Computers are everywhere these days -- even on surfboards. University of California, San Diego mechanical engineering undergraduates outfitted a surfboard with a computer and accompanying sensors -- one step toward a structural engineering Ph.D. student's quest to develop the science of surfboards.

The UC San Diego mechanical engineering undergraduates installed a computer and sensors on a surfboard and recorded the speed of the water flowing beneath the board. While the students surfed, the onboard computer sent water velocity information to a laptop on shore in real time.

This is part of Benjamin Thompson's quest to discover if surfboards have an optimal flexibility -- a board stiffness that makes surfing as enjoyable as possible. Thompson is a UC San Diego structural engineering Ph.D. student studying the fluid-structure interaction between surfboards and waves. By outfitting a surfboard with sensors and electronics that shuttle data back to shore, the mechanical engineering undergraduates built some of the technological foundation for Thompson's science-of-surfboards project.

Four undergraduates from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering outfitted a surfboard with eight sensors and an onboard-computer or "microcontroller." The students dug trenches into the board's foam and ran wires connecting the sensors to the onboard computer. From this computer, the data travels via a wireless channel to a laptop on land -- in this case, a beach in Del Mar, Calif.

The onboard computer also saves the data on a memory card.

"We were stoked to get good data and to be surfing for school," said Dan Ferguson, one of the two mechanical engineering undergraduates who surfed while the onboard computer captured water velocity information and transmitted it back to land.

The four mechanical engineering majors built the wired surfboard for their senior design project, the culmination of the MAE 156 course sequence. Each project has a sponsor, and in this case, the sponsor was Benjamin Thompson, the structural engineering Ph.D. student from UC San Diego and founder of the surfboard web site www.boardformula.com.

The onboard computer is in a watertight case the shape of a medium-sized box of chocolates. It sits at the front of the surfboard and glows blue. "What's on your board? What is that?" fellow surfers asked Ferguson. "We'd have to tell them it's a microprocessor connected to velocity sensors, and they would kind of nod and paddle away. It created a minor stir."

Each of the eight sensors embedded into the bottom of the board is a "bend sensor." The faster the water beneath the board moves, with respect to the board, the more the sensors bend, explained Trevor Owen, the other surfer on the four-person mechanical engineering team.

The data from the sensors runs through wires embedded in the board to the microcontroller. "You can see where we carved channels in the board," said Owen.

The most interesting part of the project for senior mechanical engineering major Victor Correa was using the microcontrollers and wireless transmitters to get the data to land.

Thompson, the project sponsor, is already working on a smaller version of the onboard computer. He hopes to shrink it down to the size of a cell phone and embed it flush with the top surface of the board.

Assembling, waterproofing and installing the microcontroller, connecting it to the sensors, and successfully transmitting the collected data to a computer on land required persistence and a lot of learning, explained senior mechanical engineering major Julia Tsai. "Everything hypothetically should take five minutes, but everything took at least three hours."

Even though the team has finished their class project, Ferguson plans to keep working with Thompson. "This project is going to apply some science that most likely [board] shapers understand pretty well...it's going to settle the debates. It's going to be black and white hard data to let them know for sure which ideas work, which concepts work, and why they work."

Surfboard Flex Surfboard flex refers to the temporary shape changes that surfboards are thought to undergo. While many surfers say flex makes their boards feel springy in the water, it has not been scientifically measured. Thompson hopes to scientifically document surfboard flex. Then he wants to determine if there is an amount of flexibility that enhances the performance and feel of a surfboard, and if this optimal flexibility depends on other factors such as surfer experience or wave conditions.

The surfboard project falls within a hot area of engineering research: the study of fluid-structure interactions. According to UC San Diego structural engineering professor Qiang Zhu, the study of fluid-structure interaction is important due to the large number of applications in mechanical, civil, aerospace and biological engineering. "In my opinion, its popularity in recent years is partly attributed to advances in experimental and computational techniques which allow many important processes to be studied in detail," said Zhu.

