tetrapods coastal protection advantages and disadvantages
Public outcry over the concrete encasing Japans coasts is something I expected to find when doing this research; a vibrant community of tetrapod lovers was not. [13]Taiwan-based designer Sheng-Hung Lee has recently won several awards with his TetraPOT (http://shenghunglee.wixsite.com/design/tetrapot). [26] Moreover, the cult popularity of Tetogurumi has gone mainstream, opening the market to other tetrapod-shaped products, such as phone and camera straps, erasers, soap, doorstops, lamp shades, and modeling kits, as well as all manner of tetrapod-themed apparel and accessories (shirts, totes, hand towels, hats, rubber stamps, smartphone cases, stickers, clear files, and so forth) (figures 34 and 35). The Tetrapod has a relatively compact shape, with generously-propor- tioned transition sections between the legs and the central "body" of the block, which give it considerable strength ; both experimental breaking tests and work site experience have shown steel reinforcement to be un- necessary, which is a great advantage for any constructional eisenhower epic login; . It is still active today with more than seventy-seven thousand total visits. The six sample photos, supplied by the Okinawa General Bureau that oversees development projects in Okinawa, were taken in 1997, 1999, and 2005 from between one meter above water and 5 meters below. Coastal . Registration data and a facsimile of the Tetrapod trademark can be found at https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/web/TR/JPT_1184901/3D7C5C9BF22BF53CC2DC539667C19B34. Fudo Tetra exists today as a general contractor for civil engineering projects and has a portfolio that includes expressway interchanges, viaducts, railway tunnels, dams and levees, sewer systems and waste water processing plants, gas and electrical power facilities, airports and artificial islands, ports, and coastline facilities. Hard coastal protection structures are common worldwide. A tetrapod is a form of wave-dissipating concrete block used to prevent erosion caused by weather and longshore drift, primarily to enforce coastal structures such as seawalls and breakwaters. And bringing tetrapods down to a childs size as a handmade art object may cultivate affection for them. Published. These safety concernsfalls against the concrete, cuts from barnacles, slipping and getting trapped under water and drowningare also cited by those who oppose tetrapods for environmental and aesthetic reasons. It sold well online and in selected boutiques. As tetrapods became more terrestrial, sense organs shifted from aquatic to aerial perception. Their attitude is one that feels more practical, and bleak, than anything ever expressed in the US when it comes to natural disaster prevention. The occasion for the participation of the twelve researchers who presented six papers was the coastal damage caused on September 26, 1959 by Typhoon No. In fact, Tetrapods have become such an ingrained part of the Japanese landscape that theyve even gained some footing as a pop culture touchstone. In May 1961, the same year the papers of the Japanese coastal engineers were published, Nippon Tetrapod Co., Ltd.(Nihon Tetorapoddo Kabushiki Gaisha ) was founded in Tokyo with production and sales of tetrapods, and design and installation of the construction thereof as the primary business objectives.[6] Registered as a construction business, it added a technology research center in 1969; merged with Shutoken Printing and Binding Company, in 1972, as the surviving company; established Tetra Trading Company in 1993; changed its name to Tetra Corporation in 1995; became a subsidiary of Fudo Construction Corporation in 2004; and, a month after buying Toa Civil Engineering Company in September 2006, merged with Fudo Construction (with Fudo, the surviving company, changing its name to Fudo Tetra). Tetrapods Coastal protection measures 60 20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GplKXLOUlmw, http://www.shouha.jp/case1/100/103_1/168.php, http://www.shouha.jp/case1/100/102/243.php, http://www.fudotetra.co.jp/csrreport.html, http://ganboken.blog26.fc2.com/blog-category-2.html, http://s04.megalodon.jp/2009-0429-1819-50/portal.nifty.com/2008/02/15/b/, http://gigazine.net/news/20091030_danchidanchi_dpz/, Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License. And while breakwater barriers also can be found in places like England, Morocco, andyesthe US, Japan seems to have most readily embraced their functionality. Presenting raw photographs of concrete-hardened stretches of coastline as if they speak for themselves risks limiting them to the role of evidence in a critique of the environmental degradation of Okinawas natural shoreline. (I have yet to hole-fish among tetrapods, but intend to do so during my next research trip to Okinawa.) All of the images are mine unless otherwise indicated. The aim here is modest: to open up thinking in several directions about this prominent form of coastal development, one that seems to fly in the face of Okinawas public image as a place of abundant natural beauty and tropical resort beaches. Figal, Gerald. [17] Links to a PDF for Shizen to tomoni and to the NSNBKs fiftieth-anniversary materials are available from its homepage at http://www.shouha.jp/. The contrast with the thinner, but more discreetly engineered and more natural-looking Uza Beach to the south is also evident (figure 5). It stops the waves from beating down on the shore, whether during a gales of a tsunami or the