Adoption of the arctic search and rescue agreement: A shift of the arctic regime toward a hard law basis?

This paper examines the Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement—the first legally-binding instrument negotiated and adopted under the auspices of the Arctic Council—and analyzes its implications for the current Arctic regime. Led by the Arctic Council, the Arctic regime was established in a soft law format. However, the soft law nature and restricted mandates of the Arctic Council have limited its capacity to respond to new issues emerging from climate change, particularly those related to the exploitation of oil and gas reserves, commercial shipping through the region, effects on wildlife, and impacts on indigenous peoples' homelands and culture. The adoption of the Agreement represents a new approach for the Arctic States to respond to these new challenges. At the same time, it does not imply that a legally-binding instrument is necessarily preferable for every issue, and importantly, the new Arctic Agreement does not establish new institutional relationships, suggesting satisfaction among the Arctic States with the existing arrangements. Thus, although the Arctic regime is undoubtedly changing, this change should not be treated today as a shift from soft to hard law. What is more certain is that the Arctic Council will continue to function as a cooperative forum where the Arctic States can address these challenges, and its importance will only increase in coming years.     

Port Infrastructure Control (Madeira Island,Portugal) through a Hybrid Monitoring System (GNSS and Accelerometers)

This article describes the implementation of a monitoring system on the breakwater at the Funchal Port (Madeira Island, Portugal) for the purpose of understanding its dynamic behavior and the temporal evolution of structural health. The monitoring system focuses on the breakwater superstructure and aims to identify the evolution of damage on the breakwater and analyze the impact of cruise ships docking and undocking. The system includes the measurement of displacements through geodetic techniques using global navigation satellite systems and the measurement of vibrations using accelerometers. Ten observation campaigns were performed over almost 3 years. As the measured displacements during this period were less than 7.5 mm it can be concluded that, despite some visible cracks, the breakwater superstructure did not suffer significant structural changes. It was shown from the measured acceleration records that some of the main modal parameters could be identified, namely the main natural frequencies of the superstructure. Through an analysis of the natural frequencies progression over time, it will be possible to identify deterioration effects on the foundation and/or the superstructure. The comparison of natural frequencies identified could be useful to evaluate the impact of these events on structural health.     

Relationships between magmatism and tectonics in a continental rift: The Pantelleria Island region (Sicily Channel, Italy)

Field geological data of the Pantelleria Island, a large Late Quaternary volcano located in the Sicily Channel rift zone, integrated with offshore geophysical information, are used to derive the structural setting of the Island and the surrounding region, and to analyse the relationships between tectonics and magmatism. Field work shows that the principal faults exposed on the Island fall into two systems trending NNE–SSW and NW–SE. Mapped faults from offshore multichannel seismic profiles show similar trends, and some of them represent the offshore extension of the Pantelleria Island structures. The NW–SE faults bound the Pantelleria Graben, one of the three main depressions formed since the Late Miocene–Early Pliocene within the African continental platform, which compose the Sicily Channel rift zone. A 3-D Moho depth geometry, derived from inversion of Bouguer gravity data, shows a significant uplift of the discontinuity up to 16–17 km beneath the westernmost part of the Pantelleria Graben and beneath the Pantelleria Island; it lows rapidly to 24–25 km away from the graben north-eastward and south-westward. The Moho uplift could explain the presence of a shallow magma chamber in the southern part of the Island, where processes of magmatic differentiation are documented. Geological and geophysical data suggest that the northwestern part of the Sicily Channel is presently dominated by a roughly E–W directed extensional regime. Crustal cracking feeding the Quaternary volcanism could be also related to this extensional field that would be further responsible for the development of the N–S trending volcanic belt that extends in the Sicily Channel from Lampedusa Island to the Graham Bank. This mode of deformation is confirmed also by geodetic data. This implies that in the northwestern part of the Sicily Channel, the E–W extension replaced the NE–SW crustal stretching that originated the NW-trending tectonic depressions constituting the rift zone.     

大亚湾北部沿岸污水排海位置优化选择的研究

阐述了大亚湾北部沿岸污水排海位置优选的方法。根据研究海区的水深条件、海岸地形特点、欧拉余流流场、海流流速、渔业水产、旅游等资源的分布特征和水质条件等，定性地确定６个预选排污海区。然后利用Ｒｏｂｅｒｔｓ的近区初始稀释模型和二维水质模型，以南海石油化工项目的污水排海为例，定量地计算被确定的六个预选排污海区的稀释扩散输移能力。通过比较，认为大亚湾北部沿岸的污水不适宜就近排入靠岸海域。当污水量不大时，排污位置选在距马鞭洲岛南端以东约４ｋｍ处（即Ｃ海区），可达到环境、经济、社会三大效益协调统一的效果。但当污水量较大，排海污染物量大时，排污海域的位置应选择在赤洲岛与黄毛山岛之间，即Ｅ海区．或在Ｃ海区与Ｅ海区之间。     