Text and Video by University of California, San Diego

Navigators know that the shape of surface waves provides information about the strength of underlying water currents. This common seafarer's knowledge is the object of the scientific inquiry of Adrian Constantin Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Vienna.

Funded by the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF), the project 'The flow beneath a surface water wave' aims to investigate the effect of currents on ocean waves. The results could be of importance for tsunami warning systems.

How can one distinguish mathematics from physics? While mathematics investigates properties of man-made abstract structures, physics seeks the general rules of nature by using mathematics. Adrian Constantin, who regards himself a 'pure mathematician', is entering unknown territory. The professor at the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Vienna is investigating mathematical models for wave-current interaction. The aim of the four year project 'The flow beneath a surface water wave' is to study the effect of an underlying current on a surface water wave. 'Seaman claim that certain currents could double the amplitude of incoming waves. It is a big challenge to prove this assertion.'

When the sea retreats

The main reason for Constantin's study was the catastrophic tsunami in 2004 which resulted in more than 230,000 victims. Many aspects related to the disaster still remain vague. For example, prior to the arrival of the tsunami in Thailand the sea retreated, while in India there was no such warning. 'Satellite measurements show that in the direction of Thailand there was a first wave of depression, while in India the opposite direction was first confronted with a wave of elevation,' says Constantin.

Danger on beaches with a mild slope

The initial shape of the wave determines the behavior of tsunami waves as they approach the shore. A related question is the number of waves that hit a particular location. Mathematical considerations show that this number is related to the wave profile at its source. 'The number of tsunami waves close to the shore is never greater than the initial number of waves,' he explains. The amplitude of these waves can only be predicted roughly since this aspect is closely related to the often very complicated topography of the sea bed.

If we know the shape of the tsunami waves at an earlier point in time, we could predict some of its features as it approaches the shore. Constantin says, 'Tsunami waves are very dangerous at mildly sloped beaches, whereas in steep regions reflection occurs. The speed of the tsunami wave is proportional to the square root of the water depth.'

Pressure on the seabed

Constantin, an occasional diver, finds the pressure deep down in the sea to be of special interest. 'The pressure beneath provides information about incoming waves. As the wave crest approaches overhead one notices an increase of pressure, while a decrease in pressure signals the arrival of a wave trough'.

Data from the flume

In collaboration with the Franzius Institute of Hydraulics, Waterways and Coastal Engineering at the Leibniz University of Hannover Constantin is investigating whether the conclusions derived from mathematical models are in agreement with field data. 'The cooperation with the Ocean engineers is important to us. Because of their involvement in city planning for coastal regions in South East Asia threatened by tsunami events, they have access to a lot of tsunami specific data.' Moreover, the longest water wave tank in the world is located in Hannover and is being used by Constantin and his team for experiments.

Text by University of Vienna Photo by NOAA

Despite growing awareness of the problem of plastic pollution in the world's oceans, little solid scientific information existed to illustrate the nature and scope of the issue. Now, a team of researchers from Sea Education Association (SEA), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the University of Hawaii (UH) published a study of plastic marine debris based on data collected over 22 years by undergraduate students in the latest issue of the journal Science.

A previously undefined expanse of the western North Atlantic has been found to contain high concentrations of plastic debris, comparable to those observed in the region of the Pacific commonly referred to as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch."

More than 64,000 individual plastic pieces were collected at 6100 locations that were sampled yearly over the course of the study. A surface plankton net was used to collect plastic debris as well as biological organisms at each station. The highest concentrations of plastic were observed in a region centered at 32°N (roughly the latitude of Atlanta, GA) and extending from 22-38°N latitude. Numerical model simulations by Nikolai Maximenko (UH) explain why surface currents cause the plastic to accumulate in this region.

Said SEA scientist Kara Lavender Law, the Science paper's lead author, "Not only does this important data set provide the first rigorous scientific estimate of the extent and amount of floating plastic at an ocean-basin scale, but the data also confirm that basic ocean physics explains why the plastic accumulates in this region so far from shore."

One surprising finding is that the concentration of floating plastic debris has not increased during the 22-year period of the study, despite the fact that the plastic disposal has increased substantially. The whereabouts of the "missing plastic" is unknown.