daily lap of erosion. It has supported conservation and beautification efforts by donating portions of sales of silicone bracelets to coral transplantation projects and through activities such as organizing coastal cleanups. They stand firm and upright year after year, from sunrise to sunrise, silent sentinels unmoved by summer's raging typhoons or winter's crash It looks like you're using an ad blocker. [8] Sometimes the first two characters are reversedand pronounced namikeshi. A good example appears in a pamphlet (figure 30) produced by the NSNBK to explain the function and value of coastal armoring to elementary schoolchildren. The seawall, as you might imagine, is a tall, sloped structure intended to keep the sea and the land somewhat apart. For now, I propose we make room to think outside the traditional dichotomies of natural/artificial and native/nonnative. The large-scale deployment of such innovations would come only after Japans high-growth period gained traction in the early 1960s. It is an industrial product, but it is still cute. For as many photos I have taken of picture-postcard landscapes, seascapes, and cultural sites, there are as many images of urban ephemera, coastal effluvia, and junkyards. ), which is full of anthropomorphized cartoon tetrapods (figure 30). A central T-shaped groin-jetty combination that does double duty to capture sand and break waves distinguishes many Okinawan swimming beaches, such as Nishihara Kirakira Beach (figure 6). Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Modern Japan. Today, the Maniapparel founder boasts over 50 stuffed Tetrapods of various sizes inside his own home, and clearly hes onto something. Fishing from jetties and seawalls is also not unusual, but ana-zuri (hole-fishing) among tetrapods has its own well-developed leisure-sports culture in Japan, with an ardent following in Okinawa (figure 25). Like its seagrass-green and ocean-blue company logo, Fudo Tetras public face exudes environmental friendliness as it presents itself as a steward of Japans beautiful natural patrimony. The landscape here has the underpinnings of recovery but still feels largely decimated: housing foundations lay bare while weeds and wildflowers grow chest-high. And combined with sea level rise, significant erosion can be devastating to a coastline. Coastal Protection Works and Related Problems in Japan. Coastal Engineering Proceedings 1 (7): 904930. How are sea walls used to protect the coast? Tetrapods being used for protection of the Chellanam coast will be in the 2.5 and 3.5-tonne categories and their deployment will be on the lines followed in Mumbai Marine Drive, where the concrete . along with their cute fake seagull companions. This example does double duty: it demonstrates that coral can naturally take to wave blocks placed in their midst and that wave blocks can serve as a substratum for the recovery of coral in places where it has weakened or died. Consider one of several examples from Okinawa, three breakwaters situated in Naha Port. 15, given the well-known issues of storm damage to Japans coastal development and the growing number of successful tetrapod installations worldwide? It is able to be beautiful and effective at the same time.. Much of Fudo Tetras 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report emphasizes its partnership with nature and efforts at improving civil engineering technologies and construction techniques for the sake of natural and human environments. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License, https://cross-currents.berkeley.edu/e-journal/issue-30/figa, https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/11/covering-coasts-with-concrete-japan-looks-to-tetrapods-to-battle-elements, https://apjjf.org/-Stephen-Hesse/2481/article.html, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329164306_Eroding_diversity_away_The_Ogimi_seawall, http://www.shouha.jp/50th/data/leaflet.pdf, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2007/07/22/general/beauty-beheld-in-huge-concrete-forms/, https://cross-currents.berkeley.edu/e-journal/issue-30/figal, http://www.fudotetra.co.jp/english/about/enkaku.html, http://www.fudotetra.co.jp/about/enkaku.html, https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/web/TR/JPT_1184901/3D7C5C9BF22BF53CC2DC539667C19B34, http://www.fudotetra.co.jp/products/tetrapod.html, http://www.dc.ogb.go.jp/Kyoku/information/nahakuukou/genbanikki.html, http://shenghunglee.wixsite.com/design/tetrapot. Setting hundreds of tetrapods on a big scale that matches that of nature is simply art (quoted in Hesse 2007, 34). Life with Tetrapods: The Nature of Concrete in Okinawa. Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review(e-journal) 30: 150170. Kato visited New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to help assess damage. After that night, I began to wonder about the capacity of tetrapods to create new, unplanned habitats, and started to seek out creatures who have adapted to living with them. Life with Tetrapods: The Nature of Concrete in Okinawa. Gerald Figal is Professor of History and Asian Studies at Vanderbilt University where he teaches and conducts research on modern Japanese cultural history. DISADVANTAGES. And as one might imagine, tetrapod-themed goods are well established in Okinawa as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZJRFwJMFqE. An advantage of a concrete tetrapod is that it protects Coastlines from waves. Hosoi, Masanobu, Yasuteru Tominaga, Hiroshi Mitsui, and Tsutomo