Next ARDF at Tri-City Park May 18
by Marvin Johnston
Every spring, ham clubs in Orange County organize an outdoor day in
Placentia at Tri-City Park where they operate radios, find hidden
transmitters and eat lots of good food. The annual "Antennas In The
Park" (AITP) event is organized by the Fullerton Radio Club. This year
it will Be Saturday, May 18 and FRC will be joined by the Catalina
Amateur Repeater Association (CARA). CARA members are providing
burgers, hot dogs, and soft drinks. A $5 donation per person is
requested if you want to take part in the barbecue.
As usual, this year's AITP brings an opportunity to get involved in
on-foot radio-orienteering, also called ARDF. It's in celebration of
the sixteenth annual CQ Worldwide Foxhunting Weekend. All ages are
welcome, so bring the family. AITP transmitter hunts will be simple,
informal and intended primarily for beginners. There will be no charge
for participation in the hunts, which will begin around 11 AM and
continue until 2 PM. Be sure to bring your two-meter handi-talkie!
If you don't have the antenna/attenuator system for on-foot foxhunting
on two meters with your ham radio handi-talkie or scanner, you can
easily make one during this session. Beginning at 10 AM, Marvin
Johnston KE6HTS will conduct a clinic for building his kits for
measuring-tape yagis and for 90 dB offset-type attenuators. An
assembled/tested attenuator in a special housing that goes inside the
boom of the yagi is also available. If you want one or more kits,
please register in advance by sending e-mail to marvin-at-west.net, so
he will have the kits reserved in your name waiting for you.
It takes about an hour to put the antenna and attenuator kits together
with tools and soldering irons that will be provided. If you're not an
electronic technician, don't worry because there will be plenty of
experts to help you. We want you to succeed! Then with your HT and the
kitbuilt equipment, you will be all set to hunt.
Besides the transmitter hunts, AITP participants will probably have at
least one HF station on the air and will do some radio-controlled
sailboating. The traditional Worldwide Foxhunting Weekend cake will be
served to participants in the transmitter hunts. A few canopies and
tables will be set up, but for eating and sitting around, please bring
your own lawn chair.
The main entrance to Tri-City Park is at the corner of North Kraemer
Boulevard and East Golden Avenue in Placentia. From the 57 freeway,
take the Imperial Highway exit, go east to Kraemer Boulevard, turn right
(south), continue to Golden Avenue and turn right into the park. This
event will be in the northeast corner (to the right as you enter the
park). Look for the FRC banner. Entry and parking are free, but empty
spaces near the event site may be difficult to find if the park is
crowded, so consider carpooling. A map for navitation to the park is in
www.homingin.com
Call K0OV on K6QEH/R, 146.97(-) PL 136.5 for two-meter talk-in.
Questions about the transmitter hunts? Send e-mail to k0ov(a)homingin.com
before May 15.
73,
Joe Moell K0OV
9 years, 10 months
- 1
- 0
Re: SBARC-list Digest, Vol 117, Issue 5
by mst56
Great publicity!
Michael
On 4/28/2013 12:00 PM, sbarc-list-request(a)lists.netlojix.com wrote:
> Send SBARC-list mailing list submissions to
> sbarc-list(a)lists.netlojix.com
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://lists.netlojix.com/mailman/listinfo/sbarc-list
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> sbarc-list-request(a)lists.netlojix.com
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> sbarc-list-owner(a)lists.netlojix.com
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of SBARC-list digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. AIS Santa Barbara (Bill Talanian)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:53:22 -0700
> From: Bill Talanian <w1uuq(a)cox.net>
> Subject: [Sbarc-list] AIS Santa Barbara
> To: sbarc list <sbarc-list(a)lists.netlojix.com>
> Message-ID:
> <20130428045311.BYQL29932.fed1rmfepo102.cox.net@fed1rmimpo305>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
> <http://www.noozhawk.com/>
> Noozhawk.com Santa Barbara & Goleta Local News
>
>
> []
> PRINT THIS PAGE
>
>
> Andrew Seybold: Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club
> Helps Chart Ships in Local Waters
>
> http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amate…
>
> By Andrew Seybold for the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club
>
> This screen shot was taken from the website tracking Automatic
>
> This screen shot was taken from the
> <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>website
> tracking Automatic Identification System-equipped
> vessels in and around the Santa Barbara Channel on a recent Sunday afternoon.
