On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Honshu, Japan, creating a devastating tsunami with over 40 feet tall ocean waves traveling over 100 miles per hour. Once on land, the waves reached heights of up to 133 feet and inundated over 217 square miles. This Tohoku earthquake and tsunami pulled about five million tons of Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris (JTMD) into the ocean, originating both from terrestrial and marine environments, as reported by the Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Task Force.
The earthquake and tsunami also caused the Fukushima nuclear accident and disaster, which, along with the dispersal of the JTMD, is ongoing after two years.
Introduction
Crab from Japan
Photo by
Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force
The JTMD brings challenging threats to coastal habitats and marine sanctuaries in North America and Hawaii. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states on their Marine Debris website, "Marine debris threatens oceans and coasts, marine life, our economy, safe navigation, and human health and safety."
Both the U.S. and Canada are on alert for the arrival of 221,000 tons of JTMD predicted to reach the North American coastline by October 2013, with 30,000 tons predicted to arrive by April 2013, as reported by The Japan Times, March 17, 2013.
The JTMD that received special scientific study were two large docks, one of which washed ashore in Oregon, and the other in a national marine sanctuary on the Olympic Coast in Washington. Both docks and the tons of non-native species living on the docks were threats to North American coastal habitats.
This article focuses on the scientific study and removal of the non-native species and the two Japanese docks, especially the one in the national marine sanctuary.
Identification and Safe Disposal of JTMD
Northern Japanese villages and ports were ripped apart and pulled into the ocean creating JTMD that may include lumber, building materials, trees, boats, styrofoam, plastic bottles, industrial fluid containers, appliances, clothing, toys, and many other items. Track the JTMD here.
To protect the coastal habitats from damage, pollution and invasive species, as well as for human health and safety, many people in Canada and the U.S. are being educated to identify, handle, and safely dispose the JTMD. San Luis Obispo County residents can contact the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo (ECOSLO) for coastal cleanup information on their ECOSLO website.
Ocean Conservancy Tsunami Debris Field Guide
Non-native species carried on the JTMD need to be identified and removed to prevent them from becoming invasive species (organisms that have been moved far beyond their natural ranges and whose introduction can cause economic and/or environmental harm or threaten human health).
Many of the non-native species are called biofouling organisms. Biofouling refers to the attached and associated free-living organisms found on marine structures, as stated on the Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Task Force website.
Since the waves of the tsunami washed most items out to sea before the Fukushima nuclear accident and ongoing tragedy, scientists checking for possible radiation on debris have found no contamination so far.
Hal Bernton, Seattle Times reporter, updated his reporting on the 21 confirmed cases of JTMD that have arrived in North America in his March 10, 2013 article, "Debris on NW beaches eerie reminder of tsunami's power." Mr. Bernton describes the found marine debris from Japan and the human interest stories of looking for the Japanese owners and returning their lost things, when possible.
The tsunami waves ripped four large fishing docks from their moorings in the Misawa Port, northern Honshu, Japan. One dock landed on an island in Japan, and three docks traveled across the Pacific Ocean. One dock came ashore June 5, 2012 on Agate Beach, Oregon, and another came ashore December 14, 2012 on the Olympic Coast in Washington. The fourth dock was last reported traveling past the Hawaiian Islands in September 17-19, 2012, and is called the "runaway dock."
Much has been learned from the two large docks that arrived in North America for the preparation of processing tons of future JTMD expected to arrive in North America and Hawaii.
Agencies Helping With Debris Removal & Who to Call
NOAA, as the U.S. lead agency, has established guidelines for removal of the JTMD. NOAA's Marine Debris Blog posts excellent information. Many national, state, and local agencies and organizations are involved with the removal of the tsunami debris. Contact the appropriate state (or province) JTMD / invasive species coordinator listed below:
The first dock to arrive in North America washed ashore on Agate Beach, north of Newport, Oregon near Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center (OSU-HMSC) on June 5, 2012. The 5,000-mile trans-Pacific journey took about 14.5 months, and the dock is one of the first big pieces of debris that has floated across the Pacific following the 2011 tsunami.
