Postholes

Field of Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Mon, 05 May 2014 15:16:00 +0000

Hareer, Iraq 2 May 2013

Image (C) Badir N. Albadran. Reed Fields near Hareer, Iraq.

Most of us would look at this emerald expanse, sigh, and think of the Low Country, or the Everglades, or the Bayous, or some other half-wild place of shrimping, crabbing, crawfishing, and trolling from a john-boat.

Image (c) Jennifer R. Pournelle. Water Buffalo Rancher near Hareer, Iraq.

Abu Fathi (not his real name) looks at this and sees a hay field. Do not be fooled: there's nothing Rousseauian about this expanse: it did not even exist two years ago. The field was leveled, water diverted, and the reed allowed to grow to young lushness for the sole purpose of feeding cattle. Specifically, water buffalo.

Abu Fathi's brother has a thriving business in Chicago, but Abu Fathi, along with his rather extended family, eschewed the winters of the windy city to pursue a more agrarian business venture at home. He sold up, packed up, and invested all in water buffalo. It's a new departure: in these fields his father tended orchards, not beasts. With salinization the orchards died, but the less-than-ideal waters that killed them are handily digested by Phragmites. To maximize growth, the beasts are penned in mud-walled corrals, fed on vast piles of hand-cut reed-hay.

It's a good living, says Abu Fathi. Hard work, but a good living - he's turning a tidy profit on his investment. But more to the point, he says, the kids are all healthy and strong, with brilliant white teeth. I have to agree: a convivial pack, just released from their classroom, followed me about, giggling and practicing their school-boy English as I snapped photos of outrageously ridiculous things like old boats and dung-heaps.

For us, a living proof-of-concept that expanding reed beds is practicable, locally welcomed, and immediately beneficial. #cmarsh

The Rooftops of Basra

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Sun, 04 May 2014 05:29:00 +0000

Basra, Iraq 29 April - 1 May

Image (c) Jennifer R. Pournelle. View of Shatt Al Arab from Shams Al Basra Hotel.

Cor, what a sight. Our trip to the Majnoon Oilfield was cut short by a noon luncheon meeting at the U.S. consulate, hard by Basra International Airport. A useful meeting, with introductions to the new Consul-General, who thankfully will be in residence for two whole years. Then, runors confirmed that Iraqi airspace would close for the elections, the rest of the team bugged out, leaving me to hold the fort at the University Guest House.

Except that the fort capitulated at the moment of my arrival. Not through any grave security concern (indeed, I was by then the only guest, tucked away in a corner room far from any prying eyes). No: the concern was occupational - or rather lack thereof. It seems that, with no prior notice, in honor of the elections, the powers-that-be declared a three-day holiday, making for a five-day weekend. Thus closing all national, regional, and local government offices, as well as the university. Including the guest house. On the spot, my lovely guest house staff, only that morning only too pleased to guard the gate, cook, and make tea, had urgent and undeniable cause to be at home. They could not possibly be expected to remain at their duties for the benefit of one paltry guest. I guess I can't really blame them.

It's this sort of day-to-day reality that makes discretionary funds so essential for operating here. No problem: I did what one would do in any normal city: I packed off to a nice hotel. At the Shams Al Basra, frequented by air crews, I joined a bare handful of guests stranded by flight cancellations, and settled in for three days of waiting, reading; waiting, writing; waiting, sleeping; and waiting, re-booking meetings. At this jucture, I must note that in this corner of the world, waits are usually measured in weeks, not days. Think not, in this case, bureaucratic stonewalling. Think instead of the mix of exasperation and secret relief that accompanies snow days. Unexpected by all, unwanted by all, inconvenient for all, but secretly a chance to catch up on niggling tasks and empty the in-box.

