The importance of estimating the contribution of the oceans to national economies

The oceans are in trouble. Poorly understood and unprecedented environmental and economic changes are underway in our world's oceans that will significantly affect life in the sea as well as on land. Only in the last thirty years has the contribution of the ocean sector to the economy been measured. An examination of these studies has exposed definitional, conceptual and methodological differences in measuring marine-related economic activity in the economy, making comparisons difficult. Both the ocean and the coastal economies face a world of volatile changes. In the ocean economy marine transport faces unpredictable fuel costs. Coastal tourism also faces losses from climate change impacts and sea level rise. Finally, a warming ocean and increasing acidification of the oceans from greenhouse gases is already affecting coral reefs and a range of fish stocks. Economic measures are important to predict these impacts, as are economic measures of the resilience of different areas of the ocean and coastal economies. This article demonstrates how knowledge of both the ocean, coastal and national economies can help governments address the future impacts and demands posed by nature and human populations on our coasts and oceans.     

Strengths and weaknesses of the global ocean conveyor: Inter-basin freshwater disparities as the major control

According to the current paradigm of modern climatology and oceanography, the global ocean thermohaline circulation works as the so-called “global ocean salinity conveyor belt” – a system of currents connecting different ocean basins and most notably – the northern North Atlantic and northern North Pacific Oceans – the most distant regions of the world ocean. It is shown here that a slight disparity in freshwater redistribution between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans can be sufficient for building up and maintaining a global conveyor-type ocean thermohaline circulation. On the other hand, relatively small changes in this disparity leading to change in sea surface salinity contrasts between and in the north-south within the northern parts of these two oceans can easily change the conveyor.     

Multiple analysis of the whaling issue: Understanding the dispute by a matrix

The contentious whaling dispute can be described as a scientific dispute over resource management, the collision between nations that regard whales as food and nations that see whales as special, political game played by politicians who like to be seen as environmentally conscious by opposing whaling, and economic interests of the whaling industry and fundraising anti-whaling organizations. All of these different interpretations are correct, however, none, by themselves, can explain the whole picture of the controversy. This paper, by constructing a matrix, presents a comprehensive picture of this complex dispute and some options for making a progress.     

Sustainable development and integrated coastal management

Agenda 21, the 40-chapter action plan, agreed to by all nations participating in the 1992 Earth Summit represents an ambitious effort to provide policy guidance across the entire spectrum of environment, development, and social issues confronting mankind. In the area of oceans and coasts (Chapter 17 of Agenda 21), the Earth Summit underscored that the management of oceans and coasts should be ‘integrated in content and anticipatory in ambit.’To assist those responsible for implementing the Earth Summit guidelines on ocean and coastal management, this article first reviews the fundamental shift in paradigm reflected in the Earth Summit agreements as well as the specific recommendations contained in Chapter 17. Next, the article examines the central concept of ‘integrated management,’ noting both its importance and its limits. A general or ‘synthesis’ model of ‘integrated coastal management’ is then presented, addressing such questions as management goals, what is being managed, where, how, and by whom.In a concluding section, methods are proposed whereby the general or ‘synthesis model’ can be tailored to diverse national contexts, involving varying physical, socio-economic, and political conditions.     

Traveling wavefront ray tracing and its applications

The current discussion of whether marine geodesy is something entirely new or part of oceanography or geodesy can be clarified by re‐examining our notions about the basic business of geodesy. This paper contends that the same basic geodetic services, which were needed for millenia to chart and control new territory, are being adapted now to the marine environment to suit modern accuracy standards. In a brief historical review it is shown that conceptually, the oceanic regions were always an integral part of geodetic concern. The oceans were certainly part of the world for the ancient map makers and for Pythagoras’ spherical earth model. Notions connected with the marine geoid were implied in ancient speculations. Distances and directions at sea, even depths, were determined to meet the requirements of the times. With the modern sophistication in geodetic theory and measuring techniques, these ideas became more refined and demanding in turn, but they were there all the time. For obvious reasons, land geodesy developed faster; marine geodesy will catch up now, because only now there is the technical capability and also an urgent economic motivation.     

Why are rings regularly shed in the western equatorial Atlantic but not in the western Pacific?

