Contemporary ocean and coastal management issues in Australia and New Zealand: an overview

The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented increase in the number of international treaties, conventions and agreements dealing with maritime issues and oceans governance. Most nations are attempting to cope with this expanding agenda at a time of fiscal constraint, competing environmental demands and the emergence of a new global strategic, political and economic order. However, similar issues do not always lead to similar outcomes. Australia and New Zealand share some common oceanic and coastal management problems, but variations in response arise from geographical differences, constitutional provisions, political style and administrative arrangements. This paper provides a brief overview of contemporary maritime issues and attempted solutions in both nations.     

The autonomous underwater glider "Spray"

A small (50-kg, 2-m long) underwater vehicle with operating speeds of 20-30 cm/s and ranges up to 6000 km has been developed and field tested. The vehicle is essentially an autonomous profiling float that uses a buoyancy engine to cycle vertically and wings to glide horizontally while moving up and down. Operational control and data relay is provided by GPS navigation and two-way communication through ORBCOMM low-Earth-orbit satellites. Missions are envisioned with profile measurements repeated at a station or spaced along a transect. The initial instrument complement of temperature, conductivity, and pressure sensors was used to observe internal waves and tides in the Monterey underwater canyon     

Dissolved titanium distributions in the Mid-Atlantic Bight

Although titanium is abundant in Earth's crust, its sources and distribution in the ocean are poorly understood. To elucidate its behavior, distributions of dissolved (< 0.2 μm) Ti were determined in surface waters and vertical profiles from the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB). Concentrations of Ti decreased from 390 pM at the Delaware Bay mouth to < 100 pM across the Delaware continental shelf. In vertical profiles, small increases in bottom waters suggest a possible flux of Ti from shelf sediments, consistent with previous reports of pore water enrichments of dissolved Ti in MAB sediments. Concentrations in surface waters of the outer shelf and slope ranged between 30 and 140 pM, with most values below 90 pM. Concentrations in a 1000 m vertical profile in the eastern Gulf Stream ranged between 110 and 280 pM, and showed a variable distribution attributed to the mixing of water masses in the outer MAB. A simple model of Ti sources to the MAB suggests that atmospheric deposition of dissolved Ti is comparable to net riverine contributions and therefore must be considered in applications of Ti as a tracer of oceanographic processes.     

Multi-proxy evidence of long-term changes in ecosystem structure in a Danish marine estuary, linked to increased nutrient loading

This paper presents a study of changes in eutrophication over the past 100 years in a fertile estuary. The Danish estuary Mariager Fjord is a long, narrow sill-fjord with a permanently anoxic basin. In 1997 anoxia spread from the basin to the entire inner estuary, killing almost all eukaryotes and prompting debate on the causes. This paper reports a multi-proxy survey of ²¹⁰Pb-dated sediment cores from the anoxic basin. Analyses of diatoms, dinoflagellates, pigments and geochemical proxies were used to determine changes in ecosystem structure over the past 100 years. The aim was to establish ‘base-line conditions’, for management purposes, of the biological structure prior to 1900, and to examine possible causes of changes observed. Geochemical proxies total nitrogen (TN), total carbon (TC) and biogenic silica (BSi) were consistently high throughout the sediment record. Increased concentrations of pigments and natural isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) suggested increasing production and nutrient loading. The main changes in the biological proxies occurred between 1915 and the 1940s, and indicated that the estuary has been somewhat eutrophic since 1900, but that the eutrophication process increased over the past 100 years. A reconstruction of TN concentration by a diatom-based transfer function supports this interpretation, with inferred TN ca. 1900 around 60 μmol l⁻¹, and an increase in TN concentration over the past century to ca. 130 μmol l⁻¹ by 1995. Inferred TN decreased to ca. 100 μmol l⁻¹ by 2001, similar to present day monitoring data.     

Cross-shelf distribution of copepods and the role of event-scale winds in a northern California upwelling zone

Cross-shelf distribution and abundance of copepod nauplii and copepodids were measured during three summer upwelling seasons (2000–2002) in a coastal upwelling zone off northern California. These 3 years varied considerably in the intensity of winds, abundance of chlorophyll, and water temperature. The cruises in 2000 were characterized by relaxation conditions, with generally high levels of chlorophyll and high water temperature. The cruises in 2001 and 2002 were dominated by strong and persistent upwelling events, leading to lower chlorophyll and water temperatures. The copepod assemblage was dominated by Oithona spp., Acartia spp. and Pseudocalanus spp., with Metridia pacifica (lucens), Microsetella rosea, Oncaea spp. and Tortanus discaudatus also common during all 3 years. The cross-shelf distribution of copepods was generally shifted offshore during upwelling and onshore during relaxation events, although some variability between species occurred. Abundance of all life stages generally exhibited a negative correlation with cross-shelf transport averaged over at least 1–4 days and lagged by 0–3 days, indicating lower abundances during and immediately after active upwelling. However, copepod nauplii seemed to respond positively to wind events lasting 1–5 days followed by a period of relaxation lasting 6 or 7 days. These rapid rates of change in abundance are probably too great to be due to in situ growth and reproduction alone; physical processes must also play a role. These results suggest a highly dynamic relationship between copepods and upwelling events off northern California, with species-specific responses to upwelling to be expected.     

