火星适合生命生存

从极其寒冷的火星北极,“凤凰”号着陆器发回的第1批化学实验结果显示：假如有一点液态水,生命会很舒适地生长在火星上,但是,仍然没有证据表明,生物体过去曾经生活于火星上。     

“乔德治·决心者”号:航次在继续

大洋钻探计划已恢复了实质性的钻探成果的公布。报告的中断 ,是由于该工作被新的光盘传播媒体形式取代。让我们回忆一下 ,在 60年代末创建的“地球深部取样海洋研究所联合会”( JOIDES) ,起初联合了若干美国的研究所 ,而当今有包括来自 2 0个国家的大量科研机构参加。前苏联参加了近 1 0年 ,并有 2次中断。一开始是通过“国际深海钻探计划”来实施的 ,使用了“格洛玛·挑战者”号钻探船 ,而从 1 985年至今改称“大洋钻探计划”,使用了设施更完善的钻探船“乔德治·决心者”号。它是由长 1 43 m、宽 2 1 m、排水量 1 860 0 t的石油勘探船…     

海洋文化是一种先进文化

一、海洋文化是一种先进文化根据江泽民同志“三个代表”的重要思想,建设海洋文化,推动先进社会生产力的发展和社会进步,要坚持四个基本观点,处理好四个方面的关系。1.坚持以人为本的观点,处理好人的自身发展(主体)与社会进步(客体)的关系文化是人的文化,是人类独具的精神现象。应该把文化看做是一种智慧和一个国家一个地区文明进步的标志。要大力发展教育文化与科学技术,重视人的智力开发,提高人的全面素质,最大限度地发挥人的能动性与创造性,“既藏珍而纳景,且激波而扬涛”(顾恺之《观涛赋》),使整个社会始终保持朝气蓬勃的活力与积极奋发…     

He who hesitates is lost: Why conservation in the Mediterranean Sea is necessary and possible now

Although significant advancements on protecting marine biodiversity and ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea have been made, much remains to be done to achieve the targets set by the Convention for Biological Diversity (and the Barcelona Convention) and ratified by the 21 Mediterranean governments. Particularly, these targets require the design and implementation of an ecologically representative network of marine protected areas that covers 10% of the Mediterranean surface by 2020. Despite the many efforts to gather spatial information about threats to the Mediterranean and conservation planning initiatives that identify sensitive areas for conservation, we are far from achieving this target. In this paper, we briefly review existing and proposed conservation initiatives at various scales throughout the Mediterranean to recognise those that have political endorsement and those that serve more as lobbying tools. We then propose a model process that can be applied to advance marine spatial planning within the eleven ecologically and biologically significant areas (EBSAs) through a multi-step process designed for moving conservation forward in this particularly complex region. The proposed process combines tenets of professional urban/regional planning and systematic conservation planning. As shown with two specific examples, despite some conventional wisdom, there is enough information on the Mediterranean Sea to move forward with ecosystem-based marine spatial management for conservation purposes using the EBSAs as a starting point - and the time is right to do so.     

What is a wave-dominated coast?

During the past decade or so, various coasts have been designated as wave-dominated or tide-dominated. Typically there is an association made between coastal morphology and the dominant process that operates on the coast in question. Most authors consider long, smooth, barrier coasts with few inlets and poorly developed ebb deltas as “wave-dominated”. These coasts are associated with microtidal ranges. Conversely, mesotidal coasts tend to develop short, drumstick-shaped barriers with well-developed ebb deltas. They are considered as tide-dominated barriers. Such generalizations may be restricted to coasts with moderate wave energy although this is commonly not stated.

Exceptions to these stated generalizations are so numerous that wave energy and tidal prism must also be included in characterizing coasts. The relative effects of waves and tides are of extreme importance. It is possible to have wave-dominated coasts with virtually any tidal range and it is likewise possible to have tide-dominated coasts even with very small ranges. The overprint of tidal prism will also produce tide-dominated morphology on coasts with microtidal ranges.     

The invasive Asian green mussel Perna viridis in South Africa: all that is green is not viridis

The Asian green mussel Perna viridis is an invasive Indo-Pacific species recently reported from South African harbours. To verify the invasion, a phylogenetic (and morphological) analysis of green-shelled mussels (n = 39), found in six South African harbours, was conducted using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI). Estimates of genetic distances using the neighbour-joining analysis identified P. viridis only from Durban Harbour. All other green mussels were more than 3.2% divergent from P. viridis and were identified as green-shelled variants of indigenous P. perna. The only reliable morphological differences distinguishing the two species were the poorly developed mantle papillae and the wavy pallial line in P. viridis. The confirmed occurrence of P. viridis in a South African harbour suggests that there is a possible threat of the species becoming established and then spreading onto the open coast and competing with indigenous P. perna.     