The western equatorial Atlantic is characterized by the formation and shedding of 3–4 large anticyclonic rings per year. These rings originate from the North Brazil Current which, in response to the vanishing wind stress curl (over the ocean interior), retroflects and turns eastward at around 4°N. After their formation and shedding the rings propagate toward the northwest along the South American coast carrying an annual average of about 4Sv. As such, the rings constitute an important part of the meridional heat flux in the Atlantic.The same cannot be said, however, of the western equatorial Pacific. Here, the situation is entirely different even though the South Equatorial Current retroflects at roughly the same latitude as its Atlantic counterpart, the North Brazil Current. Although the South Equatorial Current retroflection is flanked by two quasi-permanent eddies (the so-called Halmahera and the Mindanao eddies), these eddies are an integral part of the current itself and are not shed. Consequently, they are not associated with any meridional heat flux. An important question is, then, why the two oceans behave in such a fundamentally different way even though the source of the rings, the retroflected currents, are very similar in the two oceans.To answer this question, the two oceans are compared using recently developed analytical and numerical models for the western equatorial oceans. It is first pointed out that, according to recent developments in the modelling of the western equatorial Atlantic, the North Brazil Current retroflection rings are formed, shed and drift to the west because, in the Atlantic, this is the only way by which the momentum flux of the approaching and retroflecting current can be balanced. In this scenario, the northwestward flow force exerted by the approaching and retroflecting North Brazil Current (analogous to the force created by a rocket) is balanced by the southwestward force exerted by the rings as they are formed (analogous in some sense to the kickback associated with a firing gun).On the other hand, in the western equatorial Pacific, the formation and shedding of rings is unnecessary because the southward flowing Mindanao Current provides an alternative mechanism for balancing the northward momentum flux of the South Equatorial Current. This implies that it is the absence of a counter current (such as the Mindanao) in the western Atlantic that causes the formation and shedding of North Brazil Current rings. A remaining difficulty with the above scenario is that most colliding and retroflecting currents (i.e. the Mindanao and South Equatorial currents) are not “balanced” in the sense that they cannot be stationary but rather must drift along the coast. It is shown that, in the case of the western Pacific, the long-shore migration is arrested by the Indonesian Throughflow which allows the “unbalanced” fraction of the approaching currents to leak out into the Indian Ocean. This resolves the above difficulty and allows the retroflection to be approximately steady.     

The input of organic material to the oceans: air—sea interactions and the organic chemical composition of the sea surface

In order to understand and quantify the way in which organic matter is transported from the atmosphere to the oceans it is important to know not only the various mechanisms by which the material is transferred between the two phases, but also the role of natural organic material at the air—sea interface in modifying such transport. In order to predict the latter it is necessary to have some knowledge of the organic chemistry and physico-chemical properties of material at the sea surface. Its organic chemistry is presently the subject of considerable controversy, although surface pressure measurements and force-area data for sea surface material, together with its very mixed chemical nature, strongly suggest that over most of the oceans it cannot form a coherent film.Transfer of organic material across the air—sea interface can be by either wet (liquid) or dry (gas and solid) deposition. The flux carried by each path can be characterised by the product of the rate of transfer of the substance concerned and its concentration in the transporting phase. Any modifying effect of material at the sea surface will vary depending on the mode of transfer, as well as the properties of the interfacial material. Application of these ideas is illustrated by calculation of atmosphere—ocean fluxes for total organic carbon, CCI₄, CCI₃F, PCBs and DDT.     

The development of world oceans & coasts and concepts of sustainability

The current phase of technological development and expansion in the world economy is leading to greater human activity and development offshore. Some have described this as the colonisation of the oceans, one phase in the wider history of world industrialisation. This study empirically tests notions of ‘industrialisation’ and ‘colonisation’ in the oceans for the first time. It finds that human activity in the oceans has increased by multiple factors in the most recent long term wave of economic development. The methods include the combined use of Raster and R! to overcome methodological challenges to analyse large spatial datasets which map the footprint of human activity. In response to increasing human activity in the oceans, nations and supranational institutions are developing new governance regimes. These regimes are characterised by policy integration and a commitment to sustainability. Sustainable development is a central tenet of most national and international policies for the world's oceans. An analysis of sustainable development terminology within coastal and ocean policy is provided for seven major maritime governance regimes: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, EU, South Africa, UK and the US. The results show that sustainability is highly differentiated in the context of ‘the blue planet’ (oceans and coasts). The diverse interpretations of sustainability present an impasse to measuring progress in the field. Therefore the paper concludes by offering a framework for explanation and interpretation of sustainable development, by linking it to foundational assumptions held by systems of thought or philosophical traditions.     

Estimating absolute salinity (SA) in the world׳s oceans using density and composition

The practical (S_p) and reference (S_R) salinities do not account for variations in physical properties such as density and enthalpy. Trace and minor components of seawater, such as nutrients or inorganic carbon affect these properties. This limitation has been recognized and several studies have been made to estimate the effect of these compositional changes on the conductivity–density relationship. These studies have been limited in number and geographic scope. Here, we combine the measurements of previous studies with new measurements for a total of 2857 conductivity–density measurements, covering all of the world׳s major oceans, to derive empirical equations for the effect of silica and total alkalinity on the density and absolute salinity of the global oceans and to recommend an equation applicable to most of the world׳s oceans. The potential impact on salinity as a result of uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ is also discussed.     

