Fishing safety policy and research

Fishing has been and is still one of the most dangerous of all human activities. In the field of fishing safety policy, it is acknowledged that the development of a working legal framework of reference is a vital prior condition for the implementation of measures aimed at its improving safety. However, the research work on fishing safety does not have at disposal records of a sufficient number of accidents and in most cases is not comparable from one country to another. Moreover, there is no work that focuses on a global view of fishing safety. The aim of the present work is to outline the state-of-the-art in fishing safety. To this end, aspects of fishing safety which are a major concern of institutions, organizations and researchers alike are analysed. Thus, several questions are addressed, such as: what institutional policy is given to the activity of the fishing sector to improve safety; what aspects and/or parameters are normally used to analyse fishing accidents; what is the usual spatial domain of this analysis; and what are the topics of the research carried out in fishing safety? The results of this analysis, among other aspects, identify eight specific lines of research followed in fishing safety and five which deal with aspects of safety at sea related to the fishing sector.     

Provenance of deep-water reservoir sandstones from the Jubarte oil field,Campos Basin,Eastern Brazilian Margin

The provenance of the Maastrichtian deep-water reservoir sandstones from the Jubarte oil field (Campos Basin, eastern Brazil), was studied using an integrated approach that included quantitative petrography, conventional heavy mineral analysis, garnet mineral chemistry and zircon geochronology. The reservoirs are predominantly coarse, poorly-sorted sandstones with feldspathic composition derived from uplifted basement terrains. The fourth- and fifth-order depositional sequences analyzed show no major variations in composition or in provenance through time. However, variations in apatite:tourmaline presents potential to be used as a parameter for sandstone correlation within the field. The composition of heavy minerals indicates derivation from high temperature and low-to-medium pressure aluminous metapelitic rocks, from granites and subordinate mafic rocks, derived from the Cabo Frio Tectonic Domain and the Oriental terrain of Ribeira orogen, characterizing a supply route from SW to NE. The low ZTR index, as well as the absence of low-grade stable heavy minerals and of metasedimentary rock fragments, suggest that by the end of Cretaceous all supracrustal, low-grade terrains had already been totally eroded, and that plutonic, infracrustal rocks were exposed, similarly to the present situation.     

Sampling the vertical particle flux in the upper water column using a large diameter free-drifting NetTrap adapted to an Indented Rotating Sphere sediment trap

Further development of the large, surface-tethered sediment trap (NetTrap) employed as part of the MedFlux program is described whereby the large collection capacity of the NetTrap is combined with an Indented Rotating Sphere/Sample Carousel (IRSC) sediment trap (IRSC–NT). This trap is capable of collecting particle flux either in a time series or settling velocity mode; settling velocity mode allows the collection of particles that fall within discrete settling velocity intervals. During short field deployments in the Mediterranean Sea the IRSC–NT configured in the settling velocity mode successfully collected unpoisoned samples for chemical and microbiological experiments. In addition to the development of the IRSC–NT, particle-settling behavior above and below the swimmer-excluding IRS valve was tested during on-deck experiments using a specially constructed water-tight trap. Chemical analyses of settling materials (published elsewhere) suggested that separation of particles by settling velocity was achieved. However, due to the motion of the ship, it was not possible to directly measure particle-settling velocities within the trap. Particle release from the IRS did not bias the apparent settling velocity spectrum. Rotation of the IRS did not engender turbulence at the surface of the sphere or within the skewed funnel below. Tests of different ball designs over the course of the MedFlux program showed that a “ridge and saddle” pattern was optimal for efficiently transferring particles under the IRS seal while still reducing swimmer entrance to the collection funnel. The large size of the IRSC–NT did not prevent it from drifting effectively with the current. Several modifications of the present design are proposed that should improve the accuracy of the settling velocity measurements.     

MedFlux: Investigations of particle flux in the Twilight Zone

The MedFlux project was devised to determine and model relationships between organic matter and mineral ballasts of sinking particulate matter in the ocean. Specifically we investigated the ballast ratio hypothesis, tested various commonly used sampling and modeling techniques, and developed new technologies that would allow better characterization of particle biogeochemistry. Here we describe the rationale for the project, the biogeochemical provenance of the DYFAMED site, the international support structure, and highlights from the papers published here. Additional MedFlux papers can be accessed at the MedFlux web site (http://msrc.sunysb.edu/MedFlux/).     

