While algae growth naturally occurs during the summer months due to longer days and strong sunlight, blooms the size of those occurring annually in Qingdao are inexplicable. Though causes for the enormous bloom are uncertain, scientists suggest that the rampant growth of hutai, also known as enteromopha prolifera or “sea-lettuce”, may be connected to pollution in the form of fertilizer run-off from sites such as farms and golf courses. Some researchers also believe that it may derive from the increased presence of seaweed farms growing nori on large coastal rafts to the south of Qingdao. 

Officials in China have declared this most recent bloom to be a “large scale algae disaster.”  While the sea-lettuce is not harmful to humans, it stifles marine life and can begin to produce toxic hydrogen sulfide gas if left to rot in large quantities—not to mention a stinky egg smell. Since the algae began to appear in early June, hundreds of boats and bulldozers have been sent out to clean up the coastline waters. Alongside these endeavors, close to 2,500 individuals have been deployed with nets, pitchforks, and their own construction equipment in order to attempt to keep up with the seemingly constant flood of algae. As the unyielding algae continues to wash up on shore overnight, clean-up efforts persist and Qingdao’s tourism and aquatic farming industries continue to suffer.  

While the sheer volume of algae that washes up on the beach necessitates removal with large bulldozers and other large-scale equipment, beach cleaning machines can help by removing daily amounts of weed and refining the quality of sand once the algae bloom slows. A consistent cleaning program that employs tine-raking beach cleaners, like the Barber SURF RAKE, can help minimize the lasting effects of similar blooms. Additionally, these beach cleaning machines can completely remove more regular amounts of seaweed that arrive on beaches daily.


References: 

New York Times

Science World Report

La Times

Huffington Post

While the removal of sand from communities like Seaside Heights will be a massive undertaking for heavy machinery, the question of how to clean and replace the sand on the beach remains. Whether there is new sand on the beach or the old sand is being replaced, it will be full of debris and can not be simply put back on the beach, without creating a risk for future beach-goers. Since many beach community's economies depend on well-maintained beaches during the summer months, an aggressive cleanup campaign during the winter and spring seasons is essential.

Consequently, beach cleaning machines can play a substantive role in the hurricane beach cleanup effort. H Barber and Sons has put together a solid general plan for bringing the beaches back to their original safe, graded, and appealing condition. You can find the hurricane beach cleanup guide here. The guide also includes other helpful links and information.

1. Get the right sized tires.

More than any other factor, the tire size of the tractor is imperative for making sure the beach cleaner works properly on the sand. More often than not, your beach cleaner supplier will be able to make recommendations. Be sure to discuss how soft your sand is, the grade of the beach (how level it is), the level of debris, and any past experience with taking vehicles on the sand. Generally, wider tires with a larger diameter tend to get the best traction on the sand, as they have the greatest surface area. Normal agricultural tires will do in most circumstances, but turf tires or high floatation tires are more effective, since tractors tend to sink into the sand. Unlike most vehicles and conditions, tire pressures can be lowered far bellow their normal levels to increase traction, as well. The size of the rear tires are the most important.

2. Meet the power requirements. 

Most often, tire size will dictate the power requirements of the tractor. For example, tractors that come with 18.4 x 34 rear tires (which can usually handle most beaches) often come on tractors that have 75-100 hp engines. 

Additionally, if a specific beach cleaner has certain power requirements, it is important to differentiate between engine horsepower and PTO horsepower. Typically, the PTO horsepower will be lower, but it is a better overall indicator of the tractor's power, and it should be used when pairing a beach cleaner with specific requirements for a tractor.

Lastly, more powerful tractors are often heavier, which lends extra traction in the sand when pulling a beach cleaner.

3. Ensure proper hydraulic compatibility.

Most beach cleaners use hydraulics to perform critical functions, like driving a conveyor, screen, or dumping the removed contents. Make sure the tractor you purchase possesses enough rear hydraulic ports and that the quick disconnects that secure the hydraulic hoses of the machine to the tractor's hydraulic reservoir are compatible. 

4. Determine repair abilities in area.

Inevitably, you will need someone to service your tractor someday, or you will need parts to do the repairs yourself. Close proximity to a dealer that specializes in your type of tractor could save days or weeks of lost productivity if something breaks.

5. A word to the wise when purchasing used tractors: 

It is often wise to use a certified tractor dealer instead of an auction house or independent owner, as they have ways of ensuring the tractor's quality. Many independent owners or auction houses are unaware of the tractor's history or may be trying to get a lemon off their hands. While many are reputable, it is often safer to buy from a dealer who has performed a thorough inspection.

Regardless of where you purchase your tractor, it is often wise to send the new machine to the dealership to be hooked up to your tractor BEFORE purchasing the tractor. This adds a level of security to make sure they are compatible before the final purchase of the tractor goes through. It also allows modifications to be made before they are shipped to their final locations. Especially when the machine is being shipped to a remote location, this method can be a huge time saver.

For many beaches in the Caribbean, sea grass/weed often arrives seasonally. It may hit eastward-facing beaches off the Atlantic heavily in November and December, while beaches on the westward side of the islands may get hit with weed at other times of the year. 

Traditionally, resorts have their beach maintenance employees hand rake the beach and bury the weed/grass at another part of the beach or resort. 

However, this poses several challenges to resorts. 