>
> []
>
>
> At any given time there are hundreds of boats and
> ships in and around Santa Barbara passenger,
> cargo, tankers, yachts, U.S. government,
> including the <http://www.uscg.mil>Coast Guard,
> and many other vessels. Did you know there are
> two ways of tracking them on
> <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>a
> map? The first is run by the government and this
> data is not available to the average boating
> enthusiast, but the second is an open-source
> system that tracks all of these vessels around the world.
>
> Each tracked vessel has an Automatic
> Identification System (AIS) device onboard. The
> larger commercial and government ships have a
> type-A device that sends out data every few
> seconds while the smaller vessels are equipped
> with type-B devices that send out information
> less frequently. In the Santa Barbara area there
> are two stations that track this data. The first
> is located at <http://www.ucsb.edu>UC Santa
> Barbara and the second, which was just installed,
> is operated by the <http://sbarc.org>Santa
> Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC). The nonprofit
> SBARC also has plans to install two more of these
> receivers, one on a mountain site north of Santa
> Barbara and one on
> <http://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/santa-cruz-island.htm>Santa Cruz Island.
>
> The data that is collected from each of these
> receivers is sent via the Internet to a central
> processing center located in Greece and then
> distributed on the web.
> <http://www.marinetraffic.com>Click here to view
> the data or
> <http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?level0=100>click
> here to view the local data. You can click on
> each ship and see exactly what it is. If there
> are pictures available they are included, and you
> can track where it came from and where it is heading.
>
> Any vessel that is equipped with an AIS device is
> tracked as long at the device is on. Depending on
> the ship, the device might be shut off; for
> example, a police boat or Coast Guard vessel,
> and, of course, panga boats won’t have
> operational AIS devices either! Many
> <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>marine
> radios offer built-in AIS and they are very
> inexpensive. They are not only used to track the
> vessels but also for collision avoidance since
> boat owners or captains can see other vessels
> around them even if they do not have radar onboard.
>
> These sites are also viewed by the Coast Guard
> and others and are used to track the vessels,
> including their speed and if there is a problem
> with pollution from the ship. Speed is important
> because there are limits in this area to protect
> whales and other sea animals. Now with a click of
> a mouse, the exact speed of all of the ships in
> the area can be tracked and any exceeding the
> recommended speeds can be contacted by radio and
> warned to slow down. The last part of the system
> enables a ship to send out a distress signal that
> is then received by the ships around it, and
> therefore are close enough to offer assistance.
>
> MarineTraffic.com data is interactive, so users can see exact d
>
> MarineTraffic.com data is interactive, so users
> can see exact details of a vessel’s journey.
>
> Although the government’s system is for its use
> only, the open-source system is available to all
> on the Internet. However, many times government
> vessels in these waters will run with their AIS
> system on to help prevent collisions, and
> recently we tracked several
> <http://www.navy.mil>Navy ships and one submarine
> that had surfaced and was heading into port. If
> more boats in this area opt into AIS (pleasure
> craft only need type-B AIS equipment), the waters
> around Santa Barbara will be even safer for all.
>
> This is only the newest in a series of services
> being offered by the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio
> Club. We already host
> <http://diablo.voneicken.com/imageview.cgi>a
> camera on Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island that
> is used by many pilots and ships that are heading
> for the islands. Another camera location is
> provided to homeowners in the
> <http://www.missioncanyon.org/>Mission Canyon
> Association; it looks toward the mountains from the SBARC location in the city.
