.
These areas of eutrophication have always been present, but their spread – from one or two areas to miles of coastal waters – indicates a larger problem that is likely about to overwhelm not only the fishing industry and tourism but the existence of oceans as living entities.
As Oregon State University ocean sciences professor Jack Barth notes, the once-scarce areas of low oxygen have become the “new normal”, with old areas repeating and new areas cropping up every year. In many of these areas, oxygen levels are 30 percent lower than they were a mere half-decade ago.
Not all algal blooms are harmful or noxious, of course. But those which occur in response to eutrophication do seem to be, and these – known as HABs, or harmful algal blooms – include pseudo-nitzschia producing algae, which deliver a neurotoxin called domoic acid that can kill humans, birds and aquatic mammals that eat the affected shellfish; golden algae, which under certain conditions produce toxins that cause massive fish and bivalve (clams, mussels, oysters) kills; brown tides, which are not toxic in themselves but create aquatic conditions that can kill fish larvae; red tides, which produce brevetoxins that can affect breathing and sometimes trigger fatal, respiratory illnesses in humans; and blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, which can form dense colonies that cause water to smell and become toxic to fish, pets and humans.
This last, which has spread from Texas to Minnesota, has led to livestock deaths in the former. In the latter, where having a lake home is a sign of prestige, many homeowners have been forced to sell at a loss to get away from once-pristine lakes so smelly and toxic that dozens of pet dogs have been killed drinking the water.
Lower oxygen levels in oceans are very attractive to one species; jellyfish, and these odd creatures with their many tentacles and poisonous sting thrive under such conditions. In fact, jellyfish have few predators except man, and those few (tuna, sharks, swordfish, a carnivorous coral , one species of Pacific salmon and the leatherback turtle) are all at great risk of extinction because of eutrophication and its related conditions, pollution, overfishing and climate change.
As one of the most prolific species in the ocean, and certainly one with a long history (the species has been around since the Cambrian), jellyfish will probably take over the oceans if things continue as they have been going since the 1960s. This is good news for the Japanese, Chinese and other Oriental cultures who regard the slimy beast as a delicacy.
For the rest of us, jellyfish are an acquired taste, and one we had better acquire if we want to keep eating seafood. Either that, or we can support legislation that, in the U.S. at least, promises some relief through research, monitoring and rule-making regarding the Great Lakes and both coasts.
Article by Jeanne Roberts appearing courtesy Celsias.
---------------------------------------------------
This article seems to contradict the NASA finding that Phytoplankton population is decreasing.
www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020801plankton2.html
It also contradicts the old paper of 1958 by Prof Ryther that Diatom blooms cause high Dissolved Oxygen level.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1539030
The truth is perhaps that Diatoms blooms have decreased and other algal blooms have increased. No one seems to be monitoring this change.
Usually Chlorophyll 'a' is measured, however, Chlorophyll a is present in all types of algae, so it is not an effective means to identify useful vs harmful algae.
Lower Ocean Oxygen Levels Predict Catastrophic Change
Published on March 29th, 2010 by Celsias
Posted in Climate Change & Carbon Emissions, Pollution, Water Resources
Leave comment »
There is a cascade failure going on in the world’s oceans that promises nothing but trouble in the future, and the problem stems in part from agricultural practices developed over the last half-decade aimed at growing more food on the same amount of land to feed rising populations.
A cascade failure is the progressive collapse of an integral system. Many scientists also call them negative feedback loops, in that unfortunate situations reinforce one another, precipitating eventual and sometimes complete failure.
The agricultural practices relate to “factory farming,” in which farmers grow crops using more and more chemical fertilizers, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, which are the first two ingredients (chemical symbols N and P) listed on any container or bag of fertilizer. The last is potassium, or K.
But farmers aren’t the only culprits. Lawn enthusiasts add to the problem with their massive applications of fertilizer designed to maintain a species of plant that doesn’t provide either food or habitat, and is grown merely to add prestige. And groundskeepers at parks and large corporate headquarters are equally guilty. In fact, a whole generation needs to rethink its addiction to lawns.
Whoever is guilty of applying the fertilizer, these megadoses are eventually washed off the fields and lawns and into waterways. From there, they migrate to the nearest large bodies of water, where they spark such tremendous and unnatural growth in aquatic plants that the result is eutrophication , or lack of oxygen in the water as bacteria act to reduce the sheer mass of dying organic matter.
