The planet formation imager

The Planet Formation Imager (PFI, www.planetformationimager.org) is a next-generation infrared interferometer array with the primary goal of imaging the active phases of planet formation in nearby star forming regions. PFI will be sensitive to warm dust emission using mid-infrared capabilities made possible by precise fringe tracking in the near-infrared. An L/M band combiner will be especially sensitive to thermal emission from young exoplanets (and their disks) with a high spectral resolution mode to probe the kinematics of CO and H₂O gas. In this paper, we give an overview of the main science goals of PFI, define a baseline PFI architecture that can achieve those goals, point at remaining technical challenges, and suggest activities today that will help make the Planet Formation Imager facility a reality.     

Modeling permafrost distribution over the river basins of Mongolia using remote sensing and analytical approaches

The Editors-in-Chief of Environmental Earth Sciences are issuing an editorial expression of concern to alert readers that this article.     

Tectonic subsidence history and thermal evolution of the Orange Basin

The Orange Basin offshore southwest Africa appears to represent a classical example of continental rifting and break up associated with large-scale, transient volcanism. The presence of lower crustal bodies of high seismic velocities indicates that large volumes of igneous crust formed as a consequence of lithospheric extension.     

An improved methodology to measure flag performance for the shipping industry

The subject of measuring the performance of registries has been a topic of policy discussions in recent years at the regional level due to the recasting of the European Union (EU) port state control (PSC) directive which introduces incentives for flags which perform better. Since the current method used in the EU region entails some shortcomings, it has therefore been the subject of substantial scrutiny. Furthermore, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) developed a set of performance indicators which however lacks the ability to measure compliance as set out in one of its strategic directions towards fostering global compliance. This article develops a methodology to measure flag state performance which can be applied on the regional or global level and to other areas of legislative interest (e.g. recognized organizations, Document of Compliance Companies). The proposed methodology overcomes some of the shortcomings of the present method and presents a more refined, less biased approach of measuring performance. To demonstrate its usefulness, it is applied to a sample of 207,821 observations for a 3-year time frame and compared to the current method.     

Lease quota fishing in a changing rock lobster industry

The Tasmanian rock lobster industry has been managed by Individually Transferable Quotas (ITQs) and several input control measures since 1998. In this study, nine years of rock lobster fishing business data were used to categorise the catch and quota ownership traits and examine the response to the introduction of ITQ management. More specifically the study investigates how profit drivers moderated industry structure change.     

Establishing a transboundary network of marine protected areas: Diplomatic and management options for the east African context

International conservation efforts and cooperation are increasingly necessary, particularly at an ecoregion level, for the achievement of international targets for protecting biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems. Whereas more than 11 percent of land is protected, less than 1 percent of marine space is similarly protected. Transboundary networks of marine protected areas and transboundary marine protected areas (TBMPAs) are an essential form of cooperation for meeting these international targets. This paper explores the diplomatic and political options for regional and sub-regional cooperation between Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa, for the establishment of transboundary conservation mechanisms in the Eastern African Marine Ecoregion (EAME). Five options for the establishment and management of these mechanisms are presented, together with actions to be taken to facilitate cooperation. The paper deal with a proposed strategy for the implementation of transboundary conservation mechanisms, focusing on TBMPAs, between the three countries at a biogeographical/sub-regional level, supported by lessons learnt in other transboundary marine conservation experiences. The paper concludes that although political will may exist among States sharing borders to establish TBMPAs, the complexity of dealing with sub-regional realities is a difficult obstacle to overcome in a single step. The situation at each border must be taken into account in order that different multi-scale and multivariate solutions, supported by a common baseline will ultimately converge in a common trilateral framework. Finally, a two-step approach seems to be in course with the declaration (October 2009) of a TBMPA linking Ponta do Ouro in Mozambique to iSimangaliso Wetland Park in South Africa, following one of the options formerly presented.     