>
> We also run numerous weather stations that are
> all connected via the Internet and are used by
> the <http://www.weather.gov>National Weather
> Service, paragliders and others. We provide an
> emergency communication link between homeowners
> associations and the
> <http://www.countyofsb.org/ceo/oes.aspx?id=376>Santa
> Barbara County Emergency Operations Center, as
> well as assist public safety, the
> <http://www.redcross.org/ca/santa-barbara>American
> Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter and
> others during major incidents, parades, marathons
> and the <http://www.oldspanishdays-fiesta.org>Old
> Spanish Days Fiesta Parade. And we monitor the
> local emergency beacon channel that is used by
> airplanes as well as boats, and provide direction
> finding assistance when an alarm is received at one of our sites.
>
> <http://sbarc.org>Click here for more information
> on the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club.
> <http://sbarc.org/donations.html>Click here to
> make an online donation to the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club.
>
> Andrew Seybold is vice president of external
> affairs for the <http://sbarc.org>Santa Barbara
> Amateur Radio Club. The opinions expressed are his own.
>
> http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amate…
>
9 years, 11 months
- 1
- 0
AIS Santa Barbara
by Bill Talanian
<http://www.noozhawk.com/>
Noozhawk.com Santa Barbara & Goleta Local News
[]
PRINT THIS PAGE
Andrew Seybold: Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club
Helps Chart Ships in Local Waters
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amate…
By Andrew Seybold for the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club
This screen shot was taken from the website tracking Automatic
This screen shot was taken from the
<http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>website
tracking Automatic Identification System-equipped
vessels in and around the Santa Barbara Channel on a recent Sunday afternoon.
[]
At any given time there are hundreds of boats and
ships in and around Santa Barbara passenger,
cargo, tankers, yachts, U.S. government,
including the <http://www.uscg.mil>Coast Guard,
and many other vessels. Did you know there are
two ways of tracking them on
<http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>a
map? The first is run by the government and this
data is not available to the average boating
enthusiast, but the second is an open-source
system that tracks all of these vessels around the world.
Each tracked vessel has an Automatic
Identification System (AIS) device onboard. The
larger commercial and government ships have a
type-A device that sends out data every few
seconds while the smaller vessels are equipped
with type-B devices that send out information
less frequently. In the Santa Barbara area there
are two stations that track this data. The first
is located at <http://www.ucsb.edu>UC Santa
Barbara and the second, which was just installed,
is operated by the <http://sbarc.org>Santa
Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC). The nonprofit
SBARC also has plans to install two more of these
receivers, one on a mountain site north of Santa
Barbara and one on
<http://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/santa-cruz-island.htm>Santa Cruz Island.
The data that is collected from each of these
receivers is sent via the Internet to a central
processing center located in Greece and then
distributed on the web.
<http://www.marinetraffic.com>Click here to view
the data or
<http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?level0=100>click
here to view the local data. You can click on
each ship and see exactly what it is. If there
are pictures available they are included, and you
can track where it came from and where it is heading.
Any vessel that is equipped with an AIS device is
tracked as long at the device is on. Depending on
the ship, the device might be shut off; for
example, a police boat or Coast Guard vessel,
and, of course, panga boats wont have
operational AIS devices either! Many
<http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>marine
radios offer built-in AIS and they are very
inexpensive. They are not only used to track the
vessels but also for collision avoidance since
boat owners or captains can see other vessels
around them even if they do not have radar onboard.
These sites are also viewed by the Coast Guard
and others and are used to track the vessels,
including their speed and if there is a problem
with pollution from the ship. Speed is important
because there are limits in this area to protect
whales and other sea animals. Now with a click of
a mouse, the exact speed of all of the ships in
the area can be tracked and any exceeding the
recommended speeds can be contacted by radio and
warned to slow down. The last part of the system
enables a ship to send out a distress signal that
is then received by the ships around it, and
therefore are close enough to offer assistance.
