Results of monitoring of the changes in the hydrochemical structure of the central and Southern Caspian Sea over 1995–2005

The results of decennial monitoring of the Caspian Sea were summarized, which allowed revealing the “pumping” of nutrients from the euphotic layer to deepwater depressions of the Central and Southern Caspian Sea. In parallel, in the deepwater depressions, growth of hypoxia to values of 0.2–0.5 ml O₂/l proceeds. In 2006, hydrogen sulfide was registered in the near-bottom layer of the South Caspian Sea Basin. It is shown that the transformation of the hydrochemical structure was directed towards the conditions observed at the times of Bruevich (1933–1934), but no complete coincidence has yet been reached.     

Unravelling the dynamics of a multi-gear fleet – Inputs for fisheries assessment and management under the Common Fisheries Policy

Effective species management requires good knowledge on vessel dynamics, either at a stock basis or through the establishment of multiannual management plans as advisable under the new European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Achieving such knowledge on Portuguese multi-gear fisheries is challenging given the large number of species caught and the different management measures applied to potential target species. The latter ranges from no input or output controls to output controls based on individual vessel quotas (IVQ). To provide accurate regional knowledge to the CFP, the dynamics of vessels involved in the trammel net fishery targeting anglerfish (Lophius spp.) was characterised based on onboard sampling data and logbook reports. The selected vessels were very dynamic, and were found to target other species such as hake (Merluccius merluccius), John Dory (Zeus faber) and octopus (Octopus vulgaris). Anglerfish landing trends can be explained by changes in abundance, quota availability and shifts/changes in fishing effort. Overall, the dynamics of these vessels varied with area of exploitation, IVQ value and anglerfish total allowable catch (TAC). These results show the influence of different management systems in the dynamics of vessels and the advantage of an IVQ management system, where fishers can spatially and temporally allocate effort. Results also highlight a fishing effort shift towards unregulated species in face of IVQ or TAC restrictions.     

20th anniversary of the Institute of Marine Sciences and marine science in Tanzania — what next step

On July 1st 1999, the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS), University of Dar Es Salaam celebrated its 20th anniversary. IMS was established as a lead institute for conducting advanced marine research and training in Tanzania. Its 20th anniversary accords us an opportunity to reflect on the advances of marine science in Tanzania. Being a coastal nation and by recognizing the importance and potentials of the ocean and coastal area, Tanzania, since its independence has been doing efforts to set-up sound marine policies and institutional framework and build the nation's capability, including human, in marine affairs. A careful study of Tanzania's marine science policies, institutional framework, and human capability indicates that the situation has improved satisfactorily, especially in human capacity. However, the country's capability in conducting basic and advanced marine science research remains poor due to the lack of a research vessel. The major problem has been the high construction and running costs of a research vessel. I am proposing two approaches from other countries, i.e., Japan, Germany, USA, and UK that can be adopted in Tanzania. Firstly, the research vessel can be acquired as a national resource, i.e., bought and owned by the government. Secondly, relevant and capable beneficiaries, departments, and organizations e.g., the navy, can buy the vessel and make it available to the marine science community. Acquiring a multipurpose marine research vessel is an important next step that Tanzania needs to make in marine science. I am also proposing formulation of a national policy to guide marine science research and development, and the establishment/selection of a lead agency with full authority to manage and supervise all marine and coastal area development/economic activities.     

Institutionalizing the High North: Will the harvest of redfeed be a critical juncture for the solidification of the Svalbard Fisheries Protection Zone?

The Svalbard Fisheries Protection Zone is an international institution on the brink of being challenged in a critical phase of being institutionalized as a Norwegian property regime. The potential disturbance comes from the zooplankton redfeed, a new and valuable resource harvestable within the zone. Though the pressures on Norway’s inspection routines in the zone are challenged at times, this article suggests that the zone as a management regime is a surprisingly robust institution still. Nevertheless, in such a critical phase it is important not to allow possible exogenous shocks to appear, and creating a separate redfeed regime for the plankton will allow the Norwegian government to bypass this possible disturbance and allow for continued solidification of the zone into an EEZ for Norway.     

Masterstroke or paper tiger – The reform of the EU׳s Common Fisheries Policy

The European fisheries policy has undergone a substantial reform. The reform process was initiated by a Green Paper published by the European Commission in 2009. It was recently finalised with an agreement on a new Basic Regulation between the European Commission, the Council and the Parliament in October 2013. The reform of the Common Fisheries Policy will be an important step towards a more sustainable fisheries policy in Europe. The most important reform steps are the introduction of maximum sustainable yield as the new management target, a landing obligation for bycatch and a governance shift towards regions. Although the mentioned reform elements are in generally very promising, their concrete design does not always meet existing expectations.     