Kishi. https://apjjf.org/-Stephen-Hesse/2481/article.html. I intend to explore the full impact and sustainability of such formations in future research. disadvantages: causes more danger than the prevent because they alter ocean currents and disrupt the natural cycles of erosion and deposition that form and reshape the coast. And with the earthquake that occurred this week in Fukushimaan aftershock of 2011, experts believethis effort seems more pressing than ever. Unfortunately, the tetrapods did nothing to mitigate the slumping. Only by reading the text does the viewer realize that what at first glance appears to be a visual record of environmental damage caused by artificial marine structures is the oppositeit is presented as proof of side benefits to nature, of collateral undamage. portal hypertension radiology doppler. Trapping sand to rebuild eroded shorelines or maintain current shoreline form. "Tetrapods and other types of [concrete] armoring can cause more damage than they prevent, because they alter ocean currents and disrupt the natural cycles of erosion and deposition that form and. I lack full data on the chronology and volume of tetrapod introduction into Okinawathat is among my pursuits for further planned researchbut presently approximately 55 percent of Okinawa Islands coastline is either fully artificial (with various types of seawalls) or landfilled (by a combination of seawalls and asphalt over natural earth) (Masucci, Acierno, and Reimer 2018). For example, coral reefs are some of the most effective barriers to coastal damage and erosion. The weight and interlocking design of tetrapods work effectively against extreme weather conditions, dissipating the force of the water well. 2017. Labeled compensation politics, these funds appear to many as de-facto bribes in exchange for hosting U.S. bases. Prices for Okinawa and Hokkaido Prefectures run about 9 percent higher than the rest of Japan, with a standard 4-ton mold costing 10,530 with tax (about US$100) for a two-month lease, not including maritime shipping costs to remote islands or ground transportation within remote islands. 2018. Also invisible in this most visible of objects bulwarking Okinawas coastline are the multidimensional circumstances and intersecting forces of their existence and their evolution into other cultural forms. In presenting another paper at the 1960 conference, Hosoi Masanobu and his colleagues compared the damage to coastal dikes in Ise Bay caused by the 1959 typhoon to that of an earlier smaller typhoon in 1953, supporting this impression. It also includes the animal without four feet like a snake as they descend from a common tetrapod ancestor. It is unlikely, however, that the Okinawa-bound will come across any mention of the far more conspicuous denizen of Okinawas shores: the tetrapod. Tetrapodistas: Beauty Beheld in Huge Concrete Forms. Japan Times, July 22. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2007/07/22/general/beauty-beheld-in-huge-concrete-forms/. [17] In a handful of colorful pages, the leaflet captures this recent emphasis on coastal armor units working to protect and enhance the natural as much as the human world. The tetrapods had met expectations, sometimes in the face of brutal storm surges. Various coastal management strategies are employed, each coming with a number of advantages and disadvantages. After the 1972 reversion, cultural resistance to homes built with concrete fell as living standards rose and air conditioners became widespread. Eroding Diversity Away: The Ogimi Seawall. Presentation at the 21st Meeting of the Japanese Coral Reef Society, November 2018. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329164306_Eroding_diversity_away_The_Ogimi_seawall. 1961. With limited local timber suitable for construction and a rise in prices in the mid-1960s for timber imported from mainland Japanlimited by U.S. policy on Japanese business in Okinawaconcrete became more cost-effective than timber. As the accompanying commentary explains, they show not only the coral growth observed accumulating on the wave blocks from the late 1980s but also the blocks before and after a major bleaching event in 1998 that weakened and killed coral throughout the area. The occupation did, however, introduce to postwar Okinawa the widespread use of concrete and cement blocks for military base construction, public facilities, and commercial buildings in the early 1950s. Figal, Gerald. Split yourselves up into nine groups and each group will be assigned to work on one coastal protection measure. This message is overt in the first full foldout spread featuring wave blocks such as tetrapods, humans, and nature flourishing together in safety; it claims that wave block installations rejuvenate ruined nature as they simultaneously protect against natural disasters made increasingly more frequent and extreme by climate change and other human impact (figure 28). Gas exchange As of February 2019, there were 123 entries. Indeed, if not for the shrine and its sacred association with nirai kanai, the overseas mythical paradise of the gods, the entire area might have very well been further landfilled for commercial use or to expand the walkway to the park that lies nearby to the south. With increasing capital and government-directed initiatives for port development, all that was needed was a company to exploit this opening. Not too long after this interview, on February 15, 2008, yama posted on the popular website Daily Portal Z patterns and photos for making a tetrapod from a sheet of