Projections of the impacts of climate change on the water deficit and on the precipitation erosive indexes in Mantaro River Basin,Peru

Projections of climate change are essential to guide sustainable development plans in the tropical Andean countries such as Peru. This study assessed the projections of precipitation and potential evaporation, rain erosive potential, and precipitation concentration in the Mantaro River Basin, in the Peruvian Andes, which is important for agriculture and energy production in Peru. We assumed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) A1B greenhouse gas emission scenario and simulated the global climate change by the HadCM3 global climate model. Due to the steepness of the mountain slopes and the narrowness of the river valley, this study uses the downscaling of the global model simulations by the regional Eta model down to 20-km resolution. The downscaling projections show decrease in the monthly precipitation with respect to the baseline period, especially during the rainy season, between February and April, until the end of the 21st century. Meanwhile, a progressive increase in the monthly evaporation from the baseline period is projected. The Modified Fournier Index (MFI) shows a statistically significant downward trend in the Mantaro River Basin, which suggests a possible reduction in the rain erosive potential. The Precipitation Concentration Index (PCI) shows a statistically significant increasing trend, which indicates increasingly more irregular temporal distribution of precipitation towards the end of the century. The results of this study allow us to conclude that there should be a gradual increase in water deficit and precipitation concentration. Both changes can be negative for agriculture, power generation, and water supply in the Mantaro River Basin in Peru.     

Plant diversity and community structure of Brazilian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Páramos</Emphasis>

In Eastern South America, high altitude grasslands represent a mountain system that has a high number of endemic species. However, studies on the ecology of plant communities in these environments remain scarce. We aimed to evaluate the patterns of biodiversity and structure of plant communities from rocky outcrops in high altitude grasslands of three areas at the Caparaó National Park, southeastern Brazil, by sampling 300 randomly distributed plots. Then, we compared the floristic composition, relative abundance, and biological and vegetation spectra among areas. We classified species as endemic and non-endemic and verified the occurrence of endangered species. Species richness was evaluated by rarefaction analysis on the sampling units. The importance value and species abundance distribution (SAD) models were assessed. We also performed an indicator species analysis. We sampled 58 species belonging to 49 genera and 32 families. The number of species decreased with increasing altitude, with significant differences being observed among areas regarding richness, abundance, and cover. Of the total number of species, 10 are endemic to the Caparaó National Park and 17 are listed on the Brazilian Red List of endangered species. The dominant families on all peaks were Asteraceae and Poaceae. The SAD models showed lognormal and geometric distributions, corroborating the fact that 10 species that were common to all three areas were also the most dominant ones in the communities and showed the highest importance values, which ranged between 35% and 60%. Indicator species analysis revealed that 28 species (48.27%) were indicators. Of these, 42.85% had maximum specificity, meaning that they occurred only in one area. Thus, the number of species per life form ratio was similar among areas, yet vegetation spectra differed, especially for hemicryptophytes. The altimetric difference among the areas showed to be a very important driver in the community assembly, influencing the evaluated variables, however, other drivers as soil depth, slope and water could also influence the community structure on a smaller and local spatial scale.     

Differentiated payments for environmental services schemes: Amethodology proposal

Payment schemes for environmental services face serious budget constraints in Mexico. Payments are equally distributed among forest owners, and the governmental agencies that make payments to beneficiaries do not evaluate the amount of environmental services produced by forested areas. This lack of evaluation could lead to economic and environmental deficiencies that restrict the possible benefits of such programmes. In general, these programmes do not achieve their conservation objectives, and local beneficiaries are not involved in the design or application of these programmes. Similarly, the Payments for Hydrological Environmental Services (PHES) programme of the State of Mexico, Mexico, makes equal payments to beneficiaries of forested areas considering tree density. The objective of the present work was to create a methodology for determining differentiated payments schemes for hydrological environmental services, prioritising areas that contribute the most to groundwater recharge and promote the participation of society. In the Nevado de Toluca Natural Protected Area, the environmental criteria of forest type, tree density and aquifer overexploitation as well as social participation were considered in a multi-criteria analysis implemented in a Geographic Information System. A methodology was developed to determine differentiated payments based on specific forest characteristics that influence the potential capacity of forests to recharge groundwater reserves in addition to the level of social participation. In particular, social participation is key as it could ensure the viability of PHES programmes as conservation alternatives in forested areas with high groundwater recharge potential.     

Viscoelastic tides: models for use in Celestial Mechanics

In this note, by using Smale’s \(\alpha \)-theorem on the convergence of Newton’s method, the \(\alpha \)-sets of convergence of some starters of solving the elliptic Kepler’s equation are derived. For each starter we compute the exact \(\alpha \)-set in the eccentricity-main anomaly \((e,M)\in [0,1)\times [0,\pi ]\), showing that these sets are larger than those derived by Avendaño et al. (Celest Mech Dyn Astron 119:27–44, 2014). Further, new convergence tests based on the Newton–Kantorowitch theorem are given comparing with the derived from Smale’s \(\alpha \)-test.     

Simulation of moist mountain waves with an anelastic model

Abstract

A two-dimensional, nonlinear, time-dependent, non-hydrostatic, anelastic, numerical model is used to assess the effect of condensation on the evolution and structure of gravity waves generated by the passage of a stable, moist stream over topography. Precipation is ignored but water phase changes are taken into account explicitly.

The main effect of condensation is to damp the wave intensity and to reduce the wave drag, which can be diminished by as much as 50% compared to its value in dry simulations. This result agrees with some earlier analytical models and some more recent fully compressible numerical models.

This model also confirms that the presence of condensation delays the overturning of isentropes, and the formation of the critical layer that accompanies wave-breaking.