Thailand and the 1982 law of the sea convention

This article considers Thailand's problems with the 1982 LOS Convention, especially the exclusive economic zones. Despite the disadvantages, it recommends that Thailand should ratify the Convention.     

The exclusive economic zone : State claims and the LOS convention

The rapid acceptance of the exclusive economic (EEZ) concept belies the broad differences among State claims beyond 12 nautical miles, and the wide gulf between State practice and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention). This paper first examines the areas of contention between State practice and the LOS Convention. These differences are characterized and the author concludes that the EEZ regime within the Convention does not address the specific individual and regional needs of States that have resulted in the wide discrepancy among State claims. The author suggests a global authority under which the jurisdictional line would be redrawn along the practical level of coastal State to vessel, rather than the political plane of coastal State to flag State.     

山东半岛蓝色经济区建设中的地方政府关系研究

山东半岛蓝色经济区建设上升为国家战略以后,山东省沿海7个地市积极响应,纷纷实施具有地方特色的蓝色经济建设规划和战略。山东省沿海7个地市政府在蓝色经济区建设中存在着既合作又竞争的关系,为此,需要采取有效措施,理顺山东半岛蓝色经济区建设中的地方政府间关系。     

Ecosystem-based management institutional design: Balance between federal,state, and local governments within the Gulf of Mexico Alliance

We present a case study of the organizational framework of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA), which was implemented to promote the use of ecosystem-based management (EBM) at a regional level. GOMA is a state-led initiative formed to protect and restore coastal and marine resources of the Gulf of Mexico. Representatives of the US Gulf States, together with their federal partners, clearly defined ecological, social, and economic short- and long-term objectives to be reached through regional collaborations. The aim of this paper is to show how GOMA, and particularly the Ecosystem Integration and Assessment Priority Issue Team, in its attempt to apply ecosystem approaches to manage marine resources, modified the common organizational scheme by implementing partnerships at various governmental (federal, state, local) and nongovernmental levels. We address the following major points considered to be of importance for EBM implementation: (1) multilevel cooperation, (2) stakeholders’ involvement, (3) sharing of information, (4) bridging science and policy, and (5) consensus-based decision making.     

致读者

今天与尊谋面的《海洋科学》已非昨日那个二十年如一日的双月刊,而是崭新的月刊了。这在国内海洋科技期刊,尤其是排名在500家“中国自然科学核心期刊”里的海洋期刊中,恐怕暂时也算鲜见。促动我们下决心实施这一举措的,固然是历史潮流的涌动,是为了祖国海洋科研创新事业的进步所致,但大部分原因还在于自身生长的需要,遵循适正道者而生存的自然法则吧。这是实话实说,为了勿需再向读者诸君做更多的表白,以求能博得看者多多少少的理解和支持。不管是少部分的原因还是大部分的缘由,我们最终的目的是要把刊物办好,而不是将这个月刊办…     

A hybrid efficient method to downscale wave climate to coastal areas

Long-term time series of sea state parameters are required in different coastal engineering applications. In order to obtain wave data at shallow water and due to the scarcity of instrumental data, ocean wave reanalysis databases ought to be downscaled to increase the spatial resolution and simulate the wave transformation process. In this paper, a hybrid downscaling methodology to transfer wave climate to coastal areas has been developed combining a numerical wave model (dynamical downscaling) with mathematical tools (statistical downscaling). A maximum dissimilarity selection algorithm (MDA) is applied in order to obtain a representative subset of sea states in deep water areas. The reduced number of selected cases spans the marine climate variability, guaranteeing that all possible sea states are represented and capturing even the extreme events. These sea states are propagated using a state-of-the-art wave propagation model. The time series of the propagated sea state parameters at a particular location are reconstructed using a non-linear interpolation technique based on radial basis functions (RBFs), providing excellent results in a high dimensional space with scattered data as occurs in the cases selected with MDA. The numerical validation of the results confirms the ability of the developed methodology to reconstruct sea state time series in shallow water at a particular location and to estimate different spatial wave climate parameters with a considerable reduction in the computational effort.     

Tolerance and hormesis--increased resistance to copper in hydroids linked to hormesis

Cultured clones of the colonial hydroid Laomedeaflexuosa have been used over some years as an experimental model to study the dynamics of growth control [J. Mar. Biol. Ass. UK (1981a) 61, 35; Aquatic Toxicology (1981b) 1, 227; Journal of Applied Toxicology (2000a) 20, 93]. Exposure to toxic agents has been an essential element of the approach, providing the stimulus to elicit adaptive control system responses. While the work has provided interpretations of physiological interest, it has also given insights to some toxicological phenomena. It is proposed that hormesis, as a stimulation of growth due to exposure to low concentrations of copper (1-10 microg l(-1)), is due to increases in the preferred rate of the growth control mechanism. This increases the capacity to counteract inhibition and confers intolerance to the inhibitor, while overcorrections to low concentrations cause hormesis.     

Ionospheric response to Kuril undersea earthquakes according to GPS satellite data

The effects that the two Kuril undersea earthquakes of November 15, 2006, and January 13, 2007, had on the ionosphere are considered on the basis of the results of measurements of variations in the ionosphere’s total electron content obtained from the network of Russian GPS stations. Owing to a favorable location of the stations, the ionosphere’s response to these earthquakes is studied in the vicinity of and far (up to distances on the order of 1000 km) from their epicenters. It is found that the apparent velocity of propagation of ionospheric disturbances (1–3 km/s) significantly exceeds the velocity of propagation of tsunami waves caused by earthquakes; this fact can be used in forecasting tsunamis. It is shown that, in parallel with the known type of ionospheric response to earthquakes in the form of an N-wave, there is also its response in the form of an inverted N-wave in the vicinity of and far from their epicenters. The causes of occurrence of the response in the form of an inverted N-wave are interpreted.     

Granting quasi-property rights to aquaculturists to achieve sustainable aquaculture in China

The quality of the aquaculturists’ rights over their farms plays a vital role in achieving sustainable aquaculture industry. In effect, ownership over natural resources in the light of private law is not established because it is not tradable in China. But the users’ rights over the natural resources have already been recognized under the current Chinese laws. This paper introduces concept of property rights, describes and analyzes the aquaculturists’ rights over the farms under the current Chinese laws. Because of flow of water, agricultural nature, and so-called State ownership over the natural resources, fish farms present a complicated property rights problem in China. Some flaws in the aquaculturists’ rights are identified under the existing laws. To protect the interests of farmers and to pursue sustainable aquaculture, quasi-property rights should be granted to fish farmers.