The photo above is a wonderful illustration of point-of-view. No doubt, to most of you dear readers, it looks a rather ugly study in dust and concrete. But on arrival, we all gasped at its beauty. After a few days here, the eye is instantly drawn to the stretch of sparkling blue that is the river. The sun rises directly thereover, reflected in a shimmering disk on the waters. Swallows circle and wheel, doves coo, and finches cheep in the dawn chorus. Ashar boats and motor launches cruise past, and traffic cruises over the pontoon bridge to the shopping and restaurant districts on the other shore. It is a pleasant sight, and one I have revisited again and again these past several days, tracking the hours through the river's changing moods. #cmarsh

Water and Oil

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Sat, 03 May 2014 04:06:00 +0000

Al-Qurna, Iraq, 28 April

Images (c) Jennifer R. Pournelle. "Pipes Bridge," Majnoon Oilfield.

This 250-meter-wide canal was cut 25 years ago to drain marshes along the Iranian border. At that time, water levels topped the culvert pipes beneath the bridge, allowed that precious commodity to flush down the Tigris. Now, a dam conserves what little is left, creating a precious green strip of marsh habitat to the west. To the east, de-watered for over a decade, desiccated reed beds stretch to the horizon.

Royal Dutch Shell, the operators of this oilfield, are, like their national homeland, sensitive to the importance of wetlands and wetland management, and take multiple precautions to protect this small refuge. No return water is currently produced here, but it may be at some point in the future. When that happens, one option may be to turn the 20 km-long dry bed, for which there is no longer any water supply, into salt- or brackish-marsh. That will be tricky, though. Protecting groundwater from salt intrusion would require lining the bed - and before that could be done safely, the entire 300 m - wide basin would need to be cleared of explosive ordnance left from the 1980s Iran-Iraq wars. #cmarsh

Nature Finds a Way

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Fri, 02 May 2014 03:37:00 +0000

Zubayr, Iraq, 27 April 2014

Image (c) Jennifer R. Pournelle. Raw sewage flows into the Basra River at Abu Al Khasib near Az-Zubayr, Iraq

Even with the foulest of raw materials, life emerges. Just a few miles upstream from its outlet into tidal flats at the head of the Gulf, raw sewage flows into the Shatt Al Basra from the municipal cloaca - all that remains of the primary and secondary sewage treatment systems destroyed and abandoned during war and decades of economic sanctions. Yet, in the hinterground, amid salt-fouled dirt, sewage-fouled water, and petrochemical-fouled air, sandpipers and egrets scuttle and poke around a rough patch of marsh grasses, eking out a few small clams and fingerlings. With a bit of help, this drainage system can be improved and expanded into a larger, healthier remediation marsh - something more like that in my previous entry - eliminating the need for expensive new waste treatment plants, while vastly improving downstream water quality. #cmarsh

Sheep, Sedges, and Sustainability

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Fri, 02 May 2014 00:24:00 +0000

Basra, Iraq, 26 April 2014

Image (c) Jennifer R. Pournelle. Sheep grazing near the U. Basra Marine Science Center Field Station, Hareer,

The first field day was spent viewing firsthand the opportunities and limits for broad-scale freshwater marsh restoration outside Basra City. This stand of cattails (Typha), rushes (Juncus), and bulrushes (Scirpus) is scarcely four years old - re-formed when brackish irrigation return water was allowed to re-flood areas desiccated for over a decade. This mix of marshy plants provides good grazing, and supports local production of mutton, wool, and dairy products.
However, extreme, and unpredictable, fluctuations in salinity due to upstream water releases are more than the date and fruit orchards that used to cover this plain can bear - new trees that manage to survive seldom bear fruit. Likewise, those random fluctuations kill off both fresh- and salt- tolerant fish fry. Unlike in a natural estuary, subject to predictable daily ebb and flow, they cannot follow a salt gradient within their range of tolerance.
#cmarsh

Arrivals and Departures

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 02:54:00 +0000

Dubai and Basra, 25 April 2014

Image © Jennifer R. Pournelle 2014. Rice souk. Al Ras, Dubai, UAE.