Says SEA Dean Paul Joyce, "The analysis presented in this Science article provides a robust scientific description of the extent of plastic pollution to date, which can be used to make better management and policy decisions, and to inform popular perceptions of this issue."

A companion study published in Marine Pollution Bulletin details the characteristics of the plastic debris collected in these tows. Most of the plastic is millimeters in size and consists of polyethylene or polypropylene, materials that float in seawater. There is evidence that biological growth may alter the physical characteristics of the plastic over time, perhaps causing it to sink.

"I think some of the big questions are colonization: who actually lives on these pieces of plastic?" said Chris Reddy of WHOI, who was co-author on both papers. "To what extent are ocean currents moving the small life on these plastic particles around the ocean?"

Data continue to be collected onboard SEA's sailing research vessels in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by undergraduate students in the SEA Semester program. A dedicated research cruise, Plastics at SEA: North Atlantic Expedition, recently investigated the eastern boundary of the Atlantic accumulation zone.

"The several thousand SEA Semester undergraduate students who helped collect and count plastic debris over the decades have been essential contributors to this work," said SEA president John Bullard. "They have gained a much fuller understanding of the oceans and the role humans play both in the present and its future."

Text and Photo by Sea Education Association

A magnitude-8.1 earthquake and tsunami that killed 192 people last year in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga actually was more complicated than initially thought: The 8.1 "great earthquake" concealed and triggered two major quakes of magnitude 7.8, seismologists report in Aug. 19 issue of the journal Nature.

"At first, we thought it was one earthquake," says study co-author Keith Koper, director of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations. "When we looked at the data, it turned out it wasn't just one great earthquake, but three large earthquakes that happened within two minutes of one another. The two quakes that were hidden by the first quake ended up being responsible for some of the damage and tsunami waves."

In terms of energy release, the two magnitude-7.8 quakes combined "represent the energy release of another magnitude-8 quake," says Koper, a seismologist and associate professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah. "It was essentially a great earthquake that was triggered. It was not some silly little aftershock."

Another study in the same issue of Nature reportedly refers to the two 7.8 quakes as a single quake. "I realize it looks inconsistent, but sometimes two events that occur quite close in time and space are considered a doublet, or two pieces of one earthquake," says Koper, who came to Utah this year from St. Louis University.

The quakes on Sept. 29, 2009, generated tsunami waves that varied in height depending on where they struck, but in some places the water reached more than 49 feet above sea level. The disaster killed at least 149 people in Samoa, 34 people in American Samoa and nine on Niuatoputapu, an island in the northern part of Tonga.

Quake Pattern Never Seen Previously

The most important scientific aspect of the quakes was their unprecedented pattern, Koper says. In technical terms, it is the first known case of a large "normal" fault earthquake (the 8.1) occurring on a plate of Earth's crust beneath the ocean, and then triggering major "thrust" quakes (the 7.8s) in the "subduction zone," where the oceanic plate is diving or "subducting" beneath a continental plate of Earth's crust.

Usually the opposite occurs: big "megathrust" quakes on the subduction zone boundary between two plates trigger other quakes on the oceanic plate that is diving or "subducting" under the continental plate.

Thrust quakes are those in which ground is pushed together along a fault, forcing the ground on one side of the fault either under or over ground on the other side. In the southwest Pacific Ocean, the Pacific Plate is moving westward and is thrust under the Tonga block, a "microplate" on the northeast edge of the Australian plate.

During normal quakes, ground is pulled apart along a fault. The magnitude-8.1 quake occurred when the Pacific plate broke at the "outer rise" where it begins to dive westward beneath the Tonga block. "This is the first time a large normal-faulting quake has been shown to trigger large thrust-faulting earthquakes," says Koper.

By showing that outer-rise normal quakes can trigger subduction-zone quakes, "this study will affect the way earthquake and tsunami hazards are calculated, not just in this region but potentially in other places around the world," Koper says.

He says all three quakes "contributed to the tsunami, but major components in the tsunami were these 7.8 thrust events."

