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Great Man-Made River

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Re: Great Man-Made River

#41

Post by twic »

cookiengineer wrote: post #7

I am always amazed by human engineering. I grew up near the Rhine in Germany, and literally they changed the position of the whole river into a different shape, depth, and form so that ships can flow on it. The planning of the event was called "Rheinbegradigung" [1] and they made the river straight, with lots and lots of watergates in between from the Ocean right up to Basel in Switzerland. Eversince I grew up, hundr…

They did an impressive job with the Guadalquivir in Seville:

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A1rsena_del_Guadalquivir#...

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A1rsena_del_Guadalquivir#...

The river used to run through the city centre, and flooded a lot. So they diverted most of the flow past the city, leaving the stretch inside effectively a huge dock.

Re: Great Man-Made River

#42

Post by weeblewobble »

Viker wrote: post #6

I grew up in Libya during the building of the GMMR. I still remember the size of the pipes and the amount of trucks hauling them. One truck one pipe. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubian_Sandstone_Aquifer_Sys... The Korean companies (Daewoo mainly I think) building the project were massive. They would build a double lane road. One side would be used exclusively for one direction pipe supplies and machines. Eventual…

I find it very cool that you were there for something like this.

How was it funded? Seems very expensive.

Were regular people excited about it? Was there a meaningful change in day to day life after it was completed?

Re: Great Man-Made River

#43

Post by f6v »

carschno wrote: post #28
cheph wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Remind me again why the fuck Obama rallied NATO to fuck that country up again and how Obama is still seen as the messiah to socialist and progressives after doing that?

Would you have one example of "how Obama is still seen as the messiah to socialist[s]"?

Tech companies are dem and shape the public opinion?

Re: Great Man-Made River

#44

Post by f6v »

scythe wrote: post #35
f6v wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn’t just Obama. France, Italy, and Turkey perpetuate the conflict.

Obama didn't even "rally NATO" at all. France was the first mover. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_military_intervention_in_... >23 February 2011: French President Nicolas Sarkozy pushed for the European Union (EU) to pass sanctions against Gaddafi (freezing Gaddafi family funds abroad) and demand he stop attacks against civilians. >26 February 2011: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 was passed unani…

> United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 It's a shame China and Russia voted in favour.

Re: Great Man-Made River

#45

Post by cratermoon »

cookiengineer wrote: post #7

I am always amazed by human engineering. I grew up near the Rhine in Germany, and literally they changed the position of the whole river into a different shape, depth, and form so that ships can flow on it. The planning of the event was called "Rheinbegradigung" [1] and they made the river straight, with lots and lots of watergates in between from the Ocean right up to Basel in Switzerland. Eversince I grew up, hundr…

John McPhee's 1989 book "The Control of Nature" has a long section on the work the United States Corps of Engineers did to try to control the flow of the Mississippi. Most of the time it works more or less as designed. But once in while the system can't handle it and the excess is sent down the course of the Atchafalaya river and floods the Atchafalaya Basin all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

Re: Great Man-Made River

#46

Post by billfruit »

f6v wrote: post #2

That feels like a post-apocalyptic story now, remnants of great, more developed civilization.

Similar perhaps, the rather extensive rail network in Middle East and Arabian Peninsula which were blown up in the First World war, most of it was never mended.

Re: Great Man-Made River

#47

Post by vulcan01 »

thendrill wrote: post #30
thendrill wrote: post #5

I grew up in Libya during the building of the GMMR. I still remember the size of the pipes and the amount of trucks hauling them. One truck one pipe. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubian_Sandstone_Aquifer_Sys... The Korean companies building the project were massive. They would build a double lane road. One side would be used exclusively for one direction pipe supplies and machines. Eventually when the section comp…

I am pretty sure I deleted this comment. I waited 20 min and the comment never showed up. Then I assumed I am shadowbanned or something on this account because of negative karma.... So I deleted this and posted it on the other account. Appologies for the mess up. Another thing ? How can I request full account deletion from hacker news ?

Email hn@ycombinator.com for any moderation questions.

Re: Great Man-Made River

#48

Post by selimthegrim »

cmpb wrote: post #38
cookiengineer wrote: post #7

I am always amazed by human engineering. I grew up near the Rhine in Germany, and literally they changed the position of the whole river into a different shape, depth, and form so that ships can flow on it. The planning of the event was called "Rheinbegradigung" [1] and they made the river straight, with lots and lots of watergates in between from the Ocean right up to Basel in Switzerland. Eversince I grew up, hundr…

I don't mean to be a wet-blanket with my comment, just to point out the potential negative impacts of human engineering, when such engineering is not well-thought-out. We (in gulf south US) have had similar engineering projects with the Mississippi River (et al) over the course of the last couple of centuries. Largely the goal has been to keep the rivers from flooding their banks, which they are keen to do in various…

Where was your trip?

Re: Great Man-Made River

#49

Post by selimthegrim »

cratermoon wrote: post #45
cookiengineer wrote: post #7

I am always amazed by human engineering. I grew up near the Rhine in Germany, and literally they changed the position of the whole river into a different shape, depth, and form so that ships can flow on it. The planning of the event was called "Rheinbegradigung" [1] and they made the river straight, with lots and lots of watergates in between from the Ocean right up to Basel in Switzerland. Eversince I grew up, hundr…

John McPhee's 1989 book "The Control of Nature" has a long section on the work the United States Corps of Engineers did to try to control the flow of the Mississippi. Most of the time it works more or less as designed. But once in while the system can't handle it and the excess is sent down the course of the Atchafalaya river and floods the Atchafalaya Basin all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

Also published as a ca. 1987 New Yorker article “Atchafalaya”, (about the Old River Control structure). Fans of Zork and Flood Control Dam No. 3 take note.

Re: Great Man-Made River

#50

Post by tk75x »

lqet wrote: post #8
cookiengineer wrote: post #7

I am always amazed by human engineering. I grew up near the Rhine in Germany, and literally they changed the position of the whole river into a different shape, depth, and form so that ships can flow on it. The planning of the event was called "Rheinbegradigung" [1] and they made the river straight, with lots and lots of watergates in between from the Ocean right up to Basel in Switzerland. Eversince I grew up, hundr…

Here is a painting of the view from the "Isteiner Klotz" in southwestern Germany prior to the "Rheinbegradigung": https://www.gkgbs.ch/obsolet/schulleben/oekowoche/1998-2003/... Here is a picture of the (approximately) same view today (well, 20 years ago), you can use the church for orientation. The Rhine is at the far right corner. The village once had a small fishing harbor. https://www.gkgbs.ch/obsolet/schulleben/…

That is very similar to how an oxbow lake forms, except accelerated by human action.
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