保护海洋就是保护人类自己

1998年“六·五”世界环境日的主题是:“为了地球上的生命——拯救我们的海洋”,其目的在于呼吁各个政府和人民共同行动起来,保护由于人类活动而遭到严重威胁的海洋,而且海洋遭到破坏的程度远比人们想像的要严重得多。一、海洋是生命的摇篮海洋不但占据地球表面积的71%,含水量占地球总水量的96.5%,而且也是生命的摇篮。地球上生命的演化过程在漫长的时间内均是在海洋里进行的,而且都栖息在海洋中。那时,地球陆地上几乎到处都是山岳和荒漠,42亿年后,陆地上才出现多种多样的生机勃勃的生命,而且几乎都是由海洋生命演化而来的,人类的最早祖先也…     

强国之源在海洋──读王诗成《海洋强国论》

诗成同志近几年相继出版了《建设海上中国纵横谈》、《龙，将从海上腾飞－２１世纪海洋战略构想》等多部著作，目前又出版了《海洋强国论》。这一部书是作者近年来创作的论文集。这些文章已经超越海洋经济的范畴，涉及海洋经济、军事、思想和文化等，反映他学术思想的拓展和升华，字里行间流露着他的爱国激情。“海洋强国论”虽是一部论文集，但从其结构体系看，却是一部较系统全面的专门论著。它，透过历史的重重惟幕，揭示了国家盛衰强弱的客观规律； 从科技与经济发展的关系出发，论证了海洋产业发展的十大工程建设；从海洋经济与整个国…     

Ocean iron fertilization: Why further research is needed

Despite large uncertainties in the fertilization efficiency, natural iron fertilization studies and some of the purposeful iron enrichment studies have demonstrated that Southern Ocean iron fertilization can lead to a significant export of carbon from the sea surface to the ocean interior. From an economic perspective the potential of ocean iron fertilization (OIF) is far from negligible in relation to other abatement options. Comparing the range of cost estimates to the range of estimates for forestation projects they are in the same order of magnitude, but OIF could provide more carbon credits even if high discount rates are used to account for potential leakage and non-permanence. However, the uncertainty about undesired adverse effects of purposeful iron fertilization on marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry has led to attempts to ban commercial and, to some extent, scientific experiments aimed at a better understanding of the processes involved, effectively precluding further consideration of this mitigation option. As regards the perspective of public international law, the pertinent agreements dealing with the protection of the marine environment indicate that OIF is to be considered as lawful if and to the extent to which it represents legitimate scientific research. In this respect, the precautionary principle can be used to balance the risks arising out of scientific OIF activities for the marine environment with the potential advantages relevant to the objectives of the climate change regime. As scientific OIF experiments involve only comparatively small negative impacts within a limited marine area, further scientific research must be permitted to explore the carbon sequestration potential of OIF in order to either reject this concept or integrate it into the flexible mechanisms contained in the Kyoto Protocol.     

What is good for the fishermen, is good for the nation: co-management in the Norwegian fishing industry in the 1990s

This paper analyses the concept of ‘co-management’ and tries to explain why co-management has recently become important to different types of fisheries administration. A preliminary analytical framework is sketched, before going on to describe the Norwegian co-management system, known as ‘centrally directed consultation’, where fishermen's representatives are established on a wide range of organisations that exert a direct influence on fisheries policy, including not only quota management but grant aid, sales, research and education. The final section is devoted to the lessons that may be learned from the Norwegian experience, bearing in mind the particular background of Norway and its historical setting.     

乌丘屿不能作为堆放核废料场址

台湾电力公司最近拟选择福建莆田附近的乌丘屿作为台湾中低放核废料处置场址。本文为此介绍了放射性废物的三种处置方式,探讨乌丘屿的地质结构和环境特征,认为乌丘屿并非堆放核废料的合适场址。文章同时探讨海峡两岸通力合作解决台湾核废料处置问题的可能性。     

Flexibility in temporary fisheries closure legislation is required to maximise success

Temporary closures have been used for centuries in many parts of the world as a tool for fisheries management and restoration. The length of time that a closure is in place can play a determinative role in the effectiveness of the closure as a means of restoring stock biomass and diversity. For species that are slow growing and slow to reproduce, closures shorter than a decade are unlikely to be sufficient for the effects of restoration to accrue. New Zealand has two legislative mechanisms specifically designed to establish temporary closures: sections 186A and 186B of the Fisheries Act 1996. These provisions were created to respond to localised depletion and to provide for the use and management practices of Māori (New Zealand’s Indigenous People). There is currently a two-year time limit on temporary closures applied for by the community. By defining a time limit for temporary closures legislators have failed to account for the ecology of many of the species targeted for protection that require longer periods of protection for restoration. Furthermore, the way in which the final decision making power is vested with central government is also inconsistent with the original purpose of the provisions. An amendment to the temporary closure provisions is suggested to provide greater flexibility for users and to better recognise the non-commercial fishing rights provided for by the Fisheries Act 1996, of local communities seeking to apply this tool.     