This large 188-ton commercial fisheries dock was 66 feet (20.1 meters) long, 19 feet (5.8 meters) wide, and seven feet (2.1 meters) tall. The boxcar-size dock was observed as seeming like an island or spaceship coming ashore.
Scientists from OSU-HMSC responded quickly and identified more that 90 non-native species of marine organisms that were living on the dock. The scientists were surprised by the diversity and magnitude of marine life present on all sides of the structure. They identified an intact subtidal community of Asian species present on the majority of the dock. The complete list of species and other information can be found on this Oregon State University blog.
Photo by Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center and Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station
According to the team of scientists from OSU-HMSC, the potentially aggressive invasive species identified on the dock included the Asian brown seaweed (Undaria pinnatifida — on Oregon's 100 Worst List of Invasive Species), the North Pacific seastar (Asteria amurensis — on the Global List of 100 Worst Invasive Species), and the Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus — a well-known aggressive invader on the East Coast of North America), and the European blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincicalis (invader of Japan itself).
Given the presence of these species, and of others of unknown risk, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) coordinated the effort to scrape and "torch" the entire dock to remove almost 2 tons of attached fouling organisms that were then buried by Oregon State Parks at a depth of about 8 feet at high beach elevations. The costs of the scientific analysis and the removal of the non-native species were shared by OSU-HMSC, several agencies and the Oregon Sea Grant and the National Science Foundation and others.
The dock removal occurred in August 2012. Ballard Diving and Salvage and subcontractors assembled a 100-ton lift capacity crane. The contractors were able to cut the 188-ton concrete dock into five slices, and then loaded them onto flatbed trucks, which drove to a yard in Sherwood, southwest of Portland.
Most of the dock will be broken down into gravel for paving parking lots. The cost of demolition and dispersal was $84,000 to Ballard Diving and Salvage.
One piece of the dock, bearing a mural of waves painted along one side within the last week before demolition, was trucked to Newport and became a memorial to Japan's 2011 tsunami. The unveiling and dedication of the Memorial Tsunami Awareness exhibit occurred on March 10, 2013, as reported in the Oregonian by Lori Tobias.
Japanese Dock with Painted Wave - Photo by Lori Tobias/The Oregonian
The arrival and scientific study of this Japanese dock carrying tons of non-native species raised concerns that resulted in organizing a Regional Preparedness and Response Workshop to address Biofouling and Aquatic Invasive Species on Japan Tsunami Marine Debris, which was held July 31 – August 1, 2012 at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. This Preparedness and Response Workshop was used to develop the Response Protocols for Biofouled Debris and Invasive Species Generated by the 2011 Japan Tsunami.
Second Japanese Dock Arrived in Washington
Japanese Dock - Photo by Ecology, WA
The second dock washed ashore and was found by a helicopter search by the U.S. Coast Guard on December 18, 2012 in a rugged and remote section of coast in the Olympic National Park and within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) in Washington. Resource protection and visitor safety are fundamental to the mission of both agencies, and they plan to remove the dock during March-April 2013.
The dock weighs approximately 185 tons and is 65 feet long, 20 feet wide and 7.5 feet tall and most of the dock's volume is Styrofoam-type material encased in steel-reinforced concrete.
In January 2013, in an attempt to prevent establishment of aquatic invasive species, staff from the Olympic National Park and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) removed the majority of organisms on the dock. About 67 plant and animal species, most native to Japan were identified.
Over 500 pounds of organisms were scraped off of the dock and placed in a safe location to decompose. The dock surface was also treated with a mild bleach solution.
NOAA released the cost of dock removal on March 1, 2013. The cost for removal of the dock will be paid for in part by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries ($75,000) and the national park ($75,000), with the remaining $478,000 likely coming from funds provided to NOAA from the government of Japan to help with cleanup of marine debris from the tsunami - total $628,000.
"Removing a piece of marine debris of this magnitude is possible only through the coordinated efforts of many agencies," said Olympic National Park superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. "Without the support of our state and federal partners, the quick and effective response and removal of the dock from our wilderness coast would not be possible," as stated on the Japan Tsunami Marine Debris website.