The Ctenophore,Beroe ovata Bruguière, 1789 – the New Invader in the Ecosystem of the Caspian Sea

Oceanology - In November 2020, the invasive ctenophore Beroe ovata Bruguière, 1789 was recorded in samples of gelatinous zooplankton from the northern and central parts of the Caspian Sea. The...     

Simulation and prediction of climate changes in the 19th to 21st centuries with the Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, model of the Earth’s climate system

This paper presents results from a simulation of climate changes in the 19th–21st centuries with the Institute of Numerical Mathematics Climate Model Version 4 (INMCM4) in the framework of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5 (CMIP5). Like the previous INMCM3 version, this model has a low sensitivity of 4.0 K to a quadrupling of CO₂ concentration. Global warming in the model by the end of the 21st century is 1.9 K for the RCP4.5 scenario and 3.4 K for RCP8.5. The spatial distribution of temperature and precipitation changes driven by the enhanced greenhouse effect is similar to that derived from the INMCM3 model data. In the INMCM4 model, however, the heat flux to the ocean and sea-level rise caused by thermal expansion are roughly 1.5 times as large as those in the INMCM3 model under the same scenario. A decrease in sea-ice extent and a change in heat fluxes and meridional circulation in the ocean under global warming, as well as some aspects of natural climate variability in the model, are considered.     

Size fractionated biomass and productivity of phytoplankton and new production in the Prydz Bay and the adjacent Indian sector of the Southern Ocean during the austral summer 1998/1999

INTRODUCTIONComparedwithotheroceansintheworld ,thereisrelativelyhigherlevelofnutrients (ni trate ,phosphate ,silicate)intheSouthernOcean .Butprimaryproductivitiesarelow ,andnewproductionisalsoonlyinthemiddlelevelthere .Itiscommonlyconsideredthatthelowerpro ductivitiesintheSouthernOceaniscausedbylowtemperature ,lowlight,lowstabilityofwa ter,scarcityoftraceelementsuchasironandgrazingbyzooplankton (Burkilletal.,1 995) ,etc.ThemostexistedstudiesconcentratedontheAtlanticSectoroftheSouthernO…     

Does beach seine fishery permanently alter macroinvertebrate communities and sediment characteristics in the Southern Caspian Sea?

The impacts of a beach seine fishery on macroinvertebrate communities and sediment characteristics were investigated in the Southwest Caspian Sea. Samples from a single impacted site that was regularly seined were compared with two control sites outside the fishing area. Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled on four occasions: 6 months prior to the opening of the beach seine fishery (Time 1), 1 day immediately after the closing of beach seining (Time 2), 1 week after closing (Time 3), and 1 month after closing (Time 4). No significant differences were detected in total density, Shannon diversity, or evenness of the macroinvertebrate assemblages between impact and control sites. Unlike density, species richness increased significantly immediately after fishery closure at all sites. A significant difference was detected in the number of species between Time 2 and Time 3 at all sites and the number of species was reduced at Time 4 in all sites. Pontogammarids increased by twofold in the impact site 1 day immediately after closing beach seine fishery and leveled off toward the end of the closed season. The amplified density of pontogammarids 1 day after fishery closing at the impact site might be driven in part by an increase in sediment oxygen content resulting from disturbance of the sea floor. An alternative explanation is that the effect of fish predation on pontogammarids has largely been minimized at the impact site after 6 months of continuous fishing activity. No significant changes in the sedimentary organic content and chlorophyll‐a between the impact and control sites were observed during the courses of sampling; however, a significant change occurred between the average sedimentary pheopigment content of the control sites and that of the impact site. The conclusion from the present study is that beach seine fishery does not harm to benthic communities. The closed season also seemed to allow recovery to pre‐season levels of macroinvertebrate richness and sedimentary chlorophyll‐a.     

Reflection of the State of Magmatic Matter and Seismotectonic Features of the Structure of the Avachinsky–Koryaksky and Dzenzur–Zhupanovsky Volcanic Groups of Kamchatka in Terms of Kinematic Parameter VP/VS

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - For regional earthquakes, the kinematic parameter VP/VS, an analog of the TAU parameter, was analyzed in order to study the state of magmatic matter,...     

Function and Characteristics of the Alginases

In crude enzymes extracted from the Lunella cornata coreensis there are two algi- nases with different functions. One of the alginases can cleave the middle bond of the algin molecular chains in the reactive condition of 30 μM pH 7.5 Tris-HCl buffer and 50 μM KCl per ml of reactive mixture Ⅰ. This enzyme can readily decrease the viscosity, but the reducing groups increase slowly in the algin reactive mixture Ⅰ. Thus, it is defined as alginase Ⅰ.     