paper. Ganbokens profile indicates an early fascination with tetrapods that blossomed with the introduction of the Internet and led to his August 2006 creation of the Shha Burokku Mania Site, which became the CDOI in 2009. The Japanese know all this too well. There was no indication why one lone tetrapod had been placed on the pavement, but it acted almost like a signpost or display piece (figure 21). Much of that attraction comes from its shape, size, and setting. He did not blame yama for passing the publicly posted pattern to others (yama posted an apology for presenting the pattern as his own creation), but he did hold the makers of Tetogurumi responsible for seeking proper licensing from its true inventor. Burokku 50 nenpy [A fifty-year chronology of wave blocks]. Approaches, aims, advantages and disadvantages: Managed retreat Sometimes seen as the 'do nothing' approach. Many ana-zuri enthusiasts appreciate the opportunity to fish for species that would otherwise require a boat to reach their natural habitats, but tetrapod critics claim that the fish drawn to tetrapods for shelter and to feed on the smaller marine life also drawn to tetrapods are often invasive, upsetting natural ecologies. Most commonly associated with obsessive zeal for manga, anime, video games, computers, and garage kits (scale models, often of anime characters), otaku hobbyiststypically male, but not alwaysare distinguished by the extreme lengths to which they will go to master the data and details of their chosen subject. The Damages of Coastal Dikes and River Levees and Their Restoration. Coastal Engineering Proceedings 1 (7): 964986. He understands the widespread attraction to tetrapods from the viewpoint of a serious observer of industrial forms: When you look at them carefully, there are very few things with such unusual shapes. Tetrapods still form a core of Fudo Tetras business, and the company holds the rights to the trademark Tetrapod, which was originally applied for in 1971 and granted in 1976. Whether this combative stance (human versus nature) is sustainable in the future is debatable as studies of the long-term effects of these coastal interventions on beach erosion and shoreline ecologies suggest mixed benefits. Compared to hard engineering, soft engineering approaches are less expensive, are more long-term, attractive and sustainable as they work with natural processes. The efforts by the industry to cast wave blocks as environment-friendly and even environment-enhancing correlate with growing general public awareness of the environmental impact of coastal development. By mid-2017, a clear outline of the tetrapodded perimeter materialized (figures 3 and 4). Viewed as more environmentally friendly, as this approach tries to work with natural processes to reduce, rather than prevent erosion. Astonishingly, she begins, despite their unsightly impact on natural scenery, the Internet is full of geeks who appear to love tetrapods. Wijers-Hasegawa relates finding online romantic odes to tetrapods and other expressions of their allure among fan sites. clearwater, bc restaurants; jeffreys prior python. Or, as graphic designer Kobayashi Ryo explained, Tetrapods are massive and practical but at the same time sexy when you look at their curvilinear beauty. The passed-over, half-baked, and discarded draw my attention as much as the landmarked, well-designed, and highlighted. Nonetheless, aside from situations where their rough concrete bulk might seem especially incongruous, tetrapods exist in plain public view on miles of Okinawas coastlines, and one is never too far from a coast. Tetrapods have been instrumental in the protection of the coast and many tourist attractions for a number of years. [20] See details at http://www.shouha.jp/case1/100/102/243.php. What are the environmental benefits of coastal protection? I spent perhaps a half-hour marveling at the nimbleness and familiarity these strays displayed quickly appearing, disappearing, and reappearing through the openings among the concrete blocks that seawater lapped against just a few feet below. the average value of a sine wave is zero; Absorbs and deflects wave energy back to sea. Common, too, is critique of well-known influence-peddling and corruption within Japans construction industry, which keeps the concrete flowing; Id like to move beyond those controversies. This summary of evidence provides indicative costs and guidance for coastal erosion and flood management activities. Scores of groups, online chat forums, how-to YouTube videos, and obsessively detailed printed and online guides attest to the popularity of ana-zuri. Public beaches in Okinawa enhanced in this way typically display two or three groins or seawalls designed to generate one or two defined areas. Conditions are so different, its almost impossible to compare the two places, Kato says. At that time, complications arose. In their surveys of typhoon damage, Japans coastal engineers of the 1950s had brought attention to an issue that policymakers of the 1960s saw in terms of national economic development; they also, in effect, identified a market opening. The document " Coastal Dune Protection and Restoration" from Woods Hole Sea Grant and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension provides excellent details and illustrations of the process. Disadvantages - As groynes stop the movement of sediment they can cause. [3] A major French naval base, Mers-el-Kbir gained notoriety for the British Royal Navys attack on it July 36, 1940, to liquidate the French