Underwater logging

Underwater logging is the process of logging trees from underwater forests. When artificial reservoirs and dams are built, large areas of forest are often inundated; although the trees die, the wood is often preserved. The trees can then be felled using special underwater machinery and floated up to the surface. One such machine is the Sawfish harvester.

Underwater logging has been introduced in select locations around the world, including Ghana's Lake Volta, the largest reservoir by surface area in the world.

A related form of logging consists of salvaging logs which loggers have abandoned after they became waterlogged and sank. This activity can be quite profitable, since the prime "targets" are decades-old trees of a size and species difficult or impossible to find in their natural habitat.

Logging Methods

Remote Controlled Vehicle

One method of unearthing these sunken trees is by sending a remote controlled vehicle underwater to fell the trees, keeping the operator of the vehicle dry. An example of such a vehicle is the Sawfish Harvester. This vehicle is controlled by a cable that sends electricity and control inputs to the vessel which sends back a video feed for the operator. The operator sends inputs from a control panel on a barge. When a tree is found the Sawfish attaches and inflates a flotation device to it so that after the tree is cut it immediately rises to the surface for extraction from the water.[1]

External links

References

  1. ↑ Tenenbaum, David. "Underwater Logging: Submarine Rediscovers Lost Wood". The National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
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