Marine regions and regionalism in South-east Asia

If problems of ocean management are to be solved the seas must be divided up into appropriate regions. Regional boundaries can be based on factors of physical geography or on economic, political or management principles. South-east Asia, with complicated land-sea boundaries, provides a number of examples of different types of marine regions, which can be used as case study examples of problems and solutions in regionalizing the oceans. Eight regional types and locations are described and discussed, and it is concluded that regional arrangements for management or the solution of problems are at present limited to three: the Malacca-Singapore Straits, Andaman Sea and Celebes Sea.     

Human empowerment: Opportunities from ocean governance

Stimulus to reach the millennium goals of poverty abatement and empowerment, including education and employment, for the large part of the population in the coastal zone can be found in the resources and services of oceans and coasts; the required financial means, given political will and right priorities, can be provided through implementation of the related international conventions, in particular UNCLOS with the EEZ, the Common Heritage of Mankind and other provisions, Agenda 21 [1] of UNCED and the WSSD 2002 Ocean Targets; the motivation is the necessity to address over-exploitation, depletion and destruction of resources, habitats and coastal ecosystem services, global changes, as well as economic transformations and social conditions of poverty, employment and unequity. Achieving adequate management and protection of natural assets as ecosystems and their services, habitats, biodiversity requires that the socio-economic and human security needs of the coastal populations are met. One way to reach the goal is to enable them, representing about 50% of the global population and increasing, to fight poverty and cope with uncertainties and changing conditions of employment, environment and sustainability through proper governance of the coastal and ocean assets. This includes provision of education and knowledge as regards these assets and their proper uses. They include energy, water, food, transportation and trade, communication, coastal developments, tourism, recreation and ecosystem services, as well as the need to properly manage them.The present economic system cannot fully harmonize with the required governance, partly since the ecosystem resources and services are not internalised in the market-oriented system. This calls for a revised education and training system, more comprehensive than the present, taking into account the social, cultural and environmental requirements, and stressing the sustainable development paradigm. In order to achieve ocean governance and comprehensive human security an understanding of the system is needed. This is substantiated through the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development as well as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.The aim here is to discuss some of the issues in context of implementation of related ocean conventions and commitments, which include achieving ocean governance, and to elucidate opportunities given by oceans and coasts, also in generating employment and providing for basic human needs.     

The structure of tuna access agreements in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean: Lessons for Vessel Day Scheme planning

The tuna industry in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) is one of the largest and most valuable fisheries in the world. Since the 1980s, Pacific island countries have used licensing agreements with foreign fishing interests—known as access agreements—to earn tuna-related revenue and control the environmental impacts of fishing, with only minimal success. To date, there has been little work detailing the structure of access agreements and assessing how this structure relates to economic and environmental outcomes in the sector. This article helps to fill this gap by providing an overview of various access structures and a detailed empirical assessment of how these structures are applied in access agreements between Pacific island countries and the major foreign fishing interests active in the WCPO. This analysis is placed in the context of evolving regional fisheries management structures. The study reveals that while there is no uniform formula for access agreements, each structure is subject to distinct political, economic and environmental considerations that influence outcomes for Pacific island countries. As Pacific island countries develop the mechanism to allocate fishing rights under the new Vessel Day Scheme, drawing on their long history with access agreements will assist efforts to use access to achieve policy objectives. Improved transparency will enable Pacific island countries to identify successes and problems and adapt the Vessel Day Scheme allocation mechanisms accordingly.     

全球海洋中Argo剖面浮标运行状况分析

A rgo剖面浮标是A rgo全球海洋实时观测网建设中的主要观测设备。自2001年国际A rgo计划组织实施以来,世界上已经有22个国家和团体在全球海洋中陆续布放了3 000多个A rgo剖面浮标,它们的寿命和运行状况一直是人们重视和关心的问题,因为这关系到何时能够实现国际A rgo计划的最终目标,更重要的是,涉及到浮标的性能、资料的可靠性。文中就这些问题进行了探讨,希望能有助于关注者对A rgo全球海洋实时观测网的建设及运行情况有一比较全面的了解。     

Fishing for the future: An overview of challenges and opportunities

This paper surveys the current state and major trends in global fisheries; the environmental and social dimensions of fisheries; and explains how the international community has tried to meet the policy challenges associated with oceans and fisheries. The ocean and the freshwater ecosystems of the world make significant contributions to people's well-being via the many vital social and environmental services they provide (for example, food and nutrition, employment and incomes, carbon cycling and sequestration). The impact that the increase in fishing since the 1950s has had on wild fish stocks, and the significant increase in aquaculture production in the 20th century, have resulted in severe environmental impacts. This has significant effects on marine ecosystems and the health of oceans. The erosion of the resource undermines communities' long-term interests, including food security, employment, and income. Attempts by the global community to address challenges of sustainable production by improving the governance and management of fisheries resources range from national management of fisheries resources, to regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) for international fisheries stocks. These attempts have not always successfully met the challenge of balancing current and future use of fisheries.     