One of these aquatic growths is algae, or phytoplankton. Moderate algal growth can produce higher fish yields and actually benefit lakes and oceans, but over-stimulation leads to a whole host of problems whose integral relationship to one another threatens not only aquatic but human life.
A classic example would be the Baltic Sea, where phytoplankton are raging out of control. The Baltic Sea is, as a result, home to seven out of ten of the world’s largest “dead zones,” aquatic areas where nothing survives.
One of the other three is the Gulf of Mexico, where a 2008 dead zone the size of Massachusetts is expected to grow in future years thanks to the U.S. government’s biofuel mandate. Most of the crops for biofuel are grown along the Mississippi River, which drains directly into this dead zone.
In the Baltic, as elsewhere, overfishing has exacerbated the problem. Fish feed on smaller aquatic organisms, which themselves feed on the algae. Take the fish out of the equation, and the balance is lost. It’s very much like removing the wolves that keep down the deer population in order to protect the sheep, and it doesn’t work in the ocean any better than it works on land.
Once the algal blooms begin to thrive, they block sunlight to deeper water and begin to kill off seaweeds and other aquatic plants which are home to fish species. The dying plants then consume more oxygen as bacteria consume them. And, as the seaweeds die, the few remaining fish and shellfish species move away, deprived of habitat.
This is a classic example of a negative feedback loop, and it is reinforced by every meal of fish, every instance of Scotts lawn fertilizer, and every ear of corn grown with a little help from Cargill or Dow, to name just two multinational fertilizer manufacturers.
Another example is occurring in the Pacific Northwest , along the West Coast of the United States, where — in Washington State, Oregon, and even Northern California — piles of Dungeness crab shells on the ocean floor mark areas of severe eutrophication well within sight of land.
Elsewhere along the Pacific shoreline, bird deaths – ranging from pelicans to sea ducks – predict a failure in the natural world that can’t help but reverberate among the planet’s prime predator, man.
These areas of eutrophication have always been present, but their spread – from one or two areas to miles of coastal waters – indicates a larger problem that is likely about to overwhelm not only the fishing industry and tourism but the existence of oceans as living entities.
As Oregon State University ocean sciences professor Jack Barth notes, the once-scarce areas of low oxygen have become the “new normal”, with old areas repeating and new areas cropping up every year. In many of these areas, oxygen levels are 30 percent lower than they were a mere half-decade ago.
Not all algal blooms are harmful or noxious, of course. But those which occur in response to eutrophication do seem to be, and these – known as HABs, or harmful algal blooms – include pseudo-nitzschia producing algae, which deliver a neurotoxin called domoic acid that can kill humans, birds and aquatic mammals that eat the affected shellfish; golden algae, which under certain conditions produce toxins that cause massive fish and bivalve (clams, mussels, oysters) kills; brown tides, which are not toxic in themselves but create aquatic conditions that can kill fish larvae; red tides, which produce brevetoxins that can affect breathing and sometimes trigger fatal, respiratory illnesses in humans; and blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, which can form dense colonies that cause water to smell and become toxic to fish, pets and humans.
This last, which has spread from Texas to Minnesota, has led to livestock deaths in the former. In the latter, where having a lake home is a sign of prestige, many homeowners have been forced to sell at a loss to get away from once-pristine lakes so smelly and toxic that dozens of pet dogs have been killed drinking the water.
Lower oxygen levels in oceans are very attractive to one species; jellyfish, and these odd creatures with their many tentacles and poisonous sting thrive under such conditions. In fact, jellyfish have few predators except man, and those few (tuna, sharks, swordfish, a carnivorous coral , one species of Pacific salmon and the leatherback turtle) are all at great risk of extinction because of eutrophication and its related conditions, pollution, overfishing and climate change.
As one of the most prolific species in the ocean, and certainly one with a long history (the species has been around since the Cambrian), jellyfish will probably take over the oceans if things continue as they have been going since the 1960s. This is good news for the Japanese, Chinese and other Oriental cultures who regard the slimy beast as a delicacy.
For the rest of us, jellyfish are an acquired taste, and one we had better acquire if we want to keep eating seafood. Either that, or we can support legislation that, in the U.S. at least, promises some relief through research, monitoring and rule-making regarding the Great Lakes and both coasts.
