Underwater logging is the process of cutting trees from underwater forests. When artificial reservoirs and dams are built, large forest areas are often flooded; although the trees are dead, wood is often preserved. The trees can then be felled using a special underwater machine and float to the surface. One such machine is a saw harrier. There is an ongoing debate to determine whether underwater logging is a sustainable practice and whether it is more environmentally friendly than traditional logging.
Underwater logging has been introduced in selected locations around the world, including Ghana's Lake Volta, the largest reservoir by surface area in the world.
A related form of logging consists of the rescued timber left by loggers after they are inundated and drowned. This activity can be very beneficial, since the primary "target" is tens of years old trees with sizes and species that are difficult or impossible to find in their natural habitat.
Video Underwater logging
Histori
In the 1950s, the United States recognized that, in colonial times, loggers were used to float trees felled on the Great Lakes and Maine rivers for transportation to the plant. Logs that weigh more than 62.4 cubic feet, however, will sink, and loggers do not take time to recover them. This log is not completely lost, because underwater logs are safe from decaying woody mushrooms requiring wood, humidity, air, and temperatures are estimated at about 75 to 90 degrees. Underwater logs are also safe from blemishes. Cumulatively, a lot of logs disappeared over time, and The International Undersea Services began recording a rescue operation on the Penobscot River in Maine in 1955. John Cayford and Ronald Scott researched in their book, Underwater Logging, where new prospects for underwater logging operations can occur in the United States. This became known as salvage logging. These processes have become more popular as relevant strategies and technological advances, making underwater felling a viable means of recovering lost resources.
The overall underwater logging industry has diversified as technology has enabled new processes to emerge and evolve. Logging logging, for example, restores the full-sized stems that were lost during past logging expeditions. Underwater logging itself, on the other hand, has evolved to the point where new technology has enabled the ability to cut down the sinking trees that have been lost due to rising water levels. It is estimated, "Buried in reservoir water worldwide is estimated at about 300 million submerged trees worth $ 50 billion", making subsea logging an overall industry with high profit potential.
Maps Underwater logging
Logging Method
Remote Controlled Vehicle
One method of digging these submerged trees is to send remote controlled vehicles, such as saw harvesters, under water to cut down trees, keeping the vehicle operators dry. The vehicle is controlled by a cable that sends electricity and controls inputs to a vessel that sends back the video feed to the operator. The operator sends input from the control panel on the barge. When a tree is found, Sawfish attaches and expands the flotation device so that after the tree is cut, it immediately rises to the surface to be drawn from the water.
Attach buoy
Buoy buoys are one of the main processes where underwater logs are rescued from the bottom of lakes and rivers. First, a scuba divers must find concave beams in the water, searching for about three feet from the bottom of the lake or river. After that, the buoy is placed around the beam about three meters from its back. From there, a boat uses a gaff hook to catch the buoy and pulls the log close enough to the boat where the crew is able to tie the log close to the side of the boat. This process repeats until the ship is filled to capacity, after which the expedition is completed and the crew must return to base before harvesting additional logs.
Floating log
In the case of floating floating timbers that have not been sunk but may have been separated from the initial logging routes and trapped on the banks of rivers and lakes, new processes are used. Here, the tires in the truck are completely deflated so that divers can slip them on a log. Once this happens and once the tube is securely attached, the hookah compressor and low-pressure hose will pump them back so as to form a firm grip around the floating log. This process gives logs more buoyancy and gives loggers easier access points to harvest them. Because many of the tubes needed are used for floating wood.
Environmental impact
Marine pollution
Ships contaminate both in the marine environment and in the atmosphere, and although it is difficult to estimate the magnitude of the problem, there is no uncertainty that increased use of such ships will increase pollution. Since the underwater logging industry is becoming more popular and profitable, this increased usage will occur. The underwater logging process itself will also have a negative impact on the environment, as the wood itself adds to the weight of the vessel, forcing the ships to work harder and use more time and energy to transport their cargo. In terms of transportation, cargo ships carry logs across water. They use large amounts of water reply, which can have negative effects on the environment. When the ship reaches the factory they empty the water, "Ballast water drain usually contains a variety of biological materials, including plants, animals, viruses, and bacteria". Removing a ballast can alter an aquatic ecosystem and even make water unbearable.
Accident
Accidents associated with this industry usually result in the release of oil and other resources, since these spills are difficult to manage due to the fluidity of lakes and rivers. What this means is that the potential for additional damage is great, both to marine and human life, since toxic resources such as oil can pollute the surrounding ecosystem. Therefore, care should be taken when taking part in processes, such as underwater logging, which require the use of potentially hazardous resources.
Deforestation
Because the process of underwater logging basically picks up submerged timber and sinking trees that have been lost in previous logging expeditions, logs are considered "recovered timber." Since underwater logging is taking "recovered timber", it has a positive impact on the forest industry, as it reduces the need to enter the forest land. In addition, when logging in the logging companies must create new roads to obtain higher quality wood. Road construction is eliminated by underwater logging because the transportation path across the river already exists.
Potential erosion of lakes and rivers
Since some of these logs have been lost for decades, the local environment must have grown and developed around the logs. Releasing these logs, which provide structural support to these ecosystems, can lead to erosion of lakes and rivers that will alter the structure and potentially undermine these bodies of water.
Sea life
Some of the wood taken has been under water for decades, meaning local marine life will form their habitat around this sinking timber. This log provides great structural support to these ecosystems, and removing them will undoubtedly destroy such natural habitats. Ships and crew members of the subsea logging fleet can awaken and demean the local ecosystem.
Sustainability
Advanced technology
SHARC underwater harvester eliminates the dangers of deploying underwater loggers (sawfish). An underwater tree harvesting company, Triton Logging Inc., relies on sending workers to the bottom of lakes and rivers to manually cut down submerged trees. SHARC Harvester is developed by this same company and provides a more secure experience for operators and reduces the number of human errors.
Nature & amp; Faune magazine describes the process of the impact of underwater sustainability logging. The hydroelectric dam in Ghana built in Akosombo drowns the logs. The Clark Sustainable Resource Developments using SHARC technology to keep the roots of intact trees do not disrupt the bottom of the lake or disrupt the pollutants. After that, they installed canopies and supports for creating artificial fish reefs and educating locals about fishing practices. Lastly, they can cut up to 25 meters beneath the surface of the lake which creates enough depth to support routes for lake transport vessels. This process is given because it is sustainable by avoiding deforestation and creating artificial fish reefs to preserve the aquatic ecosystem today. Triton is one of the leading underwater logging companies using SHARC technology and efforts to safeguard the aquatic environment in Ghana. They have been recognized for their sustainability efforts.
External links
- Wired.com Underwater logging article
- "Fortune In Drowned Logs", September 1934, Popular Science article on early sunken dives
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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