All three quakes began 9 to 12 miles deep. The magnitude-8.1 quake lasted 60 seconds. The first magnitude-7.8 quake started sometime between 49 and 89 seconds after the 8.1 quake. The second 7.8 began 90 to 130 seconds after the first quake started.

The National Science Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey funded the study, which was led by seismologist Thorne Lay of the University of California, Santa Cruz. In addition to Utah's Koper, other co-authors are seismologists Charles Ammon of Pennsylvania State University, Hiroo Kanamori of the California Institute of Technology, Luis Rivera of the University of Strasbourg in France and Alexander Hutko of the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology's Seattle data center.

A Seismic Detective Story

Scientists became suspicious that the Samoa-Tonga quake wasn't a single quake when they noticed a discrepancy in so-called "beach balls," which are graphical depictions of fault motions during a quake.

"It was a real interesting detective story," says Koper. "When we first looked at this, we knew there were some inconsistencies. We just couldn't explain the seismograms with one earthquake, so we knew there was a problem. It took us several months to figure it out. We had to do subtle technical modeling of the seismograms."

A single quake at the location of the magnitude-8.1 quake could not explain the pattern of tsunami waves and how they varied in height in various areas, says Koper.

Also, "almost all the aftershocks were not where the main shock occurred," he adds. "That's very uncommon. That was a red flag when I saw that."

Koper says the first person to suggest more than one quake was Chen Ji, of the University of California, Santa Barbara, who argued at a scientific meeting last December that the Samoa quake hid a separate quake. That prompted the new study.

Koper says the researchers did extensive "waveform modeling" to analyze the properties of quake waves, and concluded the Sept. 29 "quake" really was three quakes.

Not Your Mother's Subduction Zone Earthquake

The Samoa-Tonga region sits on a plate boundary. The Pacific plate beneath the ocean pushes westward, colliding with and diving beneath the Tongan block. The magnitude-8.1 quake occurred when part of the diving Pacific plate pulled apart and broke as it dived beneath the Tonga block.

"The plate itself broke," Koper says. "It wasn't the rubbing of one plate against another. The bending stress [as the Pacific plate dives] got so big that it broke."

Scientists know of only three previous cases of great earthquakes -- those measuring magnitude 8 or more -- that happened due to pull-apart or normal faulting within a diving seafloor plate. They were the 1933 Sanriku, Japan, quake (about magnitude 8.4), which killed more than 3,000 people; the 1977 Sumba, Indonesia quake (8.3), which claimed 189 lives; and the 2007 Kuril Islands, Russia (magnitude 8.1).

Koper says the 2009 Samoa-Tonga quake sequence was "the first time a large normal-faulting quake has been shown to have triggered large thrust-faulting earthquakes on a plate boundary. We didn't realize these thrust earthquakes could be triggered by a normal earthquake. We've had seismometers only 100 years and good observations only the last 50 years, so not enough earthquake cycles have been observed to see this before."

"The shaking from the 8.1 triggered these two other large [7.8] earthquakes that happened in the normal place: the interface between the subducting Pacific plate and the overriding Tongan block," he says.

The Tonga subduction zone doesn't have an extensive history of great earthquakes like the subduction zones where the Pacific plate dives beneath Alaska and Chile. Scientists believe the Pacific plate usually slides under the Tonga block with most of the stress being relieved by moderate quakes and gradual creeping motion -- known as aseismic slip -- rather than producing great quakes, Koper says.

The 8.1 quake on the subducting Pacific plate may have occurred because the slowly diving rock pulled the rock behind it. Another factor could be an east-west "tear" in the Pacific plate north of Tonga and southwest of Samoa, where the Pacific plate moves west and is not subducting, as it is just to the south.

Text and Graphic by University of Utah

One of the ocean's most formidable marine predators, the marine mosasaur Platecarpus, lived in the Cretaceous Period some 85 million years ago and was thought to have swum like an eel. That theory is debunked in a new paper published August 10 in the journal PLoS ONE. An international team of scientists have reconceived the animal's morphology, or body plan, based on a spectacular specimen housed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

The paper was co-authored by a team of four scientists: Johan Lindgren (Lund University, Lund, Sweden), Michael W. Caldwell, Takuya Konishi (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), and Luis M. Chiappe, Director of the Natural History Museum's Dinosaur Institute.