Genetic Structure and Diversity of the Moon Jellyfish Aurelia coerulea Polyp Population in Jaran Bay,Korea, Revealed by Mitochondrial COI and 16S rRNA Genes

Ocean Science Journal - Blooms of the moon jellyfish (Aurelia coerulea) have been responsible for huge economic losses and environmental disruptions in oceans around the world. The mass occurrence...     

The disappearing right to navigational freedom in the exclusive economic zone

Navigational freedoms have been a central part of the law of the sea for hundreds of years, but significant restrictions have been imposed recently upon these freedoms. Fishing vessels are subject to the most restraints and, to protect their fish catch, must now give notice whenever they travel through the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of another country. Oil tankers, especially those with single hulls are also subject to a variety of restraints, and any ship with a dangerous cargo must conform to international, regional, and national regulations. Ships carrying ultrahazardous nuclear cargoes have been told by many countries to avoid their EEZs, and these ships have in fact picked routes designed to avoid most EEZs. Security concerns have increased dramatically during the past 2 years, and it has become almost commonplace for the major maritime and military powers to assert the right to stop and board merchant vessels to look for suspect cargoes in all parts of the oceans. Even military vessels, which have immunity from seizure, must nonetheless respect the many rules that have been established to protect the marine environment and the security of coastal populations. A new norm of customary international law appears to have emerged that allows coastal states to regulate navigation through their EEZ based on the nature of the ship and its cargo.It appears that it is no longer accurate to say that the freedom of navigation exists in the exclusive economic zone of other countries to the same extent that it exists on the high seas. The balance between navigation and other national interests continues to develop, and navigational freedoms appear to be disappearing during this evolutionary process.     

The economics of mining seabed manganese nodules: A case study of the Indian Ocean nodule field

Abstract

Because of ever-growing demand for strategic metals, the focus of the international community has fallen on deep sea manganese nodules occurring at a water depth of more than 4500?m. We present an economic appraisal and strategy for mining of nodules from the Indian Ocean Nodule Field- one of the four economically potential areas in the world oceans. In contrast to the prevailing perception of non-viability of nodule mining, our analysis indicates a fair degree of economic feasibility and commercial sustainability to mine the deep-sea manganese nodules.     

世界大洋中绝热运动导致的纬向翻转环流和纬向热输送

Zonal overturning circulation(ZOC) and its associated zonal heat flux(ZHF) are important components of the oceanic circulation and climate system, although these conceptions have not received adequate attentions.Heaving induced by inter-annual and decadal wind stress perturbations can give rise to anomalous ZOC and ZHF.Based on a simple reduced gravity model, the anomalous ZOC and ZHF induced by idealized heaving modes in the world oceans are studied. For example, in a Pacific-like model basin intensified equatorial easterly on decadal time scales can lead to a negative ZOC with a non-negligible magnitude(–0.3×106 m3/s) and a considerable westward ZHF with an amplitude of –11.2 TW. Thus, anomalous ZOC and ZHF may consist of a major part of climate signals on decadal time scales and thus play an important role in the oceanic circulation and climate change.     

Criticism from former director of fisheries

In an article published in Marine Policy a year ago, (Lynne and Brian Chatterton, ‘How much political compromise can fisheries management stand’, Vol 5, No 1, April 1981), it was argued that management of South Australian coastal fisheries reflected the political ideology of the government in power, rather than the biological and socioeconomic imperatives of the resource. In the first article below, A.M. Olsen, former Director of Fisheries, criticizes the Chattertons' conclusions, maintaining that fisheries should be managed by professionals not politicians and that many of Brian Chatterton's problems during his tenure as Minister of Fisheries were of his own making. In the Chattertons' response, they point out that by allocating management of the resource between various vested interests (including government bureaucracy) a minister is making a political decision. In the third article, R.D. Walkerden, a former Permanent Secretary to Fisheries Ministers in South Australia, offers an administrator's view of the controversy. Detailed and parochial as some of the points at issue appear, the debate provides an illuminating view of some of the ideological and organizational conflicts that can hinder the effective management of a coastal resource.