1. It draws man power from their staff that is needed to perform other vital functions around the resort's grounds. 
2. Hand raking takes a long time--especially when the beach is a good size. 
3. Hand-raking is not nearly as effective as mechanical raking, so the beach does not look as good when the workers are done. 
4. Transport of the grass/weed to its dumping site is laborious and tedious. 
5. It costs a lot of money to pay dozens of workers to clean the beach by hand, and the costs increase even more if overtime is required. 
6. During heavy weed season, the beach may need to be cleaned multiple times per day. This compounds the negative effects previously described.
   

Beach cleaning machines make seaweed removal exponentially more efficient and effective, and they have become a major tool in maintaining the Caribbean's reputation for pristine beaches.

Beach cleaners improve upon traditional hand raking methods in many ways:

1. They allow one person to operate the machine while the rest of the staff performs necessary duties around the resort. 
2. Beach cleaners clean the beach rapidly and remove acres of weed per hour, which means there is more time for visitors to be on the beach without maintenance workers.
   
3. They assist resorts that use contractors to eliminate a major recurring cost by keeping beach maintenance in-house. 
4. After removing the grass/weed, a beach cleaner can then transport it to hidden areas of the resort or dumpsters to dispose of it. 
5. They will also clean the beach much more thoroughly, removing not only the top layer of grass, but also cleaning up to 6" into the sand to remove other hidden debris. 

When cleaning sea grass/weed with a beach cleaner--especially in the Caribbean, where vast quantities can accumulate quickly, a machine that utilizes a top-down cleaning method should be utilized.

Top-down beach cleaning means that the machine removes seaweed in layers, starting with the top layer. With each subsequent pass, the machine removes another layer of grass until nothing is left but sand. The machine can then clean deeply into the sand to remove any other debris or impurities. 

This top-down cleaning method used by tine raking machines is the most effective method of removing seaweed, because it prevents the machine from getting clogged. Sifters and screeners that use rotating bars in the front of their machines to scoop sand and debris onto a vibrating screen try to pick up the seaweed all at once, which results in overloading the machine or tangling the weed around the front 'beater-bar.' Additionally, unlike sifters that utilize this beater-bar, the top-down method will not cut grass into smaller particles or 'chew up' the weed, which would bury the weed deeper into the sand and make it harder to remove.

The video bellow demonstrates how a tine-raking machine would remove large piles of sea grass in several passes. It was taken in the Turks and Caicos islands, where heavy grass is a seasonal hazard to their normally pristine beaches. The Barber SURF RAKE depicted bellow operates on numerous beaches on the island of Providenciales, which was recently named the 'World's Best Beach' by TripAdvisor.com. The resorts' beach cleaning programs have certainty contributed to earning this honor.

In closing, sea grass and seaweed are natural elements found in the Caribbean, but a tine raking beach cleaner that utilizes top-down cleaning methods can effectively mediate its negative impact on tourism and beach-goer satisfaction to make world-class beaches. 

From our knowledge of the specific beaches that were ranked among the top 10, we are aware that at least 7/10 are cleaned with tine-raking beach cleaners (Barber SURF RAKEs, to be more exact). Correlation or causation? Beaches cleaned by beach cleaners are practically guaranteed to be more pleasing to beach-goers, which results in more visitors, and in this case, better rankings. Here's the list:

1. St. Pete's Beach, FL
2. Miami Beach, FL
3. Myrtle Beach, SC
4. Virginia Beach, VA
5. Honolulu, HI
6. Daytona Beach, FL
7. Fort Lauderdale, FL
8. Lahaina, HI
9. San Diego, CA
10. Key West, FL

For full comparisons, visit www.tripadvisor.com/travelerschoice-beaches

While the term, “Red Tide” may elicit an image of blood in the water, the coloration is due to an overabundance of microscopic algae, Karenia brevis. Besides discoloring the water, it releases a toxin that paralyzes fish, prevents them from being able to breath, and kills them. These dead fish then wash up on shore. Additionally, by consuming too much oxygen from the water, many forms of sea life die and wash ashore. This dead sea life then sits in the sun, which spawns other chemical reactions, causing many of the fish to become bloated like ready-to-blow-grenades. The smell from the beach can reach miles inland and results in beach closures and negative PR.

Even though Red Tides are believed to be a natural result of a combination of unknown factors, and consequently, not man made, it is up to humans to clean up them mess. Cleanup by individual people subjects them to foul smells and unsanitary conditions. Past red tides have caused authorities to issue warnings for asthmatics against the fumes released by the dead fish. 

Mechanical beach cleaners provide the optimal solution for red-tide cleanup. By keeping the operator high on the tractor (hopefully in a cab) and separated from the dead fish, tractor-towed beach cleaners offer a safer and more pleasant way to remove the fish from the beach.  

Mechanical rake beach cleaners are typically the optimal method for removing the fish. By running the conveyor belt at slower-than-normal cleaning speeds and skimming the surface, the machines can remove fish without dicing or exploding them. The forward scooping motion of the conveyor belt also helps scoop the fish up instead of driving them into the sand.

In contrast to mechanical raking beach cleaners, most sifting beach cleaners use a beater bar to scoop the sand onto the vibrating/rotating screen. This bar rotates counter-clockwise, which pushes materials into the sand before being lifted onto the screen. While this method may be effective under optimal beach conditions, it turns the beach into a rotten sushi restaurant when cleaning up after red tides. The counter-clockwise motion typically explodes the fish, dices them, and drives them into the beach—releasing the toxic gasses that have been building in them, chopping them into tiny pieces, and making cleanup infinitely more difficult.

Therefore, it is important to use the proper beach cleaner and cleaning technique to ensure red-tide cleanup is successful.