The mosasaur specimen was discovered in Kansas in 1969, and acquired by the NHM shortly thereafter. It contains four slabs, which make up a virtually complete, 20-foot specimen. Dr. Chiappe spurred a modern preparation of the specimen, and assembled the paper's research team. "It is one of several exceptional fossils that will be featured in Dinosaur Mysteries," said Chiappe, curator of the 15,000-square foot landmark exhibition that opens at the museum in 2011.

In the meantime, the fossil will be temporarily on display at the museum's Dino Lab, a working lab located on the second floor of the museum, where paleontologists prepare fossils in full view of the public.

The specimen is "the finest preserved mosasaur in existence," according to Dr. Johan Lindgren, lead author of the published study. It retains traces of a partial body outline, putative skin color markings, external scales, a downturned tail, branching bronchial tubes, and stomach contents (fish).

Using it, the scientists demonstrate that a streamlined body plan and crescent-shaped tail fin were already well established in Platecarpus, and that these key features evolved very early in the evolution of mosasaurs. Noting the highly specialized tail fin, the new study assert that mosasaurs were better swimmers than previously thought -- and that they swam more like sharks than eels.

The findings underscore how these adaptations for fully aquatic existence evolved rapidly and convergently in several groups of Mesozoic marine reptiles, as well as in extant whales. "This fossil shows evolution in action, how a successful design was developed time after time by different groups of organisms adapting to life in similar environments," said Chiappe. "It highlights once again the potential for new discoveries to challenge well-established interpretations about dinosaurs and other animals that lived with them."

"From this beautifully preserved specimen it seems that advanced, shark like swimming began in mosasaurs millions of years earlier than we previously thought," said Dr. Kevin Padian, a paleontologist at the University of California, Berkeley, not involved in the paper. "This study is the best possible proof that active research by curators and staff is the most essential component of a museum dedicated to educating the public."

Text by Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Illustration by Stephanie Abramowciz, NHM Dinosaur Institute

The growing amount of human noise pollution in the ocean could lead fish away from good habitat and off to their death, according to new research from a UK-led team working on the Great Barrier Reef.

After developing for weeks at sea, baby tropical fish rely on natural noises to find the coral reefs where they can survive and thrive. However, the researchers found that short exposure to artificial noise makes fish become attracted to inappropriate sounds.

In earlier research, Dr Steve Simpson, Senior Researcher in the University of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences discovered that baby reef fish use sounds made by fish, shrimps and sea urchins as a cue to find coral reefs. With human noise pollution from ships, wind farms and oil prospecting on the increase, he is now concerned that this crucial behavior is coming under threat.

He said: "When only a few weeks old, baby reef fish face a monumental challenge in locating and choosing suitable habitat. Reef noise gives them vital information, but if they can learn, remember and become attracted towards the wrong sounds, we might be leading them in all the wrong directions."

Using underwater nocturnal light traps, Dr Simpson and his team collected baby damselfish as they were returning to coral reefs. The fish were then put into tanks with underwater speakers playing natural reef noise or a synthesized mix of pure tones. The next night the fish were put into specially designed choice chambers (long tubes with contrasting conditions at each end in which fish can move freely towards the end they prefer) with natural or artificial sounds playing. All the fish liked the reef noise, but only the fish that had experienced the tone mix swam towards it, the others were repelled by it.

Dr Simpson said: "This result shows that fish can learn a new sound and remember it hours later, debunking the 3-second memory myth.

"It also shows that they can discriminate between sounds and, based on their experience, become attracted to sounds which might really mess up their behavior on the most important night of their life."

In noisy environments the breakdown of natural behavior could have devastating impacts on success of populations and the replenishment of future fish stocks.

