T R A N S E C T S - nature at its best!

IGCP Provides Transects of the Earth’s Crust

Bastian — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:23:22 +0000

Images on the earth’s crust and upper mantel can be found on a webpage hosted by the IGCP (International Geological Correlation Programme). An interactive worldmap allows you to obtain diverse geological transect information on the selected area.

Project objective is “to provide ready access to seismic images of the Earth’s basement geology, deep crust and upper mantle, with interpretations of these data to contribute to more informed debate on:

* Geological paradigms (theories)
* Tectonic processes (plate tectonics, dynamic processes)
* The natural environment (landscapes, soils, erosion)
* Natural hazards (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis)
* The sustainable use of natural resources including soil, water, energy (oil, gas, coal, geothermal) and minerals.”

More Info

2008: The International Year of the Reef (IYOR)

Bastian — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:49:24 +0000

After 10 years it’s back:

“The IYOR is celebrated worldwide to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and threats to their sustainability, and to motivate people to take action to protect them.
Singapore will be celebrating along with 50 countries around the world to celebrate our reefs! In fact, all the reef-loving groups in Singapore have come together to dedicate 12 months of round the year events to celebrate the amazing coral reefs we have in Singapore!”

Details on what’s going on can be found here.

UC-NRS: Transect Spring/Summer 2008 Newsletter

Bastian — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:28:06 +0000

For those interested, you can download TRANSECT (Spring/Summer 2008 volume), a biannual newsletter published by the University of California Natural Reserve System.
Aside from the newlsetter, the webpage also provides a very interesting Research Database, information on Grants as well as an extensive Publication List.

“The mission of the Natural Reserve System is to contribute to the understanding and wise management of the Earth and its natural systems by supporting university-level teaching, research, and public service at protected natural areas throughout California.”

Documentary: Singapore Transect 2008 - DAY 1

Bastian — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 05:07:03 +0000

Hi Folks,

Thanks for waiting!

We think it’s been worthwile… so enjoy watching Part 1 of our transect through Singapore, March 01-02, 2008.

Mission accomplished!

Bastian — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:13:57 +0000

After being 22 h and 15 min on the road (on two consecutive days) we finished ‘our’ 1st Singapore Transect yesterday evening (5.45 pm, March 02) at the Tuas Checkpoint Complex. The impressions we collected couldn’t be more diverse - including beaches; temples; busy roads; heavy rain; hawker coffee; HDBs of various sizes, shapes and color; beautiful parks; jungle; never ending industrial areas and - not to forget - aching muscles and bones .

Below some first impressions from Day 1!

Watch out for the full story which we will upload soon!

Cheers, Andreas & Sebastian

Route and Food Planning

Bastian — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:34:51 +0000

Two impressions of this evening’s final route & food planning session before we’ll try to catch some sleep tonight.

9 more hours and we’ll be on the road….

Finding the right footwear

Bastian — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:15:19 +0000

9 years ago, when I bought my first outdoor boots in New York the world was rather simple. I could chose from a couple of different models and that’s it. When planning for the Singapore Transect I realized that my beloved Timberlands are way to heavy for the planned trip.
So what to buy?
Although I don’t have exact numbers I would guess that there are a few hundred different models of hiking & treking boots on the market, which doesn’t make it exactly easy to find what you are looking for. So stick to what you know, I told myself, and went to the Columbia webpage, hoping to minimize the confusion. Well, not really as only for men’s footwear I found more than 140 different products. Thanks to a reasonable navigation which allows you to focus your search, I was left with ‘only’ 50+ shoes & boots to choose from (some having nice names like ‘Pima’, ‘Myrada’ or ‘Diamond Peak’). What in the end cought my attention was the ‘Trail Meister III’ (Meister = German for Master) which Columbia describes as “a (…) new, mid version, multi-functional trail shoe that offers the weekend warrior plenty of versatility.”

Weekend warrior???

No comment!

Whatsoever, I finally made my way to the Columbia store at Vivo City to give the ‘Trail Meister III’ a try and there’s nothing else to say except that, so far, I am very pleased with what I bought. But the real test will start tomorrow. So better watch out for the upcoming (footwear) report!

An idea is born!

Bastian — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:02:15 +0000

“Today was another marathon. We can’t seem to get more than about five kilometers [3.1 miles] per day. We walked over ten hours today and made barely six kliks [3.7 miles] on the map. It’s the hills. They kill us.

MJ Fay, Report 73: October 31, 2000″

In 1999, the conservationist J. Michael Fay started his 3200 kilometer hike (which would take him 15 months) across the Congo River basin in Africa. Aim of this MegaTransect (also called the CongoTrek) was to survey the land and wildlife which might become threatened due to human activities or, in the case of flora and fauna, even extinct. This transect (= path along which one records and counts occurrences of the phenomenon of study) is certainly not only unique in its intensity (for details such as maps and dispatches go to National Geographic) but also matches endeavors endured by the great naturalist Alexander von Humboldt during the early 19th century.

Remembering the inspiring reports on Fay’s MegaTransect while hiking about 20 km through Singapore’s Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and McRitchie Reservoir on January 01 this year we discussed how (i.e where and when) “our” first transect could look like. Well, we had to be reasonable considering our limited time resources and family obligations.

‘So, why not walk through Singapore – from East to West?’
Must have been done, you guess?

Maybe (especially in the pre-computer era). Still there are no clear indications on the web, so the idea of ‘our’ 1st Singapore Transect was born. The aim is to record (literally) as much as possible of Singapore’s diverse culture and nature within the 1 ½ day trek.

Some of which you will certainly read on this blog.

Image taken from: National Geographic

Trailer for the Singapore Transect 2008

Bastian — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:00:58 +0000

Enjoy watching!
More news in a few hours!