In October, The Daily Echo wrote an article, "photos prove that Boscombe Surf Reef works, says snapper Paul Humber." It showed clean, solid waves breaking on Boscombe Reef, generating some 160 comments online. Clearly it displayed what Boscombe Reef is capable of: changing some minds and ruffling a few feathers.
Throughout the fall, Boscombe Reef saw regular swell (by Bournemouth standards) featuring surf contests and continued documentation. One might suggest that had fall / winter 2010 been the 'monitoring period', certain conclusions might have differed.
Pier with Boscombe Reef in background
Bowl setting up over Boscombe Reef
It's easy to forget that Boscombe Reef is a unique situation, being the only artificial Multi-Purpose Reef to be assessed, reviewed, and documented by the surf community and relayed to the public. As a community, we're writing exciting coastal protection and surf engineering history that is sure to change the future for coastlines around the world.
Boscombe Reef - right
Dropping in on the left
Now that Boscombe Reef is over a year old, the local surfing community is showing their excitement by continually publishing proof that Boscombe Reef works. The beautiful thing about this situation is that year after year, Boscombe reef will break and surfers will continue to show its performance. It's something we're excited to see at ASR and happy that other surfers can contribute exciting evidence for artificial Multi-Purpose Reefs.
Indonesia is scrambling in the wake of two deadly natural disasters occurring back to back in separate regions of the archipelago.
On the island of Java, thousands of villagers are fleeing eruptions from Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano. At about the same time, a tsunami, set off by a magnitude 7.7 undersea quake wreaked havoc through the island chains of West Sumatra.
The undersea earthquake west of Pagai Island in the Mentawai archipelago created a tsunami, with initial reports suggesting that the surge reached 10 feet in height and inundated as far as 2000 feet inland. A strange aspect of this event is that the tsunami wave height seems to be much larger and more destructive than the reported earthquake magnitude would suggest.
Indonesia lies along a very tectonically active region of the earth. The west coast of Sumatra and the south coast of Java are at the border between the Eurasian and Australian tectonic plates. The gradual subduction of the Australian plate under the Eurasian plate has caused several natural disasters in the past few years, most notably, the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
Senior coastal scientist Jose C. Borrero, focusing on tsunami research at ASR limited and University of Southern California, developed tsunami inundation models just hours after the event.
Earthquake magnitude refers the amount of energy released over the course of the event. However, what it does not indicate is the time period over which the energy is released. The length of time over which seismic energy is released can have a profound impact on the resulting tsunami surge.
So called ‘slow’ earthquakes result in more efficient wave generation, leading to a more severe tsunami.
These are the factors that contribute to a quake being not just a normal seismic event and rather what is referred to as a ‘tsunami earthquake.’ The unexpectedly powerful surge from this recent tsunami indicates that it may have been the result of a ‘tsunami earthquake.’
Was the quake that struck off the coast of Sumatra a slow ‘tsunami quake?’ Researchers and scientists are mobilizing to study data and first hand effects of the tsunami are still trying to determine if this is the case.
Dr. Borrero has studied the causes and effects of tsunami in Sumatra some of his published works are listed below.
References:
Borrero, J.C., McAdoo, B., Jaffe, B., Dengler, L., Gelfenbaum, G., Higman, B., Hidayat, R., Moore, A., Kongko, W., Lukijanto, Peters, R., Prasetya, G., Titov, V., Yulianto, E. (in press) Field Survey of the March 28, 2005 Nias-Simeulue Earthquake and Tsunami, Pure and Applied Geophysics
2009
Borrero, J.C., Weiss, R., Okal, E., Hidayat, R., Suranto, Arcas, D., and Titov, V.V., (2009), The Tsunami of September 12, 2007, Bengkulu Province, Sumatra, Indonesia: Post-Tsunami Field Survey and Numerical Modeling, Geophysical Journal International, Vol 178, p. 180–194 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2008.04058.x
2007
B.G McAdoo, Richardson N., and Borrero J.C. (2007). Inundation distances and run-up measurements from ASTER, QuickBird and SRTM data, Aceh coast, Indonesia. International Journal of Remote Sensing V28, No. 13-14, July 2007.
2006
Borrero, J.C., Sieh, K., Chlieh, M. and Synolakis, C.E. (2006), Tsunami Inundation Modeling for Western Sumatra, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, V. 103, No. 52, p. 19673 – 19677.
J.C. Borrero, C.E. Synolakis, H.M Fritz (2006) Northern Sumatra Field Survey after the December 2004 Great Sumatra Earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami, Earthquake Spectra, V 22, S3, June 2006, S93 – S104.
Bruce E. Jaffe, Jose C. Borrero, Gegar S. Prasetya, Robert Peters, Brian McAdoo, Guy Gelfenbaum, Robert Morton, Peter Ruggiero, Bretwood Higman, Lori Dengler, Rahman Hidayat, Ettiene Kingsley, Widjo Kongko, Lukijanto, Andrew Moore et al. (2006) Northwest Sumatra and Offshore Islands Field Survey after the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Earthquake Spectra, V 22, S3, June 2006, S105 – S135.
H.M. Fritz and J.C. Borrero (2006) Somalia Field Survey after the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Earthquake Spectra, V 22, S3, June 2006, S219 – S233.