Systematic marine conservation planning in data-poor regions: Socioeconomic data is essential

Systematic planning for conservation is highly regarded but relies on spatially explicit data that are lacking in many areas of conservation concern. The decision support tool Marxan is applied to a reef system in the central Philippines where 30 marine protected areas (MPAs) have been established in communities without much use of biophysical data. The intent was to explore how Marxan might assist with the legally required expansion to protect 15% of marine waters, and how existing MPAs might affect that process. Results show that biophysical information alone did not provide much guidance in identifying patterns of conservation importance in areas where the data are poor. Socioeconomic data were needed to distinguish among possible areas for protection; but here, as elsewhere in marine environments, the availability of such data was very limited. In the final analysis, local knowledge and integrated understanding of socioeconomic realities may offer the best spatially explicit information. The 30 existing MPAs, which encompassed a small proportion of the reef system, did not limit future options in developing a suite of MPAs on a broader scale. Rather, they appeared to generate the support for MPAs that is obligatory for any larger zoning effort. In summary, establishing MPAs based on community-driven criteria has biological and social value, but efforts should be made to collect ecological and socioeconomic data to guide the continued creation of MPAs.     

Evidence That Sea State Bias is Different for Ascending and Descending Tracks

Jason-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) measured sea-surface heights (SSHs) are compared for five regions during the verification tandem phase. The five regions are of similar latitude and spatial extent and include the Gulf of Mexico, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and locations in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans away from land. In all five regions, a bias, defined as Jason SSH—TOPEX-B SSH, exists that is different for ascending and descending tracks. For example, in the Gulf of Mexico the bias for ascending tracks was ?0.13 cm and the bias for descending tracks was 2.19 cm. In the Arabian Sea the bias for ascending tracks was ?2.45 cm and the bias for descending tracks was ?1.31 cm. The bias was found to depend on track orientation and significant wave height (SWH), indicating an error in the sea state bias (SSB) model for one or both altimeters. The bias in all five regions can be significantly reduced by calculating separate corrections for ascending and descending tracks in each region as a function of SWH. The correction is calculated by fitting a second-order polynomial to the bias as a function of SWH separately for ascending and descending tracks. An additional constraint is required to properly apply the correction, and we chose to minimize the sum of the TOPEX-B and Jason-1 root-mean-square (rms) crossover differences to be consistent with present SSB models. Application of this constraint shows that the correction, though consistent within each region, is different for each region and that each satellite contributes to the bias. One potential source that may account for a portion of the difference in bias is the leakage in the wave forms in TOPEX-B due to differing altitude rates for ascending and descending tracks. Global SSB models could be improved by separating the tracks into ascenders and descenders and calculating a separate SSB model for each track.     

Autotomy in porcelain crabs is an effective escape mechanism from rockfish predation

Porcelain crabs possess a ‘hair‐trigger’ propensity to autotomize their chelipeds (claws), and laboratory studies have demonstrated that this ability is highly effective in avoiding predation from other crabs. However, porcelain crabs are also subject to predation from fishes, which use a very different means of capture. In this study, we investigated whether autotomy in porcelain crabs is also effective against predation by fishes. To do this, we examined stomach‐contents data from four common species of kelp‐forest rockfishes and determined the frequency of disassociated chelipeds (those with no associated bodies) in porcelain crabs and in brachyuran crabs, which do not readily autotomize their chelipeds. We found that disassociated chelipeds of porcelain crabs were six times as common as those of brachyuran crabs (35% of the remains of all porcelain crabs versus 6% of the remains of all brachyuran crabs). We interpret this difference to be evidence that, through autotomy, porcelain crabs escaped ingestion of their entire bodies, and thus certain mortality, at a higher rate than did brachyuran crabs. We conclude that autotomy constituted an effective escape strategy from rockfish predation. This evidence, in conjunction with previous studies, suggests that autotomy of chelipeds in porcelain crabs is an effective anti‐predatory strategy against phylogenetically disparate predatory groups.