Morphodynamic modeling of tidal channel evolution in comparison to empirical PA relationship

Tidal channels and inlets in alluvial environments are interconnected dynamic systems that react to changing physical conditions (such as sea level rise) as well as to anthropogenic impact (such as dredging and bank protection works). Past research resulted in an empirical equilibrium relationship for inlets between the tidal prism (P) and the cross-sectional area in a tidal inlet (A). Constant PA relationships were found along several tidal basins.     

A multi-resolution satellite imagery approach for large area mapping of ericaceous shrubs in Northern Quebec, Canada

Invasive ericaceous shrubs (e.g. Kalmia angustifolia, Rhododendron groenlandicum, Vaccinium spp.) may reduce the regeneration and early growth of black spruce (Picea mariana) seedlings, the most economically important boreal tree species in Quebec. Our study focused, therefore, on developing a method for mapping ericaceous shrubs from satellite images. The method integrates very high resolution satellite imagery (IKONOS) to guide classifiers applied to medium resolution satellite imagery (Landsat-TM). An object-oriented image classification approach was applied using Definiens eCognition software. An independent ground survey revealed 80% accuracy at the very high spatial resolution. We found that the partial use (70%) of classified polygons derived from the IKONOS images were an effective way to guide classification algorithms applied to the Landsat-TM imagery. The results of this latter classification (78.4% overall accuracy) were assessed by the remaining portion (30%) of unused very high resolution classified polygons. We further validated our method (65.5% overall accuracy) by assessing the correspondence of an ericaceous cover classification scheme done with a Landsat-TM image and results of our ground survey using an independent set of 275 sample plots. Discrimination of ericaceous shrub cover from other land cover types was achieved with precision at both spatial resolutions with producer accuracies of 87.7% and 79.4% from IKONOS and Landsat, respectively. The method is weaker for areas with sparse cover of ericaceous shrubs or dense tree cover. Our method is adapted, therefore, for mapping the spatial distribution of ericaceous shrubs and is compatible with existing forest stand maps.     

Geometry-free undifferenced, single and double differenced analysis of single frequency GPS, EGNOS and GIOVE-A/B measurements

This paper demonstrates a geometry-free GNSS measurement analysis approach and presents results of single frequency GPS, EGNOS and GIOVE short and zero baseline measurements. The purpose is to separate the different contributions to the measurement noise of pseudo range code and carrier phase observations at the receiver. The influence of multipath on the different combinations of observations is also determined. Quantitative results are presented for the thermal code and phase measurement noise and for the correlation between the observations. Comparison of the results with theoretical approximations confirms the validity of the used approach. Results from field measurements clearly show less thermal noise on the Galileo E1BC observations than on the GPS L1C/A observations due to the new signal modulation. The feasibility of ambiguity resolution with a geometry-free model is also discussed including the significant impact of multipath thereon.     

Benthic fluxes of copper,complexing ligands and thiol compounds in shallow lagoon waters

Benthic fluxes of copper, copper complexing ligands and thiol compounds in the shallow waters of Venice Lagoon (Italy) were determined using benthic chambers and compared to porewater concentrations to confirm their origin. Benthic copper fluxes were small due to small concentration differences between the porewaters and the overlying water, and the equilibrium concentration was the same at both sites, suggesting that the sediments acted to buffer the copper concentration. Thiol fluxes were ～10 × greater at 50–60 pmol cm^?2 h^?1, at the two sites. Porewater measurements demonstrated that the sediments were an important source of the thiols to the overlying waters. The overlying waters were found to contain at least two ligands, a strong one, L1 (log K′_CuL1 = 14.2) and a weaker one, L2 (log K′_CuL2 = 12.5). The concentration of L1 remained relatively constant during the incubation and similar to that of copper, whereas that of L2 was in great excess of copper, its concentration balanced by porewater releases and breakdown, probably due to uptake by microorganisms, similar to that of the thiol compounds. Similarity of the thiol and L2 concentrations and similar complex stability with copper suggest that L2 was dominated by the thiols. The free copper concentration ([Cu´]) in the Lagoon waters was lowered by a factor of 10⁵ as a result of the organic complexation.