Stakeholder participation in ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management: A synthesis from European research projects

In this synthesis article, we claim that institutional innovation is required for ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management (EBAFM), and that such innovation can best be achieved by engaging in a delicate process of societal decision making. Current instances of participation in fisheries shed light on the societal processes required for such institutional innovation. We apply the IBEFish analytical frame to examine findings from recent European research on participation in fisheries management at different jurisdictional levels. We distil several issues of major concern for institutional innovation towards EBAFM. These concern information management, legitimacy, social dynamics and costs, as well as aspects of cross-scale and cross-sector integration of fisheries governance.     

Decoupling of Macromolecular Compositions of Particulate Organic Matters between the Water Columns and the Sediment in Geoje-Hansan Bay,South Korea

The biochemical composition of particulate organic matter (POM) is very important to understand in relation to the trophic conditions of marine ecosystems since it forms the primary trophic base. The present study investigated the biochemical compositions (i.e., carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids) of POM monthly from January to December 2015 in Geoje-Hansan Bay to determine if the macromolecular composition of POM is coupled between the water columns and sediment. A spatial difference in the macromolecular compositions was observed in the water columns between the inner and outer bays, which may be caused by the different physiological conditions of phytoplankton growth that are due to the water circulation pattern in the bay. In contrast, no distinctive spatial difference in the macromolecular compositions was found in the sedimentary organic matter. Overall, while carbohydrates were the dominant (45.7%) macromolecules of the POM in the water columns, proteins were dominant (47.9%) in the sedimentary organic matter during our observation period. Decoupling of the macromolecular compositions between the water columns and underneath the sediment in Geoje-Hansan Bay appears to be a result of the various effects of selective filter feeding by oysters and protein-dominant benthic microalgae and fouling organisms.     

Fishing in the past: Historical data on sea fisheries landings in Belgium

In Belgium, centralized reporting on landings of sea fisheries at the species level started in 1929. This paper summarizes the process and the results of integrating time-series, based on fragmented and disperse data sources for the period 1929–1999. The resulting database contains data by species (41), by port of landing in Belgium (4) and in ‘foreign ports,’ and by fishing area of origin (31). After quality control, total reported landings over the period 1929–2008 amounted to 3,320,518 tonnes, of which 90% was landed in the Belgian ports. After a maximum of 75,370 tonnes in 1947, annual landings declined steadily to only 26% of this peak by 2008. Currently, landings are below those achieved in 1929. The most important species in terms of landings (1929–1999) were cod (17% of all landings) and herring (16%). In terms of economic value, sole (31%) and cod (15%) were the most valuable. Close to 73% of all landings originated from 5 of the 31 fishing areas. Twenty percent of all landings (1929–1999) originated from the ‘coastal waters’, while these waters contributed nearly 60% of all landed pelagic species and 55% of all landed ‘molluscs and crustaceans’. Compared to the currently available ICES data, this local database offers advantages in temporal coverage (data from 1929 onwards), temporal scale (monthly values), and at the taxonomic level. It also provides more detailed information at the spatial scale of the southern and central North Sea, and it is the only source of historical information on landings originating from the coastal waters. Given the importance of the shallow and productive ‘Flemish banks’ as a local source of food in historical and recent times, this data is valuable for further research on the productivity of the coastal ecosystem and the local impact of fisheries. The database broadens the historical view on fisheries, underlines the decline in landings since reporting started, and serves as a basis for further (fisheries) research and policy-making in Belgium.     

A Chart for Judging Optimal Sample Spacing for Ore Grade Estimation: Part II

Natural Resources Research - Resources of mineral deposits are commonly estimated using data extracted from rock cores obtained by drilling. Information of good quality and quantity is essential to...     

Robust Rule-Based Aggradational Lobe Reservoir Models

Stratigraphic rule-based reservoir models approximate sedimentary dynamics to generate numerical models of reservoir architecture with realistic spatial distributions of petrophysical properties for reservoir forecasting and to support development decision making. A few intuitive rules for the sequential placement of surfaces bounding reservoir units render realistic reservoir heterogeneity, continuity, and spatial organization of petrophysical property distributions that are difficult to obtain using conventional geostatistical pixel- and object-based subsurface methods. While these methods are emerging in applications specifically for deepwater and fluvial clastic reservoirs, there are some remaining obstacles to broad application, such as selection of rule parameters and addressing emergent non-stationarities over the sequence of the placed surfaces. Firstly, there is a need to tune rule parameters to ensure the models honor natural heterogeneities. We demonstrate this for the compensational rule. Secondly, invariants over model sequence (from the base to the top of the model) may occur with respect to shape, volume, undulation, and gradients of surfaces. For example, for a stack of compensational lobes, the volume of individual lobes may decrease due to the onlapping of previous bathymetry and also increasing undulation over model sequence may occur. In addition, for stacking of compensational lobes, the interfacial width and average gradient of the composite surface may initially increase, but then saturate and stabilize. Such non-stationarities represent numerical artifacts that may bias the results from these rule-based models. It is essential that these features are quantified and mitigated as a prerequisite for robust application of rule-based aggradational lobe methods for reservoir modeling.

     

Postglacial depositional environments and sedimentation rates in the Norwegian Channel off southern Norway

Based on seismic profiles, multibeam bathymetry and sediment cores, an improved understanding of the deglaciation/postglacial history of the southern part of the Norwegian Channel has been obtained. The Norwegian Channel Ice Stream started to recede from the shelf edge ca. 15.5 ka BP (¹⁴C ages are used throughout). Approximately 500–1000 years later the ice margin was located east of the deep Skagerrak trough. At that time, the Norwegian Channel off southern Norway had become a large fjord-like embayment, surrounded by the grounded ice sheet along the northern slope and possibly stagnant ice remnants at the southern flank. The Norwegian Channel off southern Norway has been the main sediment trap of the North Sea, and south of Egersund more than 200 m of sediments have been deposited since the start of the deglaciation. Five seismic units are mapped. The oldest unit E occurs in some of the deepest troughs, and was deposited immediately after the ice became buoyant. Unit D is acoustically massive and comprises mass-movement deposits in eastern Skagerrak and south of Egersund. Unit C (in the channel southwest of Lista/Egersund) is interpreted to comprise mainly bottom current deposits derived from palaeo-rivers, e.g. Elben. During deposition of unit C (ca. 14.5–13 ka BP), there was limited inflow of Atlantic water. A change in depositional environment at ca. 13 ka BP is related to an increased inflow of saline water and more open hydrographic circulation. Widely distributed, acoustically stratified clays of unit B were deposited ca. 13–10 ka BP. The Holocene Unit A shows a depositional pattern broadly similar to that