. Medical and Hospital News .




WATER WORLD
Liverpool Bay sediment discovery could save millions
by Staff Writers
Southampton UK (SPX) Apr 18, 2013


Liverpool Bay. Credit: NASA World Wind - Landsat 7.

New research tracking the movement of dredged sediment around Liverpool Bay could save millions of pounds, according to scientists at the National Oceanography Centre in Liverpool.

Each year, sediment has to be dredged from the port and deposited elsewhere to maintain access for commercial vessels. But according to the new study, the dredged material appears back in the port again within just a few weeks of its removal, carried by sea currents.

"There are two competing sediments coming in; from the sea and from the river," says Dr Alex Souza of the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) National Oceanography Centre. "They meet in the estuary where they begin to fill up the channel.

"They need to be dredged so that ships can get through but it's a very expensive thing to do.

"At the moment, they move millions of tonnes every year, but some of it is carried back there by sea currents within a month."

The team used computer models to predict the movement of a particle of dredged material once it had been deposited in the bay.

"It's just like the computer models they use to predict the weather," says Dr Souza. "For the weather they track a balloon; here we are tracking a particle of sediment."

Previous models hadn't taken into account the differences in density between fresh water from the river and salty seawater.

Those differences drive currents which, in turn, affect the movement of the dredged sediment.

The costs of dredging are not just economic. Concern has also been expressed about the disturbance of contaminated materials and the damage they could cause to the environment.

Dr Souza and his team are working with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) to look for areas within the Mersey Estuary where the material could be safely disposed.

"The money saved could be in the millions of pounds," he says. "Obviously, repeatedly dredging the same material is costing a lot of money, but the savings in environmental costs could be even greater."

The Port of Liverpool, managed by the Mersey Dock and Harbour Company, is one of the most important for commercial goods in the UK, handling nearly 700,000 containers annually.

Plans are in place for a second terminal which, when completed, will almost double Liverpool's shipping capacity and accommodate some of world's largest container vessels.

In order to house those larger ships, the new development will require substantial dredging work to deepen the channel.

The study is published in the Journal of Operational Oceanography and forms part of the iCOAST project, helping to forecast the changing shape of the UK coastline.

1. Reference: Souza AJ, Lane A (2013) Effects of freshwater inflow on sediment transport. Journal of Operational Oceanography, Volume 6, Number 1, February 2013, pp. 27-31(5)

.


Related Links
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

Get Our Free Newsletters
Space - Defense - Environment - Energy - Solar - Nuclear

...





WATER WORLD
Sea Mammals Find U.S. Safe Harbor
Burlington VT (SPX) Apr 16, 2013
In 1972, a U.S. Senate committee reported, "Many of the great whales which once populated the oceans have now dwindled to the edge of extinction," due to commercial hunting. The committee also worried about how tuna fishing was accidentally killing thousands of dolphins, trapped in fishing gear. And they considered reports about seal hunting and the decline of other mammals, including sea otters ... read more


WATER WORLD
Pakistan quake victims burn tyres at angry protests

Hong Kong searches for 6 missing crew after boat crash

Texas fertilizer plant blast 'kills up to 15'

Fukushima leaking radioactive water

WATER WORLD
Lockheed Martin GPS Satellites To Help Test New L2C Signal Civil Navigation Capability to Improve GPS Navigation

Smithsonian dedicates new exhibition to navigation

Extreme Miniaturization: Seven Devices, One Chip to Navigate without GPS

Down the slopes with space app in your pocket

WATER WORLD
Fascinating rhythm: The brain's 'slow waves'

From mice to humans, comfort is being carried by mom

DNA study suggests human immunity to disease has ethnicity basis

New Research Reveals How Human Ancestor Walked, Chewed, and Moved

WATER WORLD
Secrets of bacterial slime revealed

Chinese poachers' ship hauled off Philippine reef

Study proposes alternative way to explain life's complexity

How some leaves got fat: It's the veins

WATER WORLD
Discovery may help prevent HIV 'reservoirs' from forming

New bird flu strain seen adapting to mammals, humans

Half of Tamiflu prescriptions went unused during 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic

Experts probe human-to-human spread of China bird flu

WATER WORLD
Human rights in China worsening, US finds

China media praise reformer whose death sparked Tiananmen

China media praise reformer whose death sparked Tiananmen

Tibetans who commit suicide 'not crazy': Dalai Lama

WATER WORLD
US ships look to net big contraband catches in Pacific

US court convicts Somali pirates in navy ship attack

Ukraine to join NATO anti-piracy mission

16 gunmen killed in Thai military base attack: army

WATER WORLD
Outside View: Fresh evidence spring swoon grips U.S. economy

Outside View: Anti-growth policies slowing U.S. economy

World Bank changes tack to face new challengers

Eurozone faces new risks amid $13 billion Cyprus bailout




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement