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March 3, 2003 |
Product Review - Aqua-Vu� Under Water cameras
Data Buoy Developed by NOAA - Tests Underway Of New Prototype
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Tests Underway Of New Prototype The NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) has developed a new data buoy that is designed to give the agency faster response to service outages in its sprawling network of 70 data buoys located along the coasts of the United States, Hawaii, Alaska and the Great Lakes. The buoys supply important information that is used in potentially life-saving marine forecasts and warnings. Tests of the equipment are underway in the Gulf of Mexico.
About two weeks after each placement the Coast Guard will bring the test buoys back to the NDBC, where technicians will compare data gathered by the new buoys against the existing conventional models.
NDBC officials are hopeful the tests will prove the ADSMEX buoys can restore marine data quickly and at a lower cost. Instead of using conventional buoys that must be transported by ship, tests will determine whether a |
smaller version can be deployed by an airplane, providing a quicker, less expensive alternative. Using a ship to redeploy a buoy can take up to several weeks.
The network of data buoys supports many NOAA programs and provides data vital to NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) marine forecasts and warnings. using a ship to redeploy a buoy can take up to several weeks.
Data buoys collect real-time weather observations - from wind speed, wind direction and wave heights, to air and sea-surface temperatures. Those measurements are crucial to forecasting coastal storms.
The ADSMEX buoy, designed to last up to six months, is equipped with a GPS feature for tracking and can deploy a synthetic line strong enough to keep it anchored in the ocean floor in water as deep as 12,000 feet. The NDBC hopes this feature will help it withstand the roughest weather conditions. |
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Minnesota lakes get checkup from space ST. PAUL - Using satellite imaging and local volunteers, a group of scientists at the U. of Minnesota are studying the health of Minnesota's 10,469 lakes.
Across the state, 58% of lakes are clear to depths of 6 ft or more, according to data published last month. In a separate satellite survey of metro-area lakes published in October, scientists found that 34 metro lakes got clearer over the past 25 years as farmland gave way to suburban lawns.
By analyzing Landsat satellite images, scientists determine the water clarity of Minnesota's lakes provide readings to back up the satellite results. Minnesota is one of two states where researchers have used satellites to check water clarity. In Wisconsin, researchers have |
published a draft analysis of 8,000 lakes.
Lake monitoring from space is possible because turbid water, which contains algae or sediment, reflects more sunlight. Scientists familiar with the research say satellite monitoring can identify lakes whose water quality is declining. Long-term monitoring can help scientists determine whether steps to improve water quality are working.
In the Minnesota statewide survey, northern lakes, especially former mine pits, had the clearest water. In many pits, the water is clear for 20 ft or more, the study found. Southern Minnesota had the murkiest lakes, the results show. http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/4934579.htm
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Launching two "anti" model bills THE U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA) is preparing to launch two nationwide legislative campaigns that may prove to be the largest steps yet taken to bring about the ultimate defeat of the animal rights movement.
The Alliance will work on two fronts to defeat the anti's. First, it will work with key legislators to introduce model bills to help states prosecute animal rights terrorists and organizations. The Alliance will also campaign for model legislation that will outlaw unproven birth control methods for wildlife.
The USSA prepared The Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act, draft legislation to combat animal rights terrorism, and is promoting the bill to legislators in all 50 states. The model bill officially recognizes animal and eco-terrorism as a form of domestic terrorism; increases penalties for persons participating in politically motivated acts of animal or eco-terrorism and creates specific penalties for those who encourage, assist or finance these acts of terrorism.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a bipartisan membership association for conservative state lawmakers, has agreed to review the bill for endorsement. The draft legislation was recently presented before ALEC's |
Criminal Justice Task Force and the Homeland Security Working Group.
The Alliance is working with key legislators in Mississippi, New York, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin to have the bill introduced in 2003. The Alliance will initiate a campaign to rally the support of sportsmen and other groups that are affected by animal rights terrorism to back the legislation.
Anti-hunters continue to pressure local lawmakers to permit birth control as a wildlife management tool. The USSA is leading the fight against the anti-hunting threat. None of the drugs used in birth control projects on wildlife is approved for human consumption by the FDA or the USDA, despite the fact that venison is the most popular game food. Whether the drugs are safe for the deer or other wildlife is another concern.
Research by Rutgers University and other institutions shows that birth control methods are not effective on free-ranging animals and could be detrimental to wildlife.
USSA will work with state wildlife agencies, key legislators and professional lobbyists to introduce model legislation that requires these health concerns be addressed before permits.
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International Canada goose symposium slated for Madison MADISON � Wildlife and land managers from around the world are expected to attend The International Canada Goose Symposium, March 19-21, at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, Wis.
The symposium, jointly hosted by the Wisconsin DNR, USFWS, and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Wildlife Services, is the first major conference devoted exclusively to Canada geese in almost ten years, according to Ricky Lien, DNR Wildlife biologist.
"The symposium will cover a wide range of topics related to all Canada goose research and management," says Lien. "It will also include one full day devoted to issues specific to the subspecies of Canada geese commonly referred to as giants. Once thought extinct, the restoration of giants, a subspecies of Canada geese, is a real wildlife management success story. |
"But from some points of view it�s been too successful," he adds. "In Wisconsin and elsewhere across the country, growing giant Canada goose populations, especially in urban areas, have resulted in some people labeling them a nuisance."
The geese have adapted to parks, golf courses, greenways, private property and almost any area offering year-round open water and nesting habitat. Unlike their smaller cousins, the giant Canada geese seldom migrate any farther than necessary to find open water. In many areas they don�t migrate at all, according to Lien. During nesting seasons, they can be aggressive and when present in large numbers, their droppings foul beaches, sidewalks, picnic areas and recreation areas.
Cost: $150. For more info contact: Ricky Lien � 920-892-8756 ext. 3045 [email protected]
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