MarineTraffic.com data is interactive, so users can see exact d
MarineTraffic.com data is interactive, so users
can see exact details of a vessels journey.
Although the governments system is for its use
only, the open-source system is available to all
on the Internet. However, many times government
vessels in these waters will run with their AIS
system on to help prevent collisions, and
recently we tracked several
<http://www.navy.mil>Navy ships and one submarine
that had surfaced and was heading into port. If
more boats in this area opt into AIS (pleasure
craft only need type-B AIS equipment), the waters
around Santa Barbara will be even safer for all.
This is only the newest in a series of services
being offered by the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio
Club. We already host
<http://diablo.voneicken.com/imageview.cgi>a
camera on Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island that
is used by many pilots and ships that are heading
for the islands. Another camera location is
provided to homeowners in the
<http://www.missioncanyon.org/>Mission Canyon
Association; it looks toward the mountains from the SBARC location in the city.
We also run numerous weather stations that are
all connected via the Internet and are used by
the <http://www.weather.gov>National Weather
Service, paragliders and others. We provide an
emergency communication link between homeowners
associations and the
<http://www.countyofsb.org/ceo/oes.aspx?id=376>Santa
Barbara County Emergency Operations Center, as
well as assist public safety, the
<http://www.redcross.org/ca/santa-barbara>American
Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter and
others during major incidents, parades, marathons
and the <http://www.oldspanishdays-fiesta.org>Old
Spanish Days Fiesta Parade. And we monitor the
local emergency beacon channel that is used by
airplanes as well as boats, and provide direction
finding assistance when an alarm is received at one of our sites.
<http://sbarc.org>Click here for more information
on the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club.
<http://sbarc.org/donations.html>Click here to
make an online donation to the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club.
Andrew Seybold is vice president of external
affairs for the <http://sbarc.org>Santa Barbara
Amateur Radio Club. The opinions expressed are his own.
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amate…
9 years, 11 months
- 1
- 0
AIS Antenna
by Bill Talanian
Adam Houser, KK6AXY, tie wraps coax hardline after installation of
SBARC's AIS antenna. AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a
required location device on every large vessel. SBARC is pleased to
provide location information to local boating enthusiasts with Class
B encoders as well as the shipping and commercial entities.
The two parabolic reflectors are part of SBARC's wide bandwidth linking system.
9 years, 11 months
- 1
- 0
FirstNet and Boston IED's
by Bill Talanian
Andrew Seybold, W6AMS, is a frequent contributor
to Urgent Communications. He is on the Board of
SBARC and serves as VP External Affairs.
Urgent Communications
----------
Boston bombings raise sharing questions for FirstNet
Mon, 2013-04-22 16:28
Network-congestion issues during the aftermath of
the Boston bombings should spur FirstNet members
to ask some hard questions before agreeing to
potential sharing arrangements with commercial operators.
By Andrew Seybold
The bombings during the Boston Marathon were a
terrible tragedy, and the news media got a lot of
things wrong in the first few hours after the
blasts. One report, later retracted by the Boston
Globe, was that the federal government had
ordered all commercial networks to be shut down.
No one knew if the bombs had been set off via
<http://urgentcomm.com/blog/boston-bombings-raise-sharing-questions-firstnet#>cell
phones, which is one of many ways they could have
been detonated. The idea was that the networks
were shut down was based on a fear that there
could be more bombs, and the networks could be used to detonate them.
The real story was that the networks were not
ordered to shut down, but they were so
overcrowded that many call requests could not be
put through. So many people being denied access
to the networks led to the assumption that they had been shut down.
Even so, the fact that the networks were
overloadedas they are in times of major
incidentsshould be of concern to
<http://urgentcomm.com/organizations/ntia-firstnet?intlink=autlink>FirstNet.