Fritz, H.M., J.C. Borrero, C.E. Synolakis, J.Yoo (2006) 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami flow velocity measurements from survivor videos, Geophysical Research Letters, V 33. 2005
Borrero, J.C. (2005). Field Data and Satellite Imagery of Tsunami Effects in Banda Aceh, Science, V. 308, p. June 10, 2005.
Borrero, J.C. (2005). Field Survey of Northern Sumatra and Banda Aceh, Indonesia after the Tsunami and Earthquake of 26 December 2004, Seismological Research Letters V. 74, No. 3, 309 – 317, May/June 2005.
I haven’t thought much about how Google Instant might affect ASR’s business. Since Google rolled out Instant Search, I’ve been grateful. But a more important search feature for my personal use has always been the time range in the additional search tools.
I’m certainly no SEO expert but I do understand the basic concepts and it’s safe to say that Google Instant Search will affect businesses, particularly those dependent on SEO, user behavior or click through. For a detailed discussion from individuals far more knowledgeable than myself, click here.
But I do think it is fair to say that Google Instant will have some impact on ASR, Boscombe Reef, and Kovalam Reef. But it’s difficult to know if it will make any significant difference in the long run.
It is interesting to note that when I type artificial surfing into the query box, artificial surfing reef was the first suggestion and ASR ltd is the first result! Strange when you consider the fact that the search term artificial surfing reef in not one of our meta tag keywords nor an area of our very basic SEO.
More likely Google Instant will play an important role for our clients. Why? Because of the way Google Instant delivers suggestions and search results when you type in Boscombe or Kovalam.
When I type in Boscombe, Boscombe Reef is the fourth suggestion, right behind Boscombe Valley Mystery. I’m not sure what Valley Mystery is but I’m going to pass and click on Boscombe Reef instead.
For Kovalam, the third suggestion is Kovalam Reef. Not bad. But again, it’s difficult to know how that really affects business in the long run and I’m not qualified to say.
Hopefully it will slowly draw more general attention to Multi-Purpose Reefs. But I do think it is fair to say that Google Instant will have some affect on ASR, Boscombe Reef, and Kovalam Reef and our clients.
ASR has a dynamic relationship with social media and it often surprises some individuals. Our videos are readily available on You Tube and Vimeo and we also engage with individuals on Facebook and Twitter. It's true, this is unusual for an organization like ASR, but in our case, engaging with the public is an important aspect of our business’ mission because of the goals we’ve set out to accomplish. Here is a quick look at how ASR leverages social media and the ways in which it currently impacts our mission and products.
Some have questioned ASR’s social media campaigns, calling them ‘savvy and directed’ marketing efforts. But our response is simple - coastal resources belong to a global population that has a vested interest in protecting these valuable environmental systems. ASR’s mission as a business is to promote sustainable and responsible coastal protection and our methods are not complex, we employ engaging media.
ASR is a world leading coastal science commercial enterprise and it is safe to say, that as individuals, we feel a personal responsibility to promote awareness of the complex issues facing coastal environments. In order to promote alternative options, we have to educate individuals and gather support – an area where we have seen a lot of traction recently.
In April of 2010, Surfline featured ASR’s ‘India’s First Multi-Purpose Reef Goes Off’ video. This led to an enormous amount of viewership, well over one hundred thousand, and the launch of an excited body of supporters.
Social media is a powerful tool because it involves individuals finding common connections and sharing interests through online networks. In that regard, Facebook, You Tube, Vimeo, Blogs, and Twitter are ideal communication platforms for individuals to show support for the exciting future of Multi-Purpose Reefs.
In a recent blog post regarding ASR’s Kovalam Multi-Purpose Reef, Jim Moriarty wrote, “it may have made more sense to take a wait and see attitudes and let an organic voice of support bubble up on the internet.” Today, ASR has nearly one thousand Facebook fans - we think that is a lot for a coastal science organization.
Unlike typical coastal science and engineering firms, ASR’s social mission is currently building a group of passionate supporters. If our products and goals did not resonate with individuals, then we would not see the engagement and amazing feedback currently evident. Here are some instances in which ASR is uniquely impacted by social media and is developing a strong body of ambassadors excited for the future.
Local Boscombe Reef surfers recently started engaging with the public to show support for Boscombe Reef. We call them the Boz Reef Crew and they are savvy and passionate about surfing and body-boarding. Their Facebook page is entitled, Boscombe Reef - Positive Opinions. Not only is it growing fast, it also has a number of interesting comments.
Despite the negative publicity often associated with Boscombe Reef, here is proof that the individuals actually using Boscombe Reef, love it! If that’s not an example of an ‘organic voice of support bubbling up on the internet,’ I don’t know what is…
Yet even more exciting was the recent discovery of this amazing picture of Kovalam Multi-Purpose Reef on the Kovalam Surf Club Facebook page. In this image, Jelle Rigole (who is doing amazing things for the local community: more coming soon) is getting an awesome barrel on Kovalam Multi-Purpose Reef.
Discovery of this image online truly validates the organic support building for Multi-Purpose Reefs. With a number of enticing prospects around the globe, ASR promises that the not so distant future will be very exciting.
When questioned as to why ASR chooses to participate in wide spread awareness campaigns and active social engagement, again the answer is simple: as a global population, we are working together to build a better future for our coastlines. Considering the number of countries ASR’s Facebook fans represent, evidence indicates this statement is true.
Pier with Boscombe Reef in background
Bowl setting up over Boscombe Reef
Boscombe Reef - right
Dropping in on the left
Adam Daigian 