Dr Simpson added: "Anthropogenic noise has increased dramatically in recent years, with small boats, shipping, drilling, pile driving and seismic testing now sometimes drowning out the natural sounds of fish and snapping shrimps. If fish accidentally learn to follow the wrong sounds, they could end up stuck next to a construction site or follow a ship back out to sea."

Text by University of Bristol Photo by Dr Steve Simpson

Computer scientists from the University of Bristol are collaborating with shark researchers to build an international visual biometrics database of Great White Sharks.

The computer identification system will store images of the White Shark's unique dorsal fin to help international shark groups recognize and track individual species, providing them with a better insight into their behavior and how to protect them.

Dr Tilo Burghardt from the the University's Department of Computer Science, who is working on the project in collaboration with international partners, said: "We are developing the software for a system that will be able to automatically recognize features of White Shark dorsal fins using 'computer vision' technology, and then archive the animal information along with their IDs.

"We hope it will be usable within two years, with members of the public able to participate."

Michael Scholl, founder of NGO White Shark Trust, initiated and designed the photographic based fin-printing identification system enabling scientists to identify individual White Sharks over long periods of time with minimal interference with the wild animals. The present White Shark Trust fin-print database includes over 1,500 different White Sharks.

Michael added: "An automated software-based identification system is necessary for building an international centralized database for scientists to be able to collaborate and work together efficiently."

Text by University of Bristol Photo by Michael Scholl, founder of NGO White Shark Trust

A yearlong beach study led by a team of University of Miami researchers suggests that swimmers at sub-tropical beaches face an increased risk of illness. The multi-disciplinary team examined the risk of illness that beachgoers face when exposed to recreational marine water at sub-tropical beaches with no known source of pollution or contamination.

B.E.A.C.H.E.S. (Beach Environmental Assessment and Characterization Human Exposure Study) enlisted more than 1,300 volunteers, all local residents who regularly use South Florida beaches. Researchers divided study participants into two groups: volunteers who went into the water and those instructed to stay out of the water. The group that went in the water was asked to dunk themselves completely in the water three times over a fifteen-minute period. A few days later both sets of participants received follow-up calls from researchers, checking on their health and well being.

"We found that when swimming in sub-tropical beach areas with no known pollution or contamination from sewage or runoff, you still have a chance of being exposed to the kind of microbes that can make you sick," said Dr. Lora Fleming, co-director of the Center for Oceans and Human Health (OHH) and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Miami, who directed the study, the first large epidemiologic survey of its kind. "This information is especially important to take into account for children and the elderly, or if you have a compromised immune system and are planning a beach outing."

The study found that the swimmers were 1.76 times more likely to report a gastrointestinal illness, and 4.46 times more likely to report having a fever or respiratory illness. Swimmers in the study were also nearly six times more likely to report a skin illness than those volunteers who stayed out of the water.

"While people shouldn't avoid our beautiful beaches which are regularly monitored for water quality safety, we recommend taking simple precautions to reduce the risk of microbes so your visit to the beach can be more enjoyable," said Dr. Samir Elmir, environmental administrator with the Miami Dade County Health Department.

Among the top tips from the scientists for a healthy visit to the beach this summer are:

• Avoiding getting beach water in your mouth, or swallowing seawater.
• Practicing good beach hygiene by not swimming when ill with flu-like symptoms, diarrhea or open wounds.
• Showering before entering the ocean and immediately after leaving the water.
• Washing your hands with soap before eating.
• Taking small children to the restroom frequently, while on a public beach.

"Very few studies have been conducted in warm sub-tropical waters such as those found in South Florida. The persistence of microbes can be linked to water temperature, and other environmental factors including sunlight, rainfall, currents, and wave conditions. Moving forward we will use the information we have gathered through B.E.A.C.H.E.S. to help us to better understand these factors, and develop better predictive tools for establishing beach closures," added Dr. Helena Solo-Gabriele, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UM.

A discovery of fossilized footprints reveals when reptiles first conquered dry land.

The 318-million-year-old reptile footprints were found in sea-cliffs on the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada. They show that reptiles were the first vertebrates (animals with a backbone) to conquer dry continental interiors. These pioneers paved the way for the diverse ecosystems that exist on land today.