Wandering the alleys of the rice souk in the post-dawn hour Friday morning, imagine my double-take on turning a corner and seeing this signage. "Carolina Gold" rice, the crop that made Charleston, South Carolina the wealthiest city in America in the 18th century, is making a comeback, but as far afield as Dubai? A quarter-hour spent peering through the immaculate wholesaler's windows revealed an astonishing array of basmati and aromatic rices, but no "Carolin." A bit of online sleuthing later, I discovered that the Carolin displayed here is a brand of vegetable oil-based margarine marketed by Ngo Chew Hong Edible Oil Pte Ltd of Singapore. It seems that the British love of buttered Carolina rice became associated with the color, and the rest is, well, marketing.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team landed in Basra, and endured the usual merry-go-round of passport control without me. It seems that a government-issued visa affixed into a passport is as yet not enough to get one through the gate. Phone calls must be made, numbers must be checked, and, of course, somebody must appear on the opposite side of the immigration stand with a letter of sponsorship and assurances that these are, yes, the people who were invited and expected in the first place. At present, the entirety of immigration control still depends on 3-ring binders full of hand-carried bits of paper, and is utterly geared to processing the revolving door of 200,000 contract workers that rotate through the oil and construction sectors annually. A handful of academics flapping about unsupervised is a head-scratching conundrum that takes an hour to resolve. Note that: an hour. It used to take a day. Or two. Or three. Things improve every trip. #cmarsh

Dubai Dhows at Dawn

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 22:02:00 +0000

Dubai, 24 April 2014

Image © Jennifer R. Pournelle. Dhows at anchor. Deira, Dubai, UAE.

Uptown Dubai may be dominated by the breathtaking new spires of the Burj Khalifa, but the original heart of Dubai still beats down along the creeks, where dhows are still the workhorses of the regional import/export trade. From Africa, Arabia, India, and point further east, they on- and offload spices, gold, and Samsung electronics, which vie for space within new and old souks of the Old City. Explore them here in 360 views (click white arrows to move through the town). As recently as 30 years ago, dhow traffic was heavy in the Shatt Al-Arab, importing fabrics, spices, and pearls to the souks along Basra's Ashar Creek, and exporting reed mats, rice, and dates - with higher energy efficiency and lower environmental impact than today's trucking fleets. Tomorrow, we follow their route over aquamarine seas by air. #cmarsh

Final Prep - 4 Hours To Go

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 03:28:00 +0000

Image (c) Jennifer R. Pournelle. "Setting Up Sidescan Sonar and Sub-Bottom Profiler."
Shatt Al-Arab, near Al-Hartha, Basra, Iraq, May 2013.

Even when we head of to rather desolate stretches or parched lake beds and windblown silt, we often depend on boats to get there, or to carry instrumentation that allows us to peer far beneath, or far across, soil horizons, And when our work requires systematic survey of water bodies themselves, nothing is more reliable than a stout "Ashar" boat. Powered by a sturdy diesel tractor engine, an Ashar boat can "mow the lawn" back and forth; up and down, all day, day after day, for days on end. Mihaly Czako's generous contribution will cover analyses for the equivalent of a day's worth of water sampling,

All Ashore Who're Coming Ashore!

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 18:23:00 +0000

Image (c) The National Geographic Society.

More than any other watercraft, the kelek symbolizes the geographic unity of Mesopotamia. From the north and east the rivers flow and drain to their common delta, carrying vast torrents, vast sediment loads, and vast cargoes. But upstream dams have blocked the rivers themselves, for rural electrification and tilled agriculture. Those are laudable goals, but in cutting the delta from its source, they have also cut the primary trade route that for thousands of years exchanges culture, goods, blood, and toil. My profound thanks to Lynda Rhodes, who knows first-hand the true costs of halting those economic (and ecologic) flows.

All Day to Go

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 18:12:00 +0000

Image © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.
Wilfred Thesiger: "Thesiger's Tarada in the Marshes." Faraigat Marshes between Qubab and Rufaiya, Iraq, 1953.

In the 1950s, paddling from marsh fringes to market towns was an all-day affair, but relatively straight forward along well-travelled, cleared routes. Now, a boat trip that would take three hours with a small outboard motor would still take all day - because the direct water routes are gone. In this example, there would be no point to the trip, because Qubab and Rufaiya themselves, left high and dry by drainage, no longer exist. California natives understand well the fate of towns without water; our profound thanks for their sympathy to the cause of wetland restoration.