南澳岛近海特殊地形的发现及其新构造学意义

地形形态变异分析是新构造和古地震研究的一个重要方法和途径。粤东南澳岛附近内陆架平原上,发育一条无法用外力侵蚀解释的线型浅谷,而恰与南海滨海断裂带方向和位置基本吻合或接近,推测可能是地震断裂的地表形变造成的。这一发现,对进一步认识南海滨海断裂带东段活动性,以及粤东和台湾海峡的地震研究等都具有重要意义。     

Report of the Tokyo meeting and progress to date

Military and intelligence gathering activities will likely become more intensive, intrusive, controversial and dangerous. Regarding the regime covering these activities, there is general agreement that the exercise of the freedom of navigation and overflight in and above Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) should not interfere with the rights of the coastal State in the EEZ. But there is disagreement regarding interpretations of relevant 1982 UNCLOS provisions, the means to resolve the disagreements, or if there is even a need to do so. Increased dialogue between maritime powers and coastal States is necessary to reach a mutual understanding of key terms with a goal of developing some agreed voluntary guidelines for such activities and the means and manner of implementing them.     

Future sea-level rise and its early detection by satellite remote sensing

During the past 100 years, sea-level appears to have risen by 10–15cm, probably due to the combined effects of thermal expansion of ocean-surface waters and net melting of glaciers and ice caps, associated with a small increase in global temperatures. This trend will almost certainly continue and accelerate if steadily increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse” gases in the atmosphere cause warming of the magnitude widely predicted by climate modellers. Rising air temperatures will cause increased melting from glaciers and ice caps, and rising sea-water temperatures will cause thermal expansion of the oceans. Moreover, warmer ocean waters could melt and weaken the many floating ice shelves that surround Antarctica, permitting increased ice discharge from glaciers that flow into them. All of these factors would cause sea-level to rise, and this paper presents and estimate of the total sea-level rise that could occur during the next century.If, as predicted by many climate models, global temperatures increase by an average of about 3°C, there is a good probability that sea-level will rise approximately 1m by the year 2100. Ultimately, such a rise would become very apparent to coastal populations, but initial change would be slow. Consequently, it is important to devise and “early warning system” for prompt detection of changes that will precede a detectable rise in sea level. These include: surface temperatures on land, oceans and ice sheets; sea-ice distribution; extent of summer melting on the polar ice sheets; areal extent and surface elevations of the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. All of these parameters can be measured from space by satellites that are operating now or are planned for launch during the next few years     

The contribution of fisheries access agreements to flag State responsibility

On 2 April 2015, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) rendered an advisory opinion in which it held that Articles 58(3), 62(4), 94(2), 192 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) laid down a responsibility of flag States for fishing activities undertaken by private actors in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of coastal States. In interpreting these provisions of UNCLOS, the ITLOS made reference to specific clauses in fisheries access agreements (FAAs) concluded by coastal States and flag States. This article examines in more detail the contribution of FAAs to the concept of flag State responsibility. It will first offer a brief discussion of the framework for fisheries access under national jurisdiction provided by UNCLOS and will then take a closer look at how certain provisions contained in FAAs have contributed –and could contribute in the future– to the concept of flag State responsibility in international fisheries law. The article concludes that FAAs have contributed significantly to the development of the concept of flag State responsibility for fishing activities in the past and may do so to a more limited extent in the future.     

Accumulation of plastic litter on beaches of Amchitka Island,Alaska

Between 1972 and 1974 plastic marine litter on ten 1-km beaches at Amchitka Island increased from 2,221 to 5,367 items—a 2·4 x increase in a two-year period. Most litter originated from Japanese and Soviet fishing vessels, but some items were from the Asian coast, at least 1,150 km distant. In 1974 there were 345 kg of common items of plastic litter per kilometre of beach. In 1972, an estimated 1,664 metric tons of plastic litter was lost or dumped from fishing vessels in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean. Stranded plastic litter persists indefinitely but rapidly becomes buried in beach material or is blown inland and covered with vegetation. The most serious environmental impact is probably entanglement of marine mammals and birds in some types of litter. The accelerating accumulation of litter could be reduced through unilateral action by countries that regulate coastal fishing privileges if these countries make litter control a condition for permission to fish.     

Service contracts—An instrument of international logistics supply chain: Under United States and European Union regulatory frameworks

Service contracts have emerged as an important instrument to secure a long-term relationship between carriers in the container shipping industry and shippers requiring scheduled services covering a global market. This contract, entered into largely on an individual and confidential basis, continues to enjoy anti-trust immunity under current United States and European Union regulations. It will continue to be in place even after the EC Council Regulation 4056/86 is repealed in October 2008 although it may operate in a modified way because of the absence of the common external conference tariff. This article examines the implications of this instrument on the international supply chain and explores its future role in defining efficiencies in international trade flows.     