Because FirstNet is exploring the possibility of
sharing the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband
Network (NPSBN) with commercial operators, which
will in turn make use of excess capacity on the
network, the following questions need to be
considered in the final network design. These
questions are applicable during
commercial-network overload, as well as whenand
ifcommercial networks are ever ordered to shut down.
1) If the commercial networks were to be
shut down or become overcrowded, and the network
operators had a sharing agreement to use the
FirstNet network, would all of the users on the
commercial networks be shifted over to FirstNet,
causing increased traffic and congestion on the
NPSBN when it is needed most by the first responders?
2) If commercial users had access to
FirstNet and the commercial networks were shut
down, does this also mean that the NPSBN would
have to shut down, because a commercial device on
this network would also be capable of detonating a bomb by remote control?
3) Whatif anysafeguards will be built into
the sharing agreements between FirstNet and the
commercial network operators, and how will the
load between FirstNet first responders and
commercial users be monitored and managed? Will
it be possible to shut down access to the NPSBN
for secondary users (commercial users) when the
commercial networks are shut down or are overloaded?
The FirstNet system design is based on public
safety having pre-emptive access to the network.
In theory, pre-emption would occur in two phases.
The first would be to limit the bandwidth and
capacity available to non-first-responder users
during incidents. The second would be ruthless
pre-emption, in which a first responder who
accesses the NPSBN would be granted that access
instantly, even if it meant terminating a
commercial (secondary) users connection.
This sounds great in theory, but in todays real
world, any type of true pre-emption might not be
possible. One of the committees I serve on is
made up of some of the brightest
<http://urgentcomm.com/technology/long-term-evolution?intlink=autlink>LTE
engineers in the business. They have participated
in the standards body work for LTE, designed LTE
systems, worked with LTE systems, and have more
knowledge and hands-on LTE experience than any
other group I have worked with or talked with.
When I raised the following issues, they dug into
them, and their top-line answers are shown after the statements.
Assertion 1:If the signaling channel is
overloaded, then a User (UE) with maximum
priority and pre-emptive rights may not be able to access the network.
Top-Line Answer:This is essentially a true
statement, especially in
<http://urgentcomm.com/blog/boston-bombings-raise-sharing-questions-firstnet#>a
network that is shared with commercial users.
Assertion 2: LTE provides a way around this
problem (as stated in Assertion #1) that can be
implemented to ensure full priority access when needed.
Top-Line Answer: Mitigation tools exist in the
<http://urgentcomm.com/governance/standards/3gpp?intlink=autlink>3GPP
standards, but due to a wide range of potential
scenarios and causes, to characterize this as
solved would be an oversimplification.
There is much more to the response from this
group that I will publish soon in my Public
Safety Advocate e-newsletter, but the reason for
the response is based on the following overlying
characteristics of LTE (or any cellular-like network):
1) In order to make a call (or get onto the
network), the device must send a request for
access to the network. The network then verifies
that this unit is permitted access and attaches the device to the network.
2) The signaling channel input is located at
each cell site, and it sends the request to the
network. If the number of requests for service
exceeds the capacity on the signaling channel,
some of the requests will not be processed.
If the request for service or pre-emptive service
is not delivered to the cell site and transmitted
to the network, the network has no way of knowing
the request was even made. Further, if the
requests overload a number of cell sites, they
may not travel from the cell site to the network
for processing. In other words, if the LTE
signaling channel (RACH) is congested, the level
of priority makes no difference. If the cell site
does not receive the request for service, it
cannot be processed. So in reality, there is no true pre-emption in LTE today.
Note: One of the arguments we used with Congress
to have the D Block allocated to Public Safety
was the fact that pre-emptive access on
commercial networks was neither practical nor
feasible to accomplish. The earthquake centered
in Virginia and the following hurricane proved
our point, becausewhile the commercial networks
remained operationalthere were many instances
when access was totally blocked because the signaling channels were overloaded.