Winter weather and sea conditions as well as the rugged wilderness made this dock removal more difficult and costly than the removal of the dock in Oregon. The Undersea Company of Port Townsend, Washington worked with the OCNMS and the Olympic National Park to dismantle the dock on site. Smaller sections were then airlifted to an upland private landing zone, and then trucked offsite for disposal.
Images of the dock and its removal can be found on this Flicker webpage.
The Department of Ecology, State of Washington maintains an up-to-date information webpage on the incident: Forks Dock in Olympic National Park.
The Olympic National Park is located in the remote rugged northwest Olympic Peninsula of Washington. The Park protects more than 70 miles of wild Pacific coast. Most of this coastline was designated by Congress as Wilderness in 1988, and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Wilderness Act of 1964 established the National Wilderness Preservation System and established a policy for the protection of wilderness resources for public use and enjoyment. The park was internationally recognized in 1976 as a World Heritage Site. More information about Olympic National Park is available here.
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS)
The OCNMS of marine waters off the rugged Olympic Peninsula coastline includes 2,408 square nautical miles and extends 25 to 50 miles seaward, covering much of the continental shelf and several major submarine (under sea) canyons.
Visit the Living Sanctuary website to watch videos of the marine life, and to learn more about the habitats, ocean environment and history and culture of people who have continuously lived here as well as the newcomers' arrivals beginning in the 16th century.
Cedar Canoe of Northwestern
Coastal Tribe Culture
Photo by Rick Fletcher
Similar to the San Luis Obispo County Coast, the Olympic Coast has supported humans from time immemorial. One of the missions of the Sanctuary is to protect irreplaceable legacies of Native Americans and to understand what they teach us about ecological change and sustainability of natural resources. This historic preservation mandate comes from the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
The rich cultural and historical legacy of the vibrant contemporary communities of the Makah Tribe, Quileute Tribe, Hoh Tribe, and Quinault Nation have forged inseparable ties to the ocean environment, maintaining traditions of the past while they navigate the challenges of the present.
The sanctuary protects a productive seasonable upwelling zone - home to marine mammals and seabirds. Along its shores are thriving kelp and intertidal communities, teeming with fishes and other sea life. In the darkness of the seafloor, scattered communities of deep sea coral and sponges form habitats for fish and other important marine wildlife. This sanctuary is conserving an incomparable place and its resources for generations to come. More information about the Sanctuary is here.
Conclusion
As tons of JTMD travel toward North American and Hawaiian shorelines, NOAA has declared a "severe marine debris event" that could streamline responses and clarify the federal government's role in cleaning up the waste. The decision should clarify lines of authority and provide a better and more unified response to tons of waste from the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami that is closing in on the North American and Hawaiian coasts. Scientists predict that the bulk of the waste will arrive between 2013 and 2015.
The continuing threats from the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami also include the Fukushima nuclear accident. The JTMD is checked for radiation, and so far the radiation is registering within normal readings because most of the debris washed into the ocean before the Fukushima nuclear accident.
An international panel of leading medical and biological scientists, nuclear engineers, and policy experts made presentations and discussed the bio-medical and ecological consequences of the Fukushima disaster that are still unfolding.
Regarding radiation, the panel reported that approximately ten percent of the Japanese island mass was contaminated by radioactive releases from the ongoing Fukushima nuclear accident. Rain has washed radioactive contaminated debris into streams and rivers running into the ocean.
The panel also reported that one of the cleanup processes in Japan has been to dump materials directly into streams, rivers and the ocean. Thus, there may be a more dangerous radioactive debris incident or incidents in the future. The radioactive contaminated soils washed into the ocean will add to that already in the silts impacting sea life, including migratory species.
For example, fish migrating in the Pacific Ocean between Japan and North America may have radiation poisoning, as Reuters/ Mike Segar MS reported February 2013, Bluefin tuna caught near California tested positive for radiation poisoning.