Article by Jeanne Roberts appearing courtesy Celsias.
---------------------------------------------------
This article seems to contradict the NASA finding that Phytoplankton population is decreasing.
www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020801plankton2.html
It also contradicts the old paper of 1958 by Prof Ryther that Diatom blooms cause high Dissolved Oxygen level.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1539030
The truth is perhaps that Diatoms blooms have decreased and other algal blooms have increased. No one seems to be monitoring this change.
Usually Chlorophyll 'a' is measured, however, Chlorophyll a is present in all types of algae, so it is not an effective means to identify useful vs harmful algae.
Phytoplankton population declining
www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020801plankton2.html
SATELLITES SEE BIG CHANGES SINCE 1980s IN KEY ELEMENT OF OCEAN'S FOOD CHAIN
Since the early 1980s, ocean phytoplankton concentrations that drive the marine food chain have declined substantially in many areas of open water in Northern oceans, according to a comparison of two datasets taken from satellites. At the same time, phytoplankton levels in open water areas near the equator have increased significantly. Since phytoplankton are especially concentrated in the North, the study found an overall annual decrease in phytoplankton globally.
The authors of the study, Watson Gregg, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and Margarita Conkright, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Oceanographic Data Center, Silver Spring, Md., also discovered what appears to be an association between more recent regional climate changes, such as higher sea surface temperatures and reductions in surface winds, and areas where phytoplankton levels have dropped.
Phytoplankton consist of many diverse species of microscopic free-floating marine plants that serve as food to other ocean-living forms of life. "The whole marine food chain depends on the health and productivity of the phytoplankton," Gregg said.
The researchers compared two sets of satellite data -- one from 1979 to 1986 and the other from 1997 to 2000 -- that measured global ocean chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants that absorbs the Sun's rays for energy during photosynthesis. The earlier dataset came from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) aboard NASA's Nimbus-7 satellite, while the latter dataset was from the Sea-Viewing Wide Field of View Sensor (SeaWiFS) on the OrbView-2 satellite.
The researchers re-analyzed the CZCS data with the same processing methods used for the SeaWiFS data, and then blended both satellite measurements with surface observations of chlorophyll from ocean buoys and research vessels over corresponding time periods. By doing so, the researchers reduced errors and made the two records compatible.
Results indicated that phytoplankton in the North Pacific Ocean dropped by over 30 percent during summer from the mid-80s to the present. Phytoplankton fell by 14 percent in the North Atlantic Ocean over the same time period.
Also, summer plankton concentrations rose by over 50 percent in both the Northern Indian and the Equatorial Atlantic Oceans since the mid-80s. Large areas of the Indian Ocean showed substantial increases during all four seasons.
"This is the first time that we are really talking about the ocean chlorophyll and showing that the ocean's biology is changing, possibly as a result of climate change," said Conkright. The researchers add that it remains unclear whether the changes are due to a longer-term climate change or a shorter-term ocean cycle.
Phytoplankton thrive when sunlight is optimal and nutrients from lower layers of the ocean get mixed up to the surface. Higher sea surface temperatures can reduce the availability of nutrients by creating a warmer surface layer of water. A warmer ocean surface layer reduces mixing with cooler, deeper nutrient-rich waters. Throughout the year, winds can stir up surface waters, and create upwelling of nutrients from below, which also add to blooms. A reduction in winds can also limit the availability of nutrients.
For example, in the North Pacific, summer sea surface temperatures were .4 degrees Celsius (.7 Fahrenheit) warmer from the early 1980s to 2000, and average spring wind stresses on the ocean decreased by about 8 percent, which may have caused the declines in summer plankton levels in that region.
Phytoplankton currently account for half the transfer of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere back into the biosphere by photosynthesis, a process in which plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air for growth. Since carbon dioxide acts as a heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere, the role phytoplankton play in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere helps reduce the rate at which CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere, and may help mitigate global warming.
The paper appears in the current issue of Geophysical Research Letters.
SATELLITES SEE BIG CHANGES SINCE 1980s IN KEY ELEMENT OF OCEAN'S FOOD CHAIN
Since the early 1980s, ocean phytoplankton concentrations that drive the marine food chain have declined substantially in many areas of open water in Northern oceans, according to a comparison of two datasets taken from satellites. At the same time, phytoplankton levels in open water areas near the equator have increased significantly. Since phytoplankton are especially concentrated in the North, the study found an overall annual decrease in phytoplankton globally.
