An aquamog is a machine for removing weeds growing over a body of water. It is an aquatic vessel that can remove weeds that float on the water's surface and can block up waterways. It also scoops up surface level algae on bodies of water. It has a long, extendable, arm attached to the operators cabin, attached to a solid base that can traverse many water conditions.
An aquamog was used in 2018 for removing
water primrose from North Lake in San Francisco's
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park is an urban park between the Richmond District, San Francisco, Richmond and Sunset District, San Francisco, Sunset districts on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the Lis ...
. A newspaper photo shows a machine similar to a
backhoe
A backhoe is a type of excavating equipment, or excavator, consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. It is typically mounted on the back of a tractor or loader (equipment), front loader, the latter forming a "backh ...
on very wide
crawlers.
Aquatic Environments, a
Concord, California
Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...
contractor, used an aquamog to scoop up muck at the
Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to 197 ...
lagoon, in a project expected to take 26 days.
History and Creation
The aquamog was invented in the beginning of the 1980s by the aforementioned Aquatic Environments (AU) company.
Jim Nevrela, an engineer on the project, chose the name ''aquamog'' from the multi-purpose vehicle ''
Unimog
The Unimog (pronunciation in American English: ''YOU-nuh-mog''; British English: ''YOU-knee-mog''; German: , ) is a Daimler Truck line of multi-purpose, highly offroad capable AWD vehicles produced since 1948. Utilizing engine-driven power tak ...
'' produced by
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
.
The first model of the aquamog was created from an
aquatic weed harvester
An aquatic weed harvester, also known as a water mower, mowing boat and weed cutting boat, is an aquatic machine specifically designed for inland watercourse management to cut and harvest underwater weeds, reeds and other aquatic plant life. The ...
, as a trial to see if the concept could function mechanically and for its desired purpose.
See also
*
Aquatic weed harvester
An aquatic weed harvester, also known as a water mower, mowing boat and weed cutting boat, is an aquatic machine specifically designed for inland watercourse management to cut and harvest underwater weeds, reeds and other aquatic plant life. The ...
References
Pest control
Agricultural machinery
Heavy equipment
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