The bottom line is that implementing the
public-safety LTE system will be a real
challenge. I am sure the FirstNet is up to it,
but the solution will need to be carefully
focused on the needs of public safety during
incidents when access to the NPSBN will be
critical for the public-safety community. serves as your VP
Wireless communications consultant Andrew Seybold
is a communications advisor to both the National
Sheriffs Association, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
----------
Source URL:
<http://urgentcomm.com/blog/boston-bombings-raise-sharing-questions-firstnet>http://urgentcomm.com/blog/boston-bombings-raise-sharing-questions-firstnet
9 years, 11 months
- 1
- 0
Vessel Tracking
by Bill Talanian
UCSB and SBARC provide vessel tracking system to
monitor ships position, speed and heading. Newly
installed system at our Mesa site helps provide vital data.
For a view go to:
<www.marinetraffic.com>
<http://www.noozhawk.com/>
Noozhawk.com Santa Barbara & Goleta Local News
Whales, Air Quality Targets of Plan to Slow Ships in Santa Barbara Channel
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/santa_barbara_whales_air_quality_t…
By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Staff Writer | <http://twitter.com/magnoli>@magnoli
Protecting gray whales in the Santa Barbara Channel is among th
Protecting gray whales in the Santa Barbara
Channel is among the aims of an incentive program
proposed by the Santa Barbara County
<http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/santa_barbara_whales_air_quality_tar…>Air
Pollution Control District. (Condor Express photo)
The county Air Pollution Control District is
working to implement an incentive program for ocean-going vessels
Large ships traveling through the Santa Barbara
Channel produce more than half of the entire
countys nitrogen oxide emissions and are a
threat to the whales that frequent the area, so
the <http://www.sbcapcd.org/>Santa Barbara County
Air Pollution Control District is working with
other agencies to implement a
<http://www.sbcapcd.org/itg/shipemissions.htm>marine
vessel speed-reduction program like the one used
by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
Representatives from the county, the
<http://www.noaa.gov/>National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and the
<http://www.edcnet.org/>Environmental Defense
Center gave a presentation to the
<http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/Government/Council/Meet_Us/>Santa
Barbara City Council on Tuesday with an update on
<http://www.sbcapcd.org/itg/shipstudies.htm>the
initiative and efforts to get funding from the state.
The partnership is looking at the vexing
problem of heavy shipping traffic in the channel
and along the California coast, which has
<http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/conservation/pdfs/ship_strikes.pdf>big
impacts to local air quality, climate control
implications and a threat to whales, said Brian
Shafritz, Air Pollution Control
<http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/santa_barbara_whales_air_quality_tar…>District
manager.
The channels shipping lanes are about 12 miles
off the coast and span 110 miles in the county,
which makes the channel a congregation point
for trans-Pacific ships from Asia that come to deliver cargo at the ports.
Large container ships have engines like mini
power plants; they spew out tons of pollutants, he said.
Over the 110-mile span, one ship crossing from
north to south there on the one lane is
equivalent to 40,000 cars of ozone-forming pollutants, just one transit.
The City Council and many other agencies have
<http://www.sbcapcd.org/itg/VSR-support-SBCAPCD.pdf>already
sent letters of support for the project.
Assembly Bill 32 funds could pay for an incentive
program to get ships to slow down to 12 knots,
which could reduce greenhouse gas, other
pollutants and the lethality of ship strikes on
whales, the Air Pollution Control District says.
The district submitted a vessel speed-reduction
incentive initiative to the
<http://www.arb.ca.gov/>California Air Resources Board last March.
The Long Beach and LA ports speed-reduction
<http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/santa_barbara_whales_air_quality_tar…>incentive
programs have participation rates over 90
percent, and the county wants to develop its own
incentive structure over a pilot program period.
Slowing ships to 12 knots will reduce shipping
greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent and
nitrogen oxides air pollution by 56 percent, the initiative states.