The authors of the study, Watson Gregg, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and Margarita Conkright, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Oceanographic Data Center, Silver Spring, Md., also discovered what appears to be an association between more recent regional climate changes, such as higher sea surface temperatures and reductions in surface winds, and areas where phytoplankton levels have dropped.
Phytoplankton consist of many diverse species of microscopic free-floating marine plants that serve as food to other ocean-living forms of life. "The whole marine food chain depends on the health and productivity of the phytoplankton," Gregg said.
The researchers compared two sets of satellite data -- one from 1979 to 1986 and the other from 1997 to 2000 -- that measured global ocean chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants that absorbs the Sun's rays for energy during photosynthesis. The earlier dataset came from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) aboard NASA's Nimbus-7 satellite, while the latter dataset was from the Sea-Viewing Wide Field of View Sensor (SeaWiFS) on the OrbView-2 satellite.
The researchers re-analyzed the CZCS data with the same processing methods used for the SeaWiFS data, and then blended both satellite measurements with surface observations of chlorophyll from ocean buoys and research vessels over corresponding time periods. By doing so, the researchers reduced errors and made the two records compatible.
Results indicated that phytoplankton in the North Pacific Ocean dropped by over 30 percent during summer from the mid-80s to the present. Phytoplankton fell by 14 percent in the North Atlantic Ocean over the same time period.
Also, summer plankton concentrations rose by over 50 percent in both the Northern Indian and the Equatorial Atlantic Oceans since the mid-80s. Large areas of the Indian Ocean showed substantial increases during all four seasons.
"This is the first time that we are really talking about the ocean chlorophyll and showing that the ocean's biology is changing, possibly as a result of climate change," said Conkright. The researchers add that it remains unclear whether the changes are due to a longer-term climate change or a shorter-term ocean cycle.
Phytoplankton thrive when sunlight is optimal and nutrients from lower layers of the ocean get mixed up to the surface. Higher sea surface temperatures can reduce the availability of nutrients by creating a warmer surface layer of water. A warmer ocean surface layer reduces mixing with cooler, deeper nutrient-rich waters. Throughout the year, winds can stir up surface waters, and create upwelling of nutrients from below, which also add to blooms. A reduction in winds can also limit the availability of nutrients.
For example, in the North Pacific, summer sea surface temperatures were .4 degrees Celsius (.7 Fahrenheit) warmer from the early 1980s to 2000, and average spring wind stresses on the ocean decreased by about 8 percent, which may have caused the declines in summer plankton levels in that region.
Phytoplankton currently account for half the transfer of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere back into the biosphere by photosynthesis, a process in which plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air for growth. Since carbon dioxide acts as a heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere, the role phytoplankton play in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere helps reduce the rate at which CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere, and may help mitigate global warming.
The paper appears in the current issue of Geophysical Research Letters.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Diatoms, Primary Productivity, Fish
The Dynamics of a Diatom Bloom
J. H. Ryther, C. S. Yentsch, E. M. Hulburt and R. F. Vaccaro
Biological Bulletin, Vol. 115, No. 2 (Oct., 1958), pp. 257-268
Published by: Marine Biological Laboratory
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1539030
Photosynthesis and Fish Production in the Sea
http://www.icess.ucsb.edu/~davey/Geog158/Readings/RytherScience1969.pdf
The production of organic matter and its conversion to higher forms of life vary throughout the world ocean.
John H. Ryther
Science, VOL. 166, 3 October 1969
The result has been modification of the estimate of primary production in the
world ocean from 1.2 to 1.5 x 10 * 10 tons of carbon fixed per year (5) to a new
figure, 1.5 to 1.8 x 10 * 10 tons (18 billion tons).
Attempts have also been made by Steemann Nielsen and Jensen (5), Ryther (8), and Koblentz-Mishke et al. (7) to assign specific levels or ranges of productivity to different parts of the ocean. Although the approach was somewhat different in each case, in general the agreement between the three was good and, with appropriate condensation and combination, permit the following conclusions.
1) Annual primary production in the open sea varies, for the most part, between
25 and 75 grams of carbon fixed per square meter and averages about 50 grams of carbon per square meter per year. This is true for roughly 90 percent of the ocean, an area of 326 x 106 square kilometers.