The footprints were discovered by Dr Howard Falcon-Lang of Royal Holloway, University of London. The results of his study, undertaken with Professor Mike Benton of the University of Bristol and Canadian colleagues, are published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.

It has long been suspected that reptiles were the first to make the continental interiors their home. This is because reptiles do not need to return to water to breed unlike their amphibian cousins. The new discovery of footprints proves this theory. The rocks in which they occur show that the reptiles lived on dry river plains hundreds of miles from the sea.

Professor Benton said: "The footprints date from the Carboniferous Period when a single supercontinent (Pangaea) dominated the world. At first life was restricted to coastal swamps where lush rainforest existed, full of giant ferns and dragonflies. However, when reptiles came on the scene they pushed back the frontiers, conquering the dry continental interiors."

The same team reported the oldest known reptile footprints from a different site in New Brunswick in 2007. The new discovery is of similar age, and may be even older.

Dr Falcon-Lang added: "The Bay of Fundy is such an amazing place to hunt for fossils. The sea-cliffs are rapidly eroding and each rock-fall reveals exciting new fossils. You just never know what will turn up next."

Text and Photo by University of Bristol

The University of Hawaii at Manoa's School of Ocean Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) completed a three-year long investigation of Sea Disposal Site Hawaii Number 5 (HI-05), a deep-water military munitions disposal site in U.S. coastal waters approximately 5 miles south of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii.

This complex investigation required the use of high-resolution sidescan sonar and remotely operated underwater vehicles to locate sea disposed munitions in water as deep as 1,500 feet. The SOEST's Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory's (HURL) two three-man PISCES research submersibles were deployed to validate the results of sonar data and take water and sediment samples in areas where military munitions were found.

"We know from archived records thousands of military munitions were sea disposed at HI-05. There were also some indications that as many as 16,000 M47 100-pound bombs containing approximately 73 pounds each of the chemical agent mustard were disposed in the area," said Dr. Margo Edwards. "The systematic approach that we developed in collaboration with personnel from the U.S. Army and private industry (Environet, Inc.) allowed us to identify more than 2,000 munitions on the seafloor in the study area. With assistance from the HURL, samples collected within a few feet of several munitions provided the study team the ability to assess the potential impact of sea disposed munitions on human health and the ocean environment, as well as to assess the impact of the ocean environment on sea disposed munitions."

Sediment, water and biological samples were analyzed at the University of Hawaii and independent laboratories on the mainland for munitions constituents, including explosive compounds like TNT, chemical agents and their breakdown products, and metals.

The HI-05 project report has six major conclusions, which may be summarized as:

• Most munitions in the HI-05 Study Area were disposed of by ships that were underway as munitions were cast overboard.
• The integrity of munitions in the area spans a broad spectrum, with even the best-preserved munitions casings deteriorating at a yet-to-be determined rate. Skirts and pedestals observed at the base of munitions may be the result of rusting, possibly in combination with leakage of munitions constituents.
• The analytical methods used to detect munitions constituents during the program were effective. With the exception of one unconfirmed detection of mustard, neither chemical agents nor explosives were detected in any samples.
• Analysis of sediment samples collected around several munitions showed relatively little influence from human activities or man-made objects. This is significant given that the samples were taken within six feet of the munitions.
• The observations and data collected do not indicate any adverse impacts on ecological health in the HI-05 Study Area.
• The risk to human health from the consumption of fish and shrimp collected near the HI-05 Study Area were within Environmental Protection Agency acceptable risk levels.

Mr. Tad Davis, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health stated, "University of Hawaii at Manoa's School of Ocean Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and the quality team it assembled exceeded our expectations performing an extremely complex study with scientific rigor. By providing the Army with demonstrated, proven procedures for characterizing and assessing a munitions disposal site, SOEST has made a significant contribution to the Department of Defense's understanding of the potential effects of historic sea disposal sites on the ocean environment and those that use it."

Text and Photo by University of Hawaii at Manoa