The tsunami of 3 February 1605

Whether the origins of the tsunami of 3 February 1605 were separated ones or a joined one, is one of the most important problems for Japanese society. When the marine knowledge has not been popularized, it has been considered that the damage pattern on Hachijo Island (including Kojima) was an important key to solving this question.It resembles the situation that the reports concerning the tsunami of 1 April 1946 were introduced to Japanese society under an internal disturbance just after the war, and we overlooked the most important consideration on the combination of tsunami and storm waves caused by the trade wind, and received this tsunami as an extraordinarily huge one.We studied the statistics of recent wind directions around Hachijo Island in January and February 1973, 1974, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. And we believed that the probability was high that we could explain well that the damage pattern on Hachijo Island in 1605 was due to the combination of tsunami and storm waves caused by the monsoon.We need not, therefore, look back the damage pattern on Hachijo Island when we consider the fact that the necrologies of many temples in Shizuoka Prefecture record no death on 3 February 1605, proves to be the key to infer that the origins were separated ones.     

Public perception of development issues: Public awareness can contribute to sustainable development of a small island

Many development projects are undertaken in communities where the local inhabitants have little or no input to the planning and implementation of such projects. Encouraging the active participation of local communities in development projects, through capacity-building and environmental education, has become a major objective of sound development programmes. We have successfully included the local community of Holbox Island, Quintana Roo State, Mexico in our programme for long-term monitoring of coastal pollution in and around their Island. Here we report the progress made by different sectors of the Holbox community over a four-year period during which they have become increasingly responsible for the scientific and technical aspects of assessing water quality. A face-to-face, structured survey was used to evaluate attitudes and perceptions with regard to coastal water pollution and other development issues that concern the Holbox Island community. People in Holbox identified coastal pollution, coastal erosion and garbage dumping as major environmental concerns and have acquired a good level of awareness about the causes and consequences of these issues. Our results also indicate that the public has an improved understanding of the interrelationship between their own behaviour, and that of others, and these environmental issues. Our contribution in the Holbox Island has made a positive step towards providing the local community with essential knowledge regarding environmental, development and social issues, thereby enabling them to become actively involved in the environmental conservation of their island. Continuing efforts in capacity-building and environmental education aim to provide the local community with the knowledge and skills that are necessary for making appropriate choices for the preservation and development of Holbox and the surrounding ecosystems. In the long term, the local community will not only be able to contribute directly to on-going development projects, but will also be in a better position to participate with government agencies in the decision-making process.     

海南岛近海海域7个沉积岩芯的现代沉积速率及其分布特征

利用多道α能谱仪,对2005年8～9月在海南岛近海采集的7个沉积岩芯进行了210Pb的沉积速率测定,探讨了海南岛近海陆架上现代沉积速率的区域性分布特征,结果表明:位于港湾内的B1168站位由于沉积物供应充足,有最高的沉积速率,达2.9 cm/a;位于河口海湾附近且受沿岸流影响的B289站位,有很高的沉积速率,可达1.6 cm/a,沉积环境较稳定;位于西南海底沙脊区北缘且靠近昌化江河口的B97、B135、B10站位也有较高沉积速率,分别达到1.0、0.89和0.47 cm/a,在表层都出现了210Pb放射性活度倒置的现象,表明所处区域有较强混合作用;处于西南外陆架的C4站位受北部湾环流影响,沉积速率为0.6 cm/a;位于东部外陆架的B377站位处于上升流区,沉积速率较低,为0.21 cm/a.可见,海南岛近海陆架上的现代沉积速率存在着明显的区域分布:在物质来源丰富的沿岸流作用区和河口区附近,现代沉积速率很高;在陆架环流沉积作用区,现代沉积速率也较高;在水深较大的外陆架上,由于沉积物供应相对匮乏,沉积速率一般较低;在近岸潮流沙脊区,由于水动力很强,无法形成现代细粒沉积.同时,在陆架上,沉积速率有随着水深的增加而降低的趋势.由此可见,海南岛近海海域的沉积速率与该区的物质供应、水动力条件和海底地形等因素有密切关系.     