Only 12 Hours for a Few More Loads!

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 17:37:00 +0000

Image Jennifer R. Pournelle, April 2012. Mashufs, West Hammar Marshes.
These mashufs pulled up in the early morning hours, just in time to offload onto the blue truck in the background. It is bound for the morning market in Suq Al-Shuyoukh, where the harvested reeds will be sold to feed sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. Just a few more contributions today, and we'll be to the maximum match point for research funds - at $4250 we get a 100% match from UofSC, and thus reach our total campaign goal!

All Hands to the Prow Line! - Only 16 hours left!

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 14:51:00 +0000

Image © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.
"Towing Thesiger's tarada." Marshes, 1956, by WIlfred Thesiger. Every DHL shipment to or from Iraq costs a minimum of $130, so we do as much of the lab work in Iraq as we can. However, although U. Basra's infrastructure is improving, some tests just cannot be run there. Therefore, each trip we take, we load up with as many samples as we can possibly carry. If funds are not immediately available, I store them for future processing. That means that we already have some baseline (controls) ready to poke, prod, dissolve, scan, and otherwise coax into meaningful results.At the risk of sounding like a PBS pledge drive, if we make it to $4250, we get the max allowable match from our university. Only 16 hours left to help move some sediment out of my refrigerator!

Sending Samples Downriver

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 20:19:00 +0000

Image: Dominican Mission to Mesopotamia, c. 1920. "Moussul. Un kelek en radeaux sur le Tigre."
In an earlier version of crowdfunding, during the late 19th - early 20th century, the Dominican Missionary Society of Nancy, France, sold postcards to help finance its campaign to "bring Christianity back to Iraq," (although it had never actually left). Vast quantities of cargo, including prodigious amounts of museum samples, moved downriver to the port at Basra, for shipment back to Europe. Home to early Islamic scholars such as Al-Haitham, medieval Basra was a major contributor to the invention of what we now call science. We're waiting on a kelek's worth of lab analyses, so that we can carry some of that science back to its home port. #cmarsh

Home is Where the Heart Is

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 20:14:00 +0000

Image (c) Duc_Hoiliday, Al-Chubayish, 1977. "Marsh Arabs."
One of the most compelling, and recurring, conversations I have in Iraq is the heartfelt attachment felt by all to the very idea of marshland life. Even those who have never left the concrete tangles of their urban homes wax poetic about the soothing stillness; the cool blues and greens. And even those who have now re-established themselves in "proper" urban trades and "proper" brick homes regret the loss of close community and ample opportunity for cultivation. We'd like to kindle a bit of hope that these children's grandchildren will know the thrill of fishing among the salt grasses.#cmarsh

Fleet Assembly

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Sat, 12 Apr 2014 17:24:00 +0000

Image © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.
Wifred Thesiger: "Boats at a Settlement in the Marshes." Eastern Marshes, Iraq, 1956.

I like this photo because it gives a hint of the many types of small watercraft - each tailored to suit specific essential needs - are actually out on the water on any given day. We have just three days left to assemble our diverse fleet of backers - with all donations matched 100% by the University of South Carolina. #cmarsh

Basra, A City of Poets

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Sat, 12 Apr 2014 17:16:00 +0000

Image (c) Jane Arraf/ The Christian Science Monitor, 2009
"Iraqis on the Shatt al-Arab waterway in Basra dance on a boat on their way to a wedding."

Throughout Basra - both the city itself and the surrounding governorate - poetry, literature, song, and spoken word are esteemed, enjoyed, and encouraged. In every reed coffee-house (mudhif), assemblies often include a poet or singer. In Basra itself, the Basra Writer's Union has a lovely old shanasheel house, where it sponsors a plethora of literary activities. So I, and they, will be honored by our literary contributors, like John Duffy, who has been most generous with his support, sending us to dance along the Shatt Al-Arab in just two weeks! #cmarsh