Sea Grant in Latin America?: Adapting the US Sea Grant model of linked applied research,extension, and education to a Latin American Context—Is there a fit?

This paper explores the application of the US Sea Grant model of applied research, extension, and education to two case studies in Latin America: Coastal Ecuador and the Gulf of Fonseca. The analysis is based on a series of meetings and roundtables with in-country partners and leaders of the US Sea Grant program. We conclude that the Sea Grant model provides an institutional structure that Latin America lacks and the model's features would improve governance of marine and coastal resources through more effective linkages between coastal communities, universities, and policy/decision makers at local, national, and international levels.     

The European coastal zone: characterization and first assessment of ecosystem metabolism

The geomorphic, oceanographic, terrestrial and anthropogenic attributes of the European coastal zone are described and published data on ecosystem function (primary production and respiration) are reviewed. Four regions are considered: the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the European Atlantic coast including the North Sea. The metabolic database (194 papers) suffers from a non-homogeneous geographical coverage with no usable data for the Black Sea which was therefore excluded from this part of our study. Pelagic gross primary production in European open shelves is, by far, the most documented parameter with an estimated mean of 41 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, the lowest value is reported in the Mediterranean Sea (21 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹) and the highest one in the Atlantic/North Sea area (51 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Microphytobenthic primary production, mostly measured in shallow areas, is extrapolated to the entire 0–200 m depth range. Its contribution to total primary production is low in all regions (mean: 1.5 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Although macrophyte beds are very productive, a regional production estimate is not provided in this study because their geographical distribution along the European coastline remains unknown. Measurements of pelagic community respiration are clearly too sparse, especially below the euphotic zone, to yield an accurate picture of the fate of organic matter produced in the water column. With a mean value of 17 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, benthic community respiration consumes approximately 40% of the pelagic organic matter production. Estuaries generally exhibit high metabolic rates and a large range of variation in all parameters, except microphytobenthic primary production. Finally, the problem of eutrophication in Europe is discussed and the metabolic data obtained in the framework of the Land–Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) project are compared with available direct measurements of net ecosystem production.     

Factors affecting spatial and temporal variability in material exchange between the Southern Everglades wetlands and Florida Bay (USA)

Physical and biological processes controlling spatial and temporal variations in material concentration and exchange between the Southern Everglades wetlands and Florida Bay were studied for 2.5 years in three of the five major creek systems draining the watershed. Daily total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) fluxes were measured for 2 years in Taylor River, and ten 10-day intensive studies were conducted in this creek to estimate the seasonal flux of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), total organic carbon (TOC), and suspended matter. Four 10-day studies were conducted simultaneously in Taylor, McCormick, and Trout Creeks to study the spatial variation in concentration and flux. The annual fluxes of TOC, TN, and TP from the Southern Everglades were estimated from regression equations. The Southern Everglades watershed, a 460-km² area that includes Taylor Slough and the area south of the C-111 canal, exported 7.1 g C m⁻², 0.46 g N m⁻², and 0.007 g P m⁻², annually. Everglades P flux is three to four orders of magnitude lower than published flux estimates from wetlands influenced by terrigenous sedimentary inputs. These low P flux values reflect both the inherently low P content of Everglades surface water and the efficiency of Everglades carbonate sediments and biota in conserving and recycling this limiting nutrient. The seasonal variation of freshwater input to the watershed was responsible for major temporal variations in N, P, and C export to Florida Bay; approximately 99% of the export occurred during the rainy season. Wind-driven forcing was most important during the later stages of the dry season when low freshwater head coincided with southerly winds, resulting in a net import of water and materials into the wetlands. We also observed an east to west decrease in TN:TP ratio from 212:1 to 127:1. Major spatial gradients in N:P ratios and nutrient concentration and flux among the creek were consistent with the westward decrease in surface water runoff from the P-limited Everglades and increased advection of relatively P-rich Gulf of Mexico (GOM) waters into Florida Bay. Comparison of measured nutrient flux from Everglades surface water inputs from this study with published estimates of other sources of nutrients to Florida Bay (i.e. atmospheric deposition, anthropogenic inputs from the Florida Keys, advection from the GOM) show that Everglades runoff represents only 2% of N inputs and 0.5% of P input to Florida Bay.     

Land-based activities: what remains to be done

The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) represents an ambitious attempt to make the leap between the rhetoric of protecting and preserving the marine environment and action. With degradation of the marine environment from land based activities posing one of the most serious threats to the quality and productivity of the coastal and marine environment, the GPA can only be viewed as a milestone rather than a destination, as so much work remains to be done in this field.States supporting the GPA are entering the most challenging phase of the program, that of implementation. But the international community in taking on this challenge is not without a few signposts. The failure of the Montreal Guidelines to be implemented, provides States with many important lessons. This paper suggests that if the GPA is to have an impact on the complex problem of land-based activities then several tasks need to be grappled with. Substantial financial support needs to be generated, a proactive and cooperative secretariat established and the nexus between the GPA and United Nations Environment Programme Regional Seas Programme examined. The importance of people and training to the capacity building process needs to be recognised and a wider variety of stakeholders engaged in the follow up phase. Pivotal to the aforementioned is the need to generate political will to address the problem, without which the GPA will become yet another dusty volume on the bookshelf.