The international ocean regime at the new millennium: a survey of the contemporary legal order

This study surveys the international regime governing the use of ocean space by examining various agreements that have come to comprise it. While the regime for the oceans is commonly viewed within the context of a general, universal convention for the law of the sea, the contemporary scope of global oceans law extends far beyond that single instrument. Indeed, the law of the sea is broad, far-reaching and reflective of the increasingly complex, interdependent nature of contemporary international relations. In this regard, by end of the 20th century there has emerged a pronounced trend toward worldwide participation in and adherence to the multifaceted legal regime established to manage the oceans. This panorama of legal instruments focuses both on international instruments and regional accords. The study's premise is this: Since 1958 several multilateral agreements have been negotiated and implemented specifically to regulate various uses of ocean space. Viewed as an integrated whole, these agreements comprise at the beginning of the 21st century an intertwined, sophisticated international legal regime for managing ocean activities. The range of agreements discussed here, however, is neither exhaustive nor meant to suggest that sufficient law is available for regulating all activities affecting the oceans now or in the future. Rather, the survey furnishes a starting point for appreciating just how far the international community has come in establishing a legal regime for managing people and their technological activities that impact on ocean space.     

Benthic macrofauna and productivity regimes in the Barents Sea — Ecological implications in a changing Arctic

Benthic faunal assemblages were analysed from 47 stations in the central and southern parts of the Barents Sea, together with sedimentary and water column parameters, daily ice records and modelled integrated primary productivity. Sampling spanned areas influenced by Atlantic Water (AW) to those lying under Arctic Water (ArW), and included stations with mixed water masses. Ice cover suppressed water column productivity in the northern areas. Three main faunal groups were identified, based on similarity of numerical faunal composition. The northern and southern faunal groups were separated by the northernmost penetration of AW in the bottom water and the third group, the Hopen group, was influenced by modified bank water. Faunal abundances were significantly higher within the southern faunal group relative to the northern group, but the numbers of taxa present were similar. The particularly rich fauna of the Hopen group reflected sediment heterogeneity and tight pelagic–benthic coupling. These results suggest that a retreat and thinning of the ice cover in the Barents Sea likely will result in the northern parts of the Barents Sea becoming more Atlantic in character, with a higher productivity at the sea floor.     

Strategic forum : Soviet seapower — a new kind of navy

The purpose of this article is to draw attention to a change in the trend of Soviet naval developments. This change stems from a combination of: (1) a sharp increase in the allocation of resources to naval shipbuilding; (2) a marked rise in the navy's political influence; and (3) a new approach to the role of seapower in Soviet policy. Professor MccGwire, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, USA, believes that both the nature and the significance of the change are being obscured by the fact that for the past decade naval leaders in the West have been talking of ‘a Soviet naval build-up’, and continue to use the same language to describe the very different present situation. There is no general awareness, even within naval circles, that we are now facing a significant change in established trends. This article draws on a longer and more general article.¹     

A legal regime for the Arctic?: Interplay with the Law of the Sea Convention

The Law of the Sea Convention constrains regional environmental regimes, especially with respect to navigation beyond the territorial sea. Existing soft-law institutions, notably the Arctic Council, have already strengthened environmental governance in the region by (1) improving the knowledge base; (2) preparing practical guidance on risk reduction; (3) highlighting in broader regulatory fora the Arctic dimension of problems like long-range transported hazardous compounds; and (4) supporting the capacity of Arctic states to implement existing commitments. None of those functions would be much enhanced by a legally binding Arctic environmental regime. The political impediments to reaching circumpolar agreement on a single comprehensive legal regime would suggest a flexible approach to norm building that seeks productive interplay with existing institutions.     

Genera as proxies for species α‐ and β‐diversity: tested across a deep‐water Atlantic–Arctic boundary

The deep‐sea floor is increasingly subject to anthropogenic impacts. Consequently, there are increasing efforts to develop appropriate management strategies. Species‐level indicators and assessments are hampered in the deep sea by the high proportion of unknown species routinely encountered. If environmental management is to keep pace with exploitation, alternative approaches including higher taxon surrogacy (taxonomic sufficiency) must be considered. Here we compare genus‐ and species‐level studies of the diversity and ecology of deep‐sea macrobenthos on the West Shetland Slope (NE Atlantic). This is an environmentally complex region that encompasses a biogeographic transition from temperate North Atlantic to Arctic conditions, and so may be particularly challenging for any general relationship between species‐ and genus‐level analyses. We ask two questions: (i) does genus diversity reflect species diversity and (ii) does genus‐level ecology reflect species‐level ecology? We conclude that among the West Shetland Slope macrobenthos: (i) genus‐level α‐ and β‐diversity measures are highly correlated with and good predictors of their species‐level equivalents and (ii) that their ecology is very well described by genus‐level data. We further note that, given the complexity of the West Shetland Slope environment, it may be reasonable to expect these conclusions to hold in other deep‐sea environments.     

Impacts of the tsunami on a Marine National Park area—Case study of Lanta Islands (Thailand)

Lanta Islands are located in the province of Krabi: here, even though the impact of the tsunami had not been as tragic as in some other areas of Thailand, several villages have been affected and the biological destruction is still in the process of being assessed. These islands include the Marine National Park (MNP) of Ko Lanta, 62nd National Park of the country, established in 1990. Three field trips were carried out in the area: in October and December 2004, and in March 2005. The aim of this article is to present a geographical point of view of Ko Lanta MNP and its surrounding area through a comparative analysis of natural and human conditions before and after the tsunami waves.     