Umm Basra

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 22:49:00 +0000

Image (c) Gertrude Bell Archive.
Gertrude Bell. "Bellam." Abu Al Khasib (Basra), Iraq, March 1917.
We know much of the turn-of-the-century history of Iraq and its antiquities thanks to several indefatigable women, chief among them Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), staunch advocate of self-determination in that country. "Umm" literally means "mother of;" figuratively, it means "source." This bellam is dedicated to all the indefatigable "umm"s now working ceaselessly to rebuild that dream. #cmarsh

Past and Future Scenes

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 18:42:00 +0000

"Abadan, Persia, the Oil Quays." c. 1920.
From A Dweller in Mesopotamia, by Donald Maxwell.
The challenges we face in this project are substantial - but many of them are not new. Oil spills from primary production fields, like the one shown here at the turn of the 20th century, still happen. So does the fallout from unregulated flaring. We are encouraged by the support pledged by those oil operators who understand that this is a longstanding set of challenges, with tails that stretch long into the past, far forward into the future, and enwrap us all. Last year, G. Bell donated a solid week of his time helping us search the bottom of the Shatt Al Arab for the 19th century wreck of a mahaila very like the one depicted here. We saw firsthand virtually identical shoreside scenes now, nearly 100 years later. #cmarsh

Let the Science Begin!

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 14:03:00 +0000

Image (c) Jennifer R. Pournelle, October 2012. Prof. Brian Helmuth heads to the bellams for our first inspection tour of existing marsh conditions near Basra.

In just three weeks we'll head out to inspect land donated for our test beds. While there, we'll pick up new soil and water samples to compare with those collected on previous trips. Thanks so much to Assoc. Prof. Sarah Rothenberg for funding our first lab test! #cmarsh

International Backing

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 16:09:00 +0000

Image (c) Jennifer R. Pournelle, October 2012. Prof. Malik Ali, director of the U. Basra Marine Science Centre, East Hammar Marsh.

As a port within a trading province, Basra is a uniquely multicultural city, mixing Arab, Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, Indian, African, and Southeast Asian heritage (among others!). It makes for a great collegial atmosphere, and open-handed support for international collaborators. We sincerely hope for international reach with our project, for Basra shares its ecological crisis with many other delta regions of the world. #cmarsh

Basra Awaits!

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 16:02:00 +0000

Image (c) Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research, University of Basra.

A lovely rank of Ashar boats, lined up in a creek off the Shatt Al-Arab following a hard day's work. Profound is our gratitude to Mark Wilson, whose generous contribution Friday morning got us to our initial goal: our fleet awaits! #cmarsh

Front Page News! | University of South Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 14:05:00 +0000

Reed-Cutters Near Suk Al-Shuyoukh, May 2012

Online crowdfunding offers alternatives for researchers needing smaller budgets | University of South Carolina

Jennifer Pournelle learned three weeks ago that she had scored a high-level meeting to launch a rescue program for collapsed marsh ecosystems in Basra, Iraq. The catch? It’s expensive. So Pournelle is taking advantage of a new option through the university's Office of Research: crowdfunding. [Read more] [#cmarsh]

Just One Kelek Away

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 00:41:00 +0000

Image (c) Gertrude Bell Archive, Newcastle University.
Diyala ferry, blowing up skins Near Kala Sherwan - Iraq. Gertrude Bell, March 1911.
"We crossed in a craft called a kelek, 19 inflated skins tied together and floored over with reeds. It looked very frail in those swift waters but it served our purpose and in 4 journeys took us and our loads over." We are just one kelek away from loading up for Basra. #cmarsh

A Day's Profits

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 03:35:00 +0000

From mashuf to river dining ship on the Shatt Al-Arab, this Kurdish fisherman sells his meager fresh catch to eager Basrawi passengers. The impacts of marsh collapse are heartfelt in Basra, where riverside fish grilling is a multi-generational family affair. #cmarsh

Netting Two Grand is Grand!

noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Pournelle) — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 03:32:00 +0000

MI'DAN FISHING FROM A TARADA (c) Edward Ochsenschlager. Expedition, 1998, Vol. 40 Issue 2, p29.

We now have less than $500 to go to meet our minimum for a 100% match from UofSC. We're an airline ticket away from working to re-establish fisheries for a generation teetering on the brink of occupational extinction. #cmarsh