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Loftness Adds Lightweight Mulching Head For Compact Excavators
Jessica Schwartz
U.S. Coastal Sea-Levels Are Rising At An Accelerated Rate
Coastal sea levels in the U.S. are rising—and at an accelerating rate, according to the latest “report card” by researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The team’s annual web-based report analyzes tide-gauge records for 32 localities along the U.S. coast from Maine to Alaska. “The key message from the 2019 report cards is a clear trend toward acceleration in rates of sea-level rise at 25 of our 32 tide-gauge stations. Acceleration can be a game changer in terms of impacts and planning, so we really need to pay heed to these patterns,” says project founder, VIMS emeritus professor John Boon. Last year, rates of sea-level rise accelerated at all 21 of the report-card stations along the U.S. East and Gulf coasts, and at seven of the eight monitored stations along the U.S. West Coast, excluding Alaska. All four stations monitored in Alaska show relative sea level falling at increasingly rapid rates, where the continued rise of coastal mountains generates sharp decreases in sea level relative to land. The relative sea-level rise in Virginia and other East and Gulf coast areas is due to both rising water and sinking land. VIMS marine scientist Molly Mitchell says “seeing acceleration at so many of our stations suggests that—when we look at the multiple sea-level scenarios that NOAA puts out based on global models—we may be moving towards the higher projections.” She adds, “We have increasing evidence from the tide-gauge records that these higher sea-level curves need to be seriously ...
Bioengineered Living Shorelines: The Newest Erosion Control Solution
By J. Wesley Allen When development companies design golf courses and landscaped communities with lakes and stormwater ponds, they envision them as beautiful aquatic resources to attract visitors, connect with nature, and enhance the surrounding property. Without proper management, however, these waterbodies can quickly become eye-sores that produce harmful algae and bad odors, lead to damaged and eroded shorelines, and result in displeased members. Most aquatic management professionals will tell you that when a property manager or golf course superintendent calls about an issue at their waterbody, it’s often past the point of a quick fix. This is regularly the case when we arrive onsite to look at an erosion issue on a lake or pond embankment. Rather than finding a few problematic patches of rock or soil, we discover steep, unstable banks, deep washouts and extensive bottom muck caused by years of sedimentation. Erosion is a natural process caused by wind, rainfall, poor design, cultural impacts like mowing and recreation, or simply an aging aquatic ecosystem. These erosion issues are all exacerbated by human disturbance. Unfortunately, erosion can also negatively affect your lake, stormwater pond, canal or coastline by causing loss of habitat and property value, nutrient loading, reduced storage volume and waterbody depth, and excess runoff. When topsoil is displaced, stormwater pipes and structures can be exposed and damaged. Overtime, erosion can lead to the formation of trenches and gullies that pose a serious danger to the public. Erosion Control Solutions There are many ways to correct erosion ...
Story Of A Landscape: Logistics Challenges For University Of Texas Green Roof
It’s a rare job where logistics doesn’t play some part in the mix. When you’re working seven stories in the air in a crowded downtown construction site, however, logistics are a big part of the story — and on this project, the greatest challenge. When it comes to the new Dell Medical School facilities at the University of Texas, just about everything is big and out of the ordinary. As the first medical school to be built from the ground up in the last 50 years, it’s perhaps not surprising the design includes a 17,000-square-foot succulent and wildflower garden on top of a parking garage which is visible from the adjacent Health Transformation Building and hospital rooms at the nearby Dell Seton Medical Center. Getting that garden built and planted was no easy feat. It was done in three-and-a-half weeks with a dozen men as a testament to the organizational abilities of BrightView Landscape Development’s area superintendent, Kayla Jahrman. John Faske, the assistant manager of BrightView’s Austin branch, says Jahrman was the glue that kept the project together. BrightView Landscape Development was awarded the contract based on its bid. “It was a hard-bid situation,” Faske says. “We were awarded the job based on the best value to the general contractor, Hensel Phelps.” However, the company is developing a reputation for installing green roofs, and Faske adds that designers and developers are seeing more value to them, whether it’s helping with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) or SITES (Sustainable ...
Address Elements Of Proper Drainage
Landscape contractors often underestimate the critical importance of drainage when installing new features in landscapes. Nightmare scenarios can flood into any newly designed landscape when drainage factors are not assessed and there are no plans in place for proper drainage.Where land is flat, soils are dense with clay or water tables are high, a well-designed drainage system is priority. Ryan Larsen (aka Dr. Drainage) is a civil engineer and drainage pro at NDS Inc., which manufactures products for stormwater management, residential drainage and landscape irrigation. He says, “In new landscapes, new water flow patterns are difficult to predict, and it’s even harder to predict how the new flow patterns will develop over long periods of time. This can lead to soil erosion and may create low spots or direct pathways to the home’s foundation, which could be as minor as a yellow lawn spot or as extensive as a crack in the building’s foundation.” Click image to enlarge. These photos showcase the effects of poor drainage. Photo: Tom Barrett, Green Water Infrastructure Tom Barrett, principal of Indianapolis-based Green Water Infrastructure, agrees that drainage is an important element for any landscape design or renovation. “When you change the topography of the landscape, you’re bound to alter the course of rainwater runoff,” he says. “The volume of water from even a small rainfall event can be enormous.” Photo: Tom Barrett, Green Water Infrastructure Click image to enlarge. Drainage 101 While proper grading is an effective technique to redirect water away from the ...