Investigation of a eutrophic tidal basin: part 1—factors affecting the distribution and biomass of macroalgae

The distribution and biomass of macroalgae, principally Enteromorpha spp., have been estimated in Langstone Harbour, a 19 km² tidal basin in southenrn England. Comprehensive mapping was carried out annually at the time of maximum biomass and monthly mapping of selected areas allowed seasonal changes to be studied. Aerial false-colour photography and ground-level mapping were used for assessing the area and density of cover of macroalgae, but have identified no continuous trends between 1973 and 1982. In nine years, some 48% of the intertidal mudflat has supported >75% macroalgal cover at some stage, but generally only one-third of this potential has been achieved annually. The average peak biomass was determined by a stratified sampling method and varied about a mean of 38.5 g dry weight per square metre and showed significant annual differences. The processes controlling macroalgal growth and distribution reviewed, but, in general, factors other than nutrient availability are effective in determining areas supporting high macroalgal cover in any particular year.     

Heavy metal distribution in recent sediments of the Krka River Estuary — an example of sequential extraction analysis

Sediments of the Krka River Estuary on the eastern Adriatic coast have been analysed for trace metals after sediment fractionation by sequential leaching. Trace concentrations of Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, Cr, V and Ga have been determined by atomic emission spectroscopy. The distribution patterns of the investigated elements follow the expected geochemical partitionings, while minor variations may be caused by early diagenetic effects and variable sediment texture. Taking into account the natural background levels of the investigated elements, the sediments reflect, at present, no significant industrial pollution or anthropogenic input of trace metals into the estuary.     

An evaluation of the Marine Living Resources Act and supporting legal instruments as a framework for implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries in South Africa

The Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA), which was enacted in 1998, is the primary legislation addressing South Africa's marine fisheries. In June 2012, another important instrument, the Policy for the Small Scale Fisheries Sector (SSFP) in South Africa, was adopted to rectify the exclusion of many small-scale fishers from access to resources, that had resulted from weaknesses in the MLRA. This paper assesses the MLRA, aspects of the SSFP and selected other subsidiary policies and regulations in relation to current best-practices, especially the extent to which they support an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF). The study concludes that there are some serious gaps and shortcomings in the MLRA that should be addressed. These include, among others, the need to: (i) revise the MLRA so as to incorporate requirements for open and transparent management and governance; (ii) entrench the principles of co-management, emphasised in the SSFP, for all fisheries; and (iii) include a legal requirement for detailed management plans for all fisheries. Despite these shortcomings, there has been considerable progress in implementation of EAF, at least in the country's bigger fisheries. However, this should not be seen as a justification for avoiding or delaying a revision of the MLRA to bring it into line with modern best-practices as encompassed by EAF.     

Caisson breakwaters embodying an OWC with a small opening—Part II: A small-scale field experiment

A common and intuitive idea is that, before an absorbing breakwater, waves are smaller than before a conventional reflecting breakwater. The theory of Part I has shown that, on the contrary, before a breakwater converter, in some cases, the wave height may be greater than before a conventional reflecting breakwater. Now, an experiment off the eastern coast of the Straits of Messina provides a confirmation of the theory: some huge amplifications of swells are common at a breakwater converter, and as a consequence the energy absorption gets very large. Here, we show the results of the experiment, and, basing ourselves on these results and on the theory of Part I, we suggest some practical way of calculation.     

一个区域海洋——海冰——大气耦合模式中的北极气候偏差：年结果检验

The Coupling of three model components, WRF/PCE （polar climate extension version of weather research and forecasting model （WRF））, ROMS （regional ocean modeling system）, and CICE （community ice code）, has been implemented, and the regional atmosphere-ocean-sea ice coupled model named WRF/PCE- ROMS-CICE has been validated against ERA-interim reanalysis data sets for 1989. To better understand the reasons that generate model biases, the WRF/PCE-ROMS-CICE results were compared with those of its components, the WRF/PCE and the ROMS-CICE. There are cold biases in surface air temperature （SAT） over the Arctic Ocean, which contribute to the sea ice concentration （SIC） and sea surface temperature （SST） biases in the results of the WRF/PCE-ROMS-CICE. The cold SAT biases also appear in results of the atmo- spheric component with a mild temperature in winter and similar temperature in summer. Compared to results from the WRF/PCE, due to influences of different distributions of the SIC and the SST and inclusion of interactions of air-sea-sea ice in the WRF/PCE-ROMS-CICE, the simulated SAT has new features. These influences also lead to apparent differences at higher levels of the atmosphere, which can be thought as responses to biases in the SST and sea ice extent. There are similar atmospheric responses in feature of distribution to sea ice biases at 700 and 500 hPa, and the strength of responses weakens when the pressure decreases in January. The atmospheric responses in July reach up to 200 hPa. There are surplus sea ice ex- tents in the Greenland Sea, the Barents Sea, the Davis Strait and the Chukchi Sea in winter and in the Beau- fort Sea, the Chukchi Sea, the East Siberian Sea and the Laptev Sea in summer in the ROMS-CICE. These differences in the SIC distribution can all be explained by those in the SST distributions. These features in the simulated SST and SIC from ROMS-CICE also appear in the WRF/PCE-ROMS-CICE. It is shown that the performance of the WRF/PCE-ROMS-CICE is determined to a l     

Toxicity of Santa Barbara seep oil to starfish embryos: Part 2—the growth bioassay

The asteroid Patiria miniata was used to develop a static bioassay for various crude oil water-soluble fractions (WSF). The criterion used is the size of 48-h exposed embryos. The reasons for choosing this species and the growth criterion are discussed. Experiments show that the body length of 48-h exposed embryos is inversely proportional to hydrocarbon concentration of the WSF and the time of exposure. It is also shown that the toxicity of the WSF decreases with the age of the preparation and that the first 12 h following fertilisation are most sensitive to the effects of WSF.