'S' luck on the shores

Many of the unpleasant ways to get hurt on the shores begin with 'S' (and with people being an 'S'). So I discovered as I compiled my presentation on shore safety for the mega shore guide workshop tomorrow.

For example: Stingray, whose business end is not pleasant to encounter in your ankle. Stingrays are not easy to spot! Can you spot the stingrays in the photos below?

Dredging at East Coast National Sailing Centre until 26 Jul 10

There are few gently sloping sandy shores at East Coast Park. And on such shores, we have often found amazing marine life such as sea fans and brittle stars, burrowing moon snails, sand dollars and button snails.
But these are often wiped out by coastal works which has been relentless as works to deal with coastal erosion and park upgrading continues. And of course, the East Coast was badly hit by the oil spill last month.

Massive reclamation near Labrador continues until Dec 2010

Right next to Labrador: reclamation, dredging, caisson construction, demolition of Pasir Panjang wharves and removal of submarine cables and pipelines will continue until Dec 2010. The huge work site is also near Sentosa's natural shores and Cyrene Reef.

Huge structures already built next to Labrador
(the wooded area behind the structures), Dec 09.

Enormous dredger infront of Sentosa's natural shore, Dec 09

Wetlands magazine now online!

Wetlands, a magazine of the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is now online for free download!
This is the first issue of Wetlands that is online in pdf form! Hurray!

7 Jul (Wed): Talk on "Tree vs. Tide - How mangroves colonise bare mudflats"

How do baby mangroves settle down on a bare mudflat? Find out in this upcoming talk.

About the talk: Colonization of a bare tidal flat by Avicennia spp. is an important and critical phase in the development of a mangrove forest. Early establishment success is determined by a strategy to quickly anchor the buoyant propagule in the soil to resist hydrodynamic forcing.

How does crude oil harm seagrasses?

In the latest issues of Seagrass Watch Magazine (issue 41, Jun 10), Len McKenzie comments on the recent oil spill in Singapore and shares valuable insights and information on what happens when crude oil hits seagrasses.
Len explains that seagrasses are not so much affected by the "more spectacular oil slick" but are primarily harmed by "the absorption of seawater-soluble fraction (SWSF) of oil."

What is this SWSF thing?

Crude oil in sand: how fast does it biodegrade?

At Tanah Merah, we have noticed signs of crude under the sand. Why should we be concerned about crude that seeps into the sand?

Even after crude is removed from sight, most of the spill remains in the ecosystem and much can penetrate our sandy beaches. The quality of our shore waters, for leisure beach goers to serious fish farms, depend on a balanced ecosystem. Of microscopic beings and seaweeds and all kinds of other creatures, each playing their role. An upset system can have devastating consequences as the mass fish deaths at Pasir Ris illustrates.

Here's what I learnt about what we know and don't know about how crude naturally biodegrades and some possible explanations of our recent sightings on our shores.

How's Tanah Merah one month after the oil spill?

This morning, I head out for a solo check up on the Tanah Merah shore hit by the oil spill a little more than a month ago. How is it doing since our last check two weeks ago?
The big brown patches above the seawall is where the bags of oil-soaked sand sat for some weeks before they were finally removed.

How's the East Coast sandy shore doing after the oil spill?

I had a quick look at a stretch of East Coast Park beach that got hit by crude a month ago.
Just off the shady park, a vast sandy shore is exposed at low tide. It was heartbreaking to see vast amounts of crude land on this shore on 26 May.