The ports spend about $2 million per year on
their programs, and this partnership estimates
that it would cost $5 million to expand it to the Santa Barbara Channel.
Ship trips through the channel peaked at more
than 7,000 annually in 2006 and 2007, dipping
ever since with the recession and the states
lower-sulfur fuel rule for the area mandated in 2009.
The rule was meant to reduce emissions of diesel
particulate, but the majority of ships started
going around the islands to avoid the regulation, according to NOAA.
The channel has the largest seasonal population
of blue whales in the world, and having shipping
lanes is like having a highway running through
your kitchen, said Kristi Birney, a marine conservation analyst with EDC.
Incentivizing ships to slow down to 12 knots
through the channel as the ports have would
reduce the probability of fatal collisions, and
the benefits will be easily tracked through air
pollution and the marine sanctuarys existing
system of tracking cargo ship speeds and routes.
The groups want a
<http://www.sbcapcd.org/itg/SBCAPCD-toCARB-030713.pdf>voluntary
incentive program, not regulations, said Sean
Hastings, the resource protection coordinator for
the <http://channelislands.noaa.gov/>Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
He reminded the City Council that NOAA is within
the <http://www.commerce.gov/>Department of
Commerce, so it definitely doesnt want to stop shipping.
They believe theres a way to work with the
shipping industry to achieve a cleaner climate,
public health benefits and smaller likelihood of whale fatalities, he said.
According to the Air Pollution Control District,
marine shipping makes up 54 percent of the
countys nitrogen oxides sources, and by 2030, it
expects that to increase to 72 percent.
Every ship emits radio signals so NOAA antennae
can track who they are, what theyre carrying,
where theyre going, and how fast, Hastings said.
He tried to work with the shipping industry to
slow down for the sake of whales alone, but they
had zero cooperation in the past. An incentive
program would be between a friendly ask and a regulation, he said.
Moving the ships entirely isnt a viable option,
but slowing them down is, he said. Cruise ships,
which are visiting Santa Barbara with more
frequency now, also have been known to hit whales.
An unusual mortality event was declared in 2007
for blue whales after five carcasses were
discovered between Santa Cruz Island and San
Diego, all with injuries consistent with ship
strikes, according to a 2011 paper, Reducing the
Threat of Ship Strikes on Large Cetaceans in the
Santa Barbara Channel Region and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
Historically, three was the most blue whale
fatalities in this region for a single year.
Scientists arent sure why the whales arent
getting out of the way of ships, even though
there are dozens of us working on this issue,
Hastings said. Its something we simply dont understand.
This initiatives partnership includes the Air
Pollution Control District, NOAA, the county and
city of Santa Barbara, the EDC, Community
Environmental Council, Channel Islands National
Marine Sanctuary, and shipping representatives Marine Exchange and PMSA.
The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are also partners in the effort.
<http://www.noozhawk.com>Noozhawk staff writer
Giana Magnoli can be reached at
<mailto:gmagnoli@noozhawk.com>gmagnoli(a)noozhawk.com.
Follow Noozhawk on Twitter:
<http://twitter.com/noozhawk>@noozhawk,
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9 years, 11 months
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AIS Vessel Tracking System in service
by Bill Talanian
SBARC NOW SUPPORTS VESSEL TRACKING SYSTEM
A donation of equipment was received from the estate of Robert Block,
K6LX, through the personal efforts of Mike Wapner, K6QD. This
equipment is an Automatic Identification System (AIS). The AIS system
is now 100% operational from our Mesa site and is Station 533 signing
SBARC. The AIS system is now seeing ocean "targets" more than 100 nm
from Santa Barbara. There are only two stations in our local
SouthCoast area. A second AIS system is located at UCSB as Station
1325, signing UCSB.
A full tutorial of AIS is available on the internet which explains
how this system is used in identifying Class A and Class B vessel traffic.
Start here:
<http://www.marinetraffic.com>
Have fun !
Bill Talanian
9 years, 11 months
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