Azolla on the BCN

[tree monkey]

Never seen this stuff here before, it could get really messy if it continues to spread.

Oh and a bonus CRT work boat with a funky urban paint scheme 

[Rob-M]

The boat is normally tied up in Icknield Port.

[tree monkey]

1 minute ago, Rob-M said:

The boat is normally tied up in Icknield Port.

I did wonder if it was there to rake up the azolla but I suspect the teams were on their break, so no one to ask

[Jerra]

The Floating Pennywort (I think that is the correct name) that is cropping up in many places has the potential to be a damned nuisance.   Long trailing, fast growing tendrils which look quite tough.

[WotEver]

Encourage it - it’ll save the planet...

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-the-fern-that-cooled-the-planet-do-it-again/

[tree monkey]

15 minutes ago, Jerra said:

The Floating Pennywort (I think that is the correct name) that is cropping up in many places has the potential to be a damned nuisance.   Long trailing, fast growing tendrils which look quite tough.

Different thing, azolla is a floating fern and is similar to duck weed in growth.

It's the sheer volume of azolla that causes issues, shade/eutrophication etc.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla

 

Pennywort does what you describe but this doesn't 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocotyle_ranunculoides

[Jerra]

5 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Different thing, azolla is a floating fern and is similar to duck weed in growth.

It's the sheer volume of azolla that causes issues, shade/eutrophication etc.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla

 

Pennywort does what you describe but this doesn't 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocotyle_ranunculoides

I know Floating Pennywort is a different plant and if I didn't the photo of the Azolla would have proved it to me.  The point I was indirectly trying to make is, I think the Pennywort will be/is a greater concern.

 

I can't see azolla wrapping round a prop for example but I can see Pennywort will and be difficult as where it occurs there is masses.  It woulod/will make progress very slow.

[tree monkey]

2 minutes ago, Jerra said:

I know Floating Pennywort is a different plant and if I didn't the photo of the Azolla would have proved it to me.  The point I was indirectly trying to make is, I think the Pennywort will be/is a greater concern.

 

I can't see azolla wrapping round a prop for example but I can see Pennywort will and be difficult as where it occurs there is masses.  It woulod/will make progress very slow.

Apology for misreading your post.

both will have different impacts, I'm more familiar with the habitat issues associated with azolla but considering how thick it can get I do wonder how it will effect boat movements.

[matty40s]

Are you sure that they haven't just filled the canal in and used that orange gravel stuff to increase cycle speeds. 

[TheBiscuits]

6 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Are you sure that they haven't just filled the canal in and used that orange gravel stuff to increase cycle speeds. 

At first glance, I wondered why they had put a lock gate on a red asphalt path!

[Iain_S]

Hopefully, there will be a period of hard frost this winter, which should kill it off. Boat movements also help. It was quite common on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal in the 1990s, prior to the re-opening. It used to survive the winter under bridges, and spread out in the spring when the warmer weather arrived.

 

[Mac of Cygnet]

The Selby Canal was totally infested with Azolla last summer, to about 4 inches thick.  It physically slows progress, but doesn't tangle with props.  A serious nuisance to those of us with raw water cooled engines, though.  Here is a close-up, together with a pic of Nicknorman's boat Telemachus surrounded by it in Selby Basin.

 

 

Edited January 20, 2020 by Mac of Cygnet

[MHS]

We met Nick & Jeff in Liverpool in July, then also went up the Ouse but we got to Selby in September. The Azolla had virtually gone by then. Our plan had been to get up there later, not to avoid the weed, but to make mooring in York easier. 

[Mac of Cygnet]

11 hours ago, MHS said:

We met Nick & Jeff in Liverpool in July, then also went up the Ouse but we got to Selby in September. The Azolla had virtually gone by then. Our plan had been to get up there later, not to avoid the weed, but to make mooring in York easier. 

 

I spent a lot of time on the Selby Canal last summer, for various reasons.  Clearing out my raw water strainer was a regular task, including an emergency stop on the rather rickety pontoon at Cawood to clear out stuff picked up in Selby Lock..

Edited to say that CRT told me that they were waiting for a consignment of weevils to eat the Azolla.  I wonder if they used them?

Edited January 21, 2020 by Mac of Cygnet