J. H. Ryther, C. S. Yentsch, E. M. Hulburt and R. F. Vaccaro
Biological Bulletin, Vol. 115, No. 2 (Oct., 1958), pp. 257-268
Published by: Marine Biological Laboratory
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1539030
Photosynthesis and Fish Production in the Sea
http://www.icess.ucsb.edu/~davey/Geog158/Readings/RytherScience1969.pdf
The production of organic matter and its conversion to higher forms of life vary throughout the world ocean.
John H. Ryther
Science, VOL. 166, 3 October 1969
The result has been modification of the estimate of primary production in the
world ocean from 1.2 to 1.5 x 10 * 10 tons of carbon fixed per year (5) to a new
figure, 1.5 to 1.8 x 10 * 10 tons (18 billion tons).
Attempts have also been made by Steemann Nielsen and Jensen (5), Ryther (8), and Koblentz-Mishke et al. (7) to assign specific levels or ranges of productivity to different parts of the ocean. Although the approach was somewhat different in each case, in general the agreement between the three was good and, with appropriate condensation and combination, permit the following conclusions.
1) Annual primary production in the open sea varies, for the most part, between
25 and 75 grams of carbon fixed per square meter and averages about 50 grams of carbon per square meter per year. This is true for roughly 90 percent of the ocean, an area of 326 x 106 square kilometers.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Diatomaceous earth
Many uses of Diatomaceous earth
http://www.agrisilica.co.za/diatomsconcentrate.html
http://www.diatoms.co.za/downloads/ENGBrochure.pdf
http://www.durhamhens.co.uk/Diatom.html
http://www.agrisilica.co.za/diatomsconcentrate.html
http://www.diatoms.co.za/downloads/ENGBrochure.pdf
http://www.durhamhens.co.uk/Diatom.html
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Dan Barber - How I fell in Love with a Fish
TED Video
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_barber_how_i_fell_in_love_with_a_fish.html
Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles his pursuit of a sustainable fish he could love, and the foodie's honeymoon he's enjoyed since discovering an outrageously delicious fish raised using a revolutionary farming method in Spain.
Dan Barber is the chef at New York's Blue Hill restaurant, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Westchester, where he practices a kind of close-to-the-land cooking married to agriculture and stewardship of the earth. As described on Chez Pim: "Stone Barns is only 45 minutes from Manhattan, but it might as well be a whole different universe. A model of self-sufficiency and environmental responsibility, Stone Barns is a working farm, ranch, and a three-Michelin-star-worthy restaurant." It's a vision of a new kind of food chain.
Barber's philosophy of food focuses on pleasure and thoughtful conservation -- on knowing where the food on your plate comes from and the unseen forces that drive what we eat. He's written on US agricultural policies, asking for a new vision that does not throw the food chain out of balance by subsidizing certain crops at the expense of more appropriate ones.
In 2009, Barber received the James Beard award for America's Outstanding Chef, and was named one of the world's most influential people in Time’s annual "Time 100" list.
"Dan Barber is increasingly becoming known as a chef-thinker, popularizing simple ideas that upend the way people think about the food we eat."
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_barber_how_i_fell_in_love_with_a_fish.html
Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles his pursuit of a sustainable fish he could love, and the foodie's honeymoon he's enjoyed since discovering an outrageously delicious fish raised using a revolutionary farming method in Spain.
Dan Barber is the chef at New York's Blue Hill restaurant, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Westchester, where he practices a kind of close-to-the-land cooking married to agriculture and stewardship of the earth. As described on Chez Pim: "Stone Barns is only 45 minutes from Manhattan, but it might as well be a whole different universe. A model of self-sufficiency and environmental responsibility, Stone Barns is a working farm, ranch, and a three-Michelin-star-worthy restaurant." It's a vision of a new kind of food chain.
Barber's philosophy of food focuses on pleasure and thoughtful conservation -- on knowing where the food on your plate comes from and the unseen forces that drive what we eat. He's written on US agricultural policies, asking for a new vision that does not throw the food chain out of balance by subsidizing certain crops at the expense of more appropriate ones.
In 2009, Barber received the James Beard award for America's Outstanding Chef, and was named one of the world's most influential people in Time’s annual "Time 100" list.
"Dan Barber is increasingly becoming known as a chef-thinker, popularizing simple ideas that upend the way people think about the food we eat."
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