dfenner@blueskynet.as to coral-list 11\/4\/09<\/p>\n
A team of researchers has been making rapid assessments of damage to coral
\nreefs in American Samoa from the tsunami of Sept 29, 2009. We have examined
\nabout 37 sites so far. There is a wide range of damage, from no damage to
\ncomplete removal of one patch of coral. Sites with little or no damage are
\nmore common than sites with heavy damage. Why some places were damaged much
\nmore than others is something that will be examined in the coming months and
\nyears. There is some debris on reefs from the damage on land, but the heaviest
\naccumulation is likely at the head of the harbor, where there were no reefs.
\nEfforts to remove debris are underway, with cars being removed from the harbor,
\ndebris removed from villages, streams and beaches, and rags being removed from
\nyoung table corals at the one known location where this is common.
\nOn land as well as in the water, it is clear that the tsunami damaged
\nsites on the north shore as well as the south shore, even though the earthquake
\nwas to the southwest. Computer models predict this correctly.
\nOn land this was a tragedy with loss of life, but training about what to
\ndo in case of a large earthquake had been going on since the Ache earthquake
\nand tsunami in Indonesia, and many, many lives were saved by villagers knowing
\nto run uphill after a large earthquake. We have those involved in that
\ntraining to thank for the fact that so many lives were saved that would
\notherwise been lost.
\nIt is good to keep in mind that this is a natural event. It has happened
\nhere many times before (though not for many decades with such power), and will
\nhappen again. Even if tsunamis this big only happened once in 150 years, the
\nisland of Tutuila is 1.5 million years old, so it would have happened 10,000
\ntimes before. The reefs recovered and grew back, or else there would be none
\nleft today. As long as humans have not impacted the reef so as to reduce
\nresilience, the reefs should recover from this. Although such events are very
\ndramatic, they are dwarfed in importance to the world\u2019s reefs by the insidious
\neffects of humans, in particular the looming threat of climate change, which
\nwill likely dwarf previous human impacts.<\/p>\n
For the reef assessment team:<\/p>\n
Douglas Fenner, Domingo Ochavillo, Lucy Jacob
\nDept of Marine & Wildlife Resources of American Samoa (DMWR)<\/p>\n
Paul Brown, Jim Nimz
\nNational Parks of American Samoa<\/p>\n
For the DMWR reef cleanup team:
\nAlice Lawrence and many volunteers<\/p>\n
And all the support staff, and the support of the agencies<\/p>\n
There have also been a whole series of teams of experts on tsunamis from USGS
\n(U.S. Geological Survey) and Japan, surveying the extent of inundation on land,
\nand some underwater topography, to understand what happened and why. Such
\neffort will hopefully continue. Similar teams have been working in
\n(independent) Samoa, where the island of Upolu was hit very hard.<\/p>\n
Also, a team from the American Samoa Coral Reef Advisory Group surveyed damage
\non land in many villages, including debris in streams, on beaches, and on the
\nreef flats. Damaged vehicles likely leaked fluids, but there have been no
\nmajor chemical spills discovered so far to our knowledge.<\/p>\n
There have been both huge efforts by the villagers to recover from this, but
\nalso an outpouring of aid and effort, from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management
\nAgency), NGO\u2019s, foreign governments, businesses, church groups, and
\nindividuals. Our airport has been the busiest it has ever been with a steady
\nstream of air force transport planes bringing in generators and other supplies,
\nand Hawaiian Airlines has brought down plane loads of volunteers and supplies.
\nThe world\u2019s largest transport plane, a Russian-built jet with 3 engines on each
\nwing, brought ten, 27,000 pound generators in a single flight. The aid has
\nbeen deeply appreciated here. We hope similar aid has been sent to (independent)
\nSamoa, where the need is likely even greater. There are people here who have
\nbeen traumatized, and a team has been working to help with that. People have
\nbeen deeply touched by all the help. Electricity is back on most places, and
\npeople are putting their lives back together.<\/p>\n
— dfenner@blueskynet.as to coral-list 11\/4\/09 A team of researchers has been making rapid assessments of damage to coral reefs in American Samoa from the tsunami of Sept 29, 2009. We have examined about 37 sites so far. There is a wide range of damage, from no damage to complete removal of one patch of coral. Sites … Continue reading Tsunami Damage to Coral Reefs in American Samoa<\/span>
\nUSGS reports:
\nhttp:\/\/walrus.wr.usgs.gov\/news\/field.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"