fleet before it fell into German hands after the fall of France the previous month. The NSNBK, the wave-dissipating block industry association to which Fudo Tetra and fourteen other Japanese wave block companies belong, has been pushing that idea for at least a decade, although from a different angle. Reducing wave energy impacts at or seaward of the shoreline. Still, it is no surprise that inhabitants of Japan, geographically squeezed into settlement on coastal plains while at the same time exposed to seasonal typhoons and occasional tsunami, have operated under a bunker mentality and have enthusiastically deployed coastal armoring as a key defense against natures maritime threats. For centuries, humans have settled in fertile coastal plains, harvested the ocean for sustenance and profit, and established ports for overseas commerce. Demand for concrete even for residential construction doubled between 1965 and 1971, the year before Okinawa reverted to Japanese rule (Chinen and Shiba 2015, 148150). These structures accumulate sand transported by wave-driven longshore drift, depositing it on the updrift side of the structure, thus building up the beach on the updrift side at the expense of the loss of deposits on the downdrift side. A fanaticism for coastal engineering and its tetrapods is much more in otaku style. tetrapods coastal protection advantages and disadvantages . For a demonstration of cheap and easy fishing among tetrapods with minimal gear, check out this video of two locals on the coast of Kadena Town, Okinawa, the site of the largest U.S. Air Force base in Asia at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GplKXLOUlmw. Elsewhere, othershuman and animalhave actively evolved their lives around them. They could not afford the air conditioning needed for concrete homes in Okinawas heat and humidity, stone structures were associated with traditional Okinawan graves and prewar fuuru (pigsty latrines), and timber was, on balance, less expensive. The data given indicates that the structures were installed between 1974 and 1983 using tetrapods and another type of wave block known as a dorosu (dolos), both from Fudo Tetra. Traditional, long used and with proven effectiveness. The other option, Soft Engineering , involves using natural defenses to protect the coastline. [19] The blocks in the 1999 photo are stripped of the coral visible in the 1997 photos, and the 2005 photos reveal the resumption of modest growth (figure 29). These cats displayed familiarity with people too, nearing the one who had a camera but not the promise of food that likely propelled their approach. A Tetrapod (which, Japanese engineers are quick to remind you, is a proper name, even if it has become a generic catchall) is a four-footed, porous, concrete breakwater barrier used to prevent erosion and water damage by dissipating waves. The elegant combination of its physics, fabrication, installation, economics, and effectiveness is seductive to engineers, contractors, policymakers, and artists alike. Okinawa ni okeru jutaku kz-zai no rekishi-teki hensen ni kansuruksatsu [Consideration of underlying historical changes in house building materials in Okinawa Prefecture]. [24] He gushes about the functionality, soundscape, and construction of tetrapod walls, noting they are randomly assembled together with the same shapes. It all comes down to geology. I am not the first to consider tetrapods as infrastructure for new, unintended ecologies. Nine years after introducing the tetrapod at the Fourth Conference on Coastal Engineering, Danel followed up at the Eighth Conference in 1962 with a report assessing how well the fifty-five tetrapod installations around the world had performed over several years of service. The presenters shared a scenario in which Japanese national survival is naturally dependent on securing and protecting coasts for human livelihood. 1960). The largest recent coastal armoring project in Okinawa is associated with the construction of a second runway at Naha International Airport. More than 1,000 of these Tetrapods cushions have been sold at shops across Japan since the companys quest began, and happy plushy owners include former Tetrapod engineers and coastal workers looking for a kawaii (read: twee) way to honor their profession. When the balance breaks down between the sand flowing in and out, thats when the erosion startsand the waters in the Gulf are already shallow.. Note the connection between a safe and secure society (which in this context means physically safe and economically secure) and a preserved marine environment within a redefined ecosystem that naturalizes artificial structures. There do appear to be genuine efforts in the industry to work toward greener coastal engineering solutions, but public relations campaigns are already very green now. I was intrigued by how the harbor was formed by integrating two small natural outcroppings tied to the island with seawall pathways and two breakwaters fortified by tetrapods. Science Biology Biology: The Dynamic Science (MindTap Course List) The advantages and disadvantages of moving onto the land by early tetrapods. [14] The combination of creatures and their forms of interaction also distinguish the particular ecological environments that tetrapods generate. In hopes of encouraging more nuanced thinking about the relationships between natural and built environments, I consider the ways local wildlife and human culture have, for better or worse, reacted and adapted to the spread of this curious concrete form.