2007 Annual Meeting
continued from home page
In accomplishing its mission, the PCCS has disentangled 89 whales, conducted population studies that have identified 800 humpback whales, and carried out aerial surveys and habitat studies on right whales. This work led to a rerouting of shipping lanes to reduce collisions of ships with whales.
The PCCS is also involved in whale watching and trains the young
naturalists who educate people on whale watching trips. Further, they
have monitored Cape Cod Bay waters following the construction of the
outfall pipe that carries treated sewage from Boston into the bay. Mr.
Delaney reported that to date, the effluent from the pipe has not
polluted bay waters.
Graham Giese, a PCCS geologist, reported that sea level, which was
rising at about 1 millimeter (mm) per year prior to 1800, is now rising
at a rate of 2 mm per year as a result of global warming. Near Cape Cod,
the sea is actually rising 3 mm per year because the earth's crust in
this region is sinking at 1 mm per year.
He noted that bay beaches near the center of Eastham are losing sediment
because wave action is moving sand northward and southward from the
central beach areas. On the ocean side, bluffs are retreating at an
average rate of 3 feet per year and the submergence of George's Bank due
to rising sea levels will enhance wave action from northeast winds and
accelerate the erosion of ocean side beaches.
He stated that large boulders may stabilize banks near homes, but they
interfere with the movement of sediment that results in thinner beaches.