Studies on the distribution and antibacterial properties of Streptomyces in the intertidal zone of Southern Fujian

The oceans have rich resources of microbes. In recent years, searching for antibiotic of new structure and special biological activity from marine microbes has received great attention. This paper reports the results of the studies on the distribution and the antibacterial properties of Streptomyces in the intertidal zone of Southern Fujian. These studies have important significance to further investigate     

The effect of the causative algae of large-scale HAB in the East China Sea on egg hatching of Argopecten irradians, and population growth of Brachionus plicatilis and Moina mongolica

The impacts of Prorocentrum donghaiense Lu and Alexandrium catenella Balech, causative species of the large-scale HAB in the East China Sea, were studied under laboratory conditions. According to bloom densities, the effects of monoculture and mixture of the two species were examined on the egg-hatching success of Argopecten irradians Lamarck, and the population growth of Brachionus plicatilis Müller and Moina mongolica Daday. The results showed that monoculture of A. catenella had a significant inhibition on the egg hatching success of A. irradians, and the population growth of B. plicatilis and M. mongolica. The median effective densities (ED_50) inhibiting the egg hatching success of A. irradians for 24 h and the population growth of B. plicatilis and M. mongolica for 96 h were 800, 630, and 2 400 cells/cm3, respectively. Monoculture of P. donghaiense has no such inhibitory effect on the egg hatching success of A. irradians; P. donghaiense at lower suitable densities could sustain the population growth of B. plicatilis (1×104~3×104cells/cm3) and M. mongolica (2×104~5×104cells/cm3); P. donghaiense at higher densities had significantly adverse effect on the population growth of B. plicatilis (4×104~10×104cells/cm3) and M. mongolica (10×104cells/cm3). When the two algae were mixed according to bloom densities, P. donghaiense at suitable densities to some extent could decrease the toxicity of A. catenella to B. plicatilis and M. mongolica. The results indicated that the large-scale HAB in the East China Sea could have adverse effect on zooplankton, and might further influence the marine ecosystem, especially when there was also Alexandrium bloom.     

Kuroshio warm filament and the source of the warm water of the Tsushima Current

Characteristics and evolution of the Kuroshio frontal eddies and warm filaments are analyzed according to two series of satellite images (March 5 to 7, 1986 and April 14 to 16, 1988). The results show that the frontal eddies in the East China Sea are generated at the shelf break and move along the continental slope at a speed of 15 cm/s with the Kuroshio. The frontal eddies occur about every 10 d and evolve to be warm filaments a few hundred km in length and 30-40 km in width in the area west of the Yaku-shima. Meanwhile, the existence of the warm filament was also found in the area by analysing the hydrographic data in the area west of Kyushu during May 24-June 5, 1988.The Kuroshio warm filaments move westward opposite to the Kuroshio and then turn northward at the shelf break and become the main source of the warm water of the Tsushima Warm Current. A simple dynamic explanation for the process is presented in this paper.     

Study on the breeding technology of heterosis seedling of Laminaria and new combinations

After continuous breeding gametophyte of Laminaria, then breaking protonema, heterosis seedling is got by bilineal hybridization. The result shows that the weight-increasing rate of female and male gametophyte clone cells are 14.03% and 13.87%, after 16 d crossbreeding, the rate of ovulation is up to100%; the length of juvenile sporophyte after 40 d breeding is 2-3 cm. By fanning on the sea, a hybrid combination is primarily screened.     

Study of the State and Variability of the Northwestern Japan Sea in the Autumn–Winter Period on Cruise 62 of the R/V Akademik Oparin

Oceanology - The results of research carried out on cruise 62 of the R/V Akademik Oparin from December 14 to 29, 2020 continued monitoring of the interannual variability of the Japan Sea water...     

Numerical modelling of the depth variation and the fluctuation of the thermocline under the effects of wind in the Bohai Sea

In this paper, numerical modelling of the fluctuation of the thermocline in the Bohai Sea has been made using a two-dimensional nonlinear model in stratified ocean and the model for the depth of the thermocline under the effects of wind stirring. The computed results depict the variations of the fluctuation of the thermocline driven by different kinds of wind fields. The fluctuation of the thermocline in the Bohai Sea varies somewhat with different directions, paths and locations of typhoon (cyclone). Under the effects of strong wind, the thermoclines both sink due to mixing and fluctuate. Furthermore, the fluctuation of the thermocline speeds up mixing. At last, the thermoclines disappear after 12-15 h when the strong wind increases from Force 6 to Force 9.