As Waikato Regional Council representative on the Hauraki Gulf Forum, I had the privilege of being briefed on the exciting new opportunities for seaweed aquaculture on the Coromandel Peninsula. This “blue economy” has the potential to improve water quality, revitalise our waterways, improve our on-land farming systems. and create hundreds of local jobs.
Read More »Tag: Firth of Thames
Current Methods May Underestimate Thames’ Sea Level Rise – Study
But New Method Accurately Measures Shallow Land Subsidence
In previous posts I have highlighted how land subsidence in the Lower Firth of Thames, and along the Thames foreshore significantly increases the risk of sea level rise. The subsidence rate has to be ADDED to the sea level rise rate. I also posted how a recent study in San Francisco Bay calculated that the areas which could be flooded from the sea could be doubled when land subsidence is taken into account.
A new study suggests that sea level tidal gauges do not properly account for land subsidence, severely underestimating the amount of sea level rise in coastal areas like Thames and the Hauraki Plains. Read More »
Asking and Answering the Wrong Questions about the Thames Swimming Pool
Thames-Coromandel District Council has posted some Frequently Asked Questions on its website regarding the proposed swimming pool near the Thames airfield. There are plenty of questions it has not answered, and many of the answers given only tell half the story.Read More »
Second Massive Mine Tailings Dam Collapse in 3 Years
Brazil’s Worst Environmental Disaster and over 300 Dead
For the second time in three years, a mine tailings dam in Brazil holding millions of tons of mud and sludge has collapsed cascading its toxic contents into local towns, killing scores of people and devastating the local environment. The Waihi and nearby Waitekauri mining companies say their tailings dam are safe but might they too collapse in a large earthquake?Read More »
Kopu Wharf Upgrade Report Glosses Over Climate Change Impacts
Sea Link Makes Sense But Land-Based Marine Services May Flood
Thames-Coromandel District Council has received a report on the proposed Kopu Landing Site Upgrade. The preferred option is to build a new slipway and at least a single berth pontoon or wharf, to support an expanded marine service industry for the aquaculture industry in the Firth of Thames.
The report talks up the perceived positives in growth in aquaculture. But it pays only lip service to the downside risks to the aquaculture industry from warming seas and ocean acidification and to the onshore marine service industry from sea level rise and flooding at Kopu.Read More »
Denis Tegg - teggtalk 