Not all waves are bad. 

 

When USC researcher José Borrero came back home in January from Banda Aceh, he headed immediately to the Fourth International Surfing Reef Symposium in Manhattan Beach. Well before the devastating tsunami struck in December, he had helped organize the symposium and felt an obligation to attend.

 

Co-hosted by USC and The Surfrider Foundation, this unique biennial conference brings together oceanographers, engineers, coastal zone managers and surfers from around the world for a serious discussion of topics vital to the health and preservation of Southern California’s coastal environment.  Sessions focused on natural and artificial surfing reefs, reef preservation, human impacts on surf zone environment and the economy of surfing.  Borrero co-organized the symposium with Surfrider Foundation’s Chad Nelsen.

 

 “Our goal in hosting this symposium is to continue a trend that began with Kimo Walker in the 1970’s,” Borrero said.  “Though still in its infancy, there is a growing interest in better understanding the science, economics and management of surfing. The purpose of this conference is to advance the scientific understanding of how waves break; specifically the types of waves ridden in recreational surfing.”

   

 More than 25 papers were presented at the conference, as well as a variety of planned presentations and discussions on such topics as existing reef projects (monitoring and performance), design and proposed reef projects, studies on natural surf breaks, and the future of surfing science, research needs and goals.

  

 One of the the highlights was a discussion of the lessons learned from the Pratte’s Reef project in El Segundo and results of four years of monitoring an artificial reef in Narrowneck, Australia.  Additional discussions addressed the future of other artificial reefs, such as the reef planned for Oil Piers in Ventura County.

 

 The symposium will be held at the Joslyn Community Center, located at 1601 Valley Drive in Manhattan Beach, CA.  For more information or to register for the event.

 

 

 

Useful Links

 

Surfrider Foundation http://www.surfrider.org