褚岛连岛沙坝的形成与演变

本文运用沉积动力学的理论和方法,对褚岛连岛沙坝的形成与演变进行了动力机制方面的探讨。     

The Distribution and Spread of Alien Vascular Plants on Prince Edward Island

Surveys of alien plants at subantarctic Prince Edward Island in 2001 show that the ranges of all three introduced species have increased since the last survey in 1998. Poa annua, the longest-established species, increased its range substantially after 1987, prior to which it was confined to a single site for more than 20 years. It remains largely restricted to sites characterized by intense disturbance by seals and seabirds. Sagina procumbens, the most recently discovered alien plant, has spread even more rapidly (up to 800 m year^?1) and has colonized the west coast of the island (a leap of at least 3 km). Unlike Poa annua, it is not restricted to animal-disturbed areas, although its seeds probably are dispersed by both birds and fur seals. Cerastium fontanum also continues to spread at the island, but remains confined to the western coastal plain, where it occurs mostly on dry feldmark slopes or erosion scars. All three species have expanded their ranges faster than at Marion Island, possibly because of a warmer recent climate and higher densities of seabirds and seals at Prince Edward Island. The ranges of alien plants are likely to continue to expand, with S. procumbens causing considerable changes in the island's terrestrial ecology.     

Draft guidelines for military and intelligence gathering activities in the EEZ and their means and manner of implementation and enforcement

Specific voluntary guidelines are proposed for military and intelligence gathering activities in the EEZ. Views on the guidelines range from strong reservations regarding any restrictions on these activities to support for some restrictions. There is general support for the effort to promote mutual understanding and agreement on the rights and obligations of the maritime powers which do not want any rules and coastal States that want some predictability and protection against intimidation. The challenge is to find a practical way of handling these issues. Suggestions are provided regarding requisite specific assurances and the process for implementing and enforcing any such guidelines. State consent and State practice will play a significant role in this process.     

合浦珠母贝敌害生物嵌线螺的生物防治初探

从海南岛三亚海区11种常见的肉食性腹足类中，筛选出2种能捕食嵌线螺Cymatium但不危害合浦珠母贝Pinctada martensii的物种；织锦芋螺Conus textile和方斑东风螺Bab-ylonia areolata。将这2种腹足类作为嵌线螺的生物防治物种，对防止嵌线螺危害合浦珠母贝具有良好作用，但在珍珠贝养殖生产中将织锦芋螺作为嵌线螺的生物防治物种时，需要解决防逃问题，若将方斑东风螺作为嵌线螺生物防治物种，则需解决其生存的饵料问题。     

The institutional framework for regional cooperation in ocean and coastal management in the South Pacific

Constrained by physical and economic factors, the States and Territories in the central and southwestern Pacific region (the Pacific Island States and Territories) have utilized regional cooperation in addressing many of the coastal and marine resources development issues facing the region. Regional cooperation in dealing with coastal and marine issues has been facilitated largely through the establishment of a number of regional organizations. This article discusses the institutional frameworks for regional cooperation in coastal and marine resources and environmental management by the Pacific Island States and Territories. The article also highlights efforts being made to achieve better harmonization of the roles and responsibilities of the various organizations.     

环日本岛沿岸海平面长期变化特征与机制的研究

利用环日本岛沿岸38个验潮站连续36 a的实测水位资料,分析了环日本岛沿岸平均海平面的长期变化特征,结果表明平均海平面的异常变化在1984年前后发生较大转折,近20多年来主要呈现持续上升趋势,部分站位在1997年前后也有较明显的下降趋势,表明海平面的长期变化中存在较长周期的波动情况。通过对所有验潮站的日平均海平面序列进行平均,发现与西北太平洋SST异常变化呈正相关,相关系数为0.908;与太平洋年代际变化(PDO)指数呈负相关,相关系数为-0.6;与西北太平洋风旋度场的异常变化呈正相关,相关系数为0.402。结果表明环日本岛沿岸平均海平面的长期变化受到海水热膨胀效应、太平洋年代际变化以及风应力引起的海水堆积和流失等因素的影响。同时,发现从2000年开始西北太平洋的SST开始下降,而平均海平面仍然在持续上升,其上升原因还需作进一步研究与探讨。     

Rights-based management in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean tuna fishery: Economic and environmental change under the Vessel Day Scheme

Defining, strengthening and enforcing rights over fisheries resources is frequently identified as central to overcoming ‘the tragedy of the commons’ and associated environmental and economic challenges in fisheries systems. Though economic theory generally suggests that output control (e.g. quotas) creates the strongest incentives for efficiency and conservation, input controls (e.g. on effort) remain common. This paper explores the rationale for, and implications of, employing a transferable effort scheme in one of the largest and most valuable fisheries. In 2007, eight Pacific Island countries implemented the Vessel Day Scheme with the aims of strengthening their rights over tuna resources and control over economic and environmental trends. Four years since implementation, the scheme has significantly increased economic returns for the island states and generated improvements in data reporting. However, it has not generated a firm limit on fishing effort and its structure has made it difficult to directly target the biological concerns of individual species within the multi-species fishery. In the future, outcomes of the Vessel Day Scheme will continue to be tempered by the structural limitations of effort-based regulatory scheme, market conditions in the sector and the willingness of firms and island states to clarify, abide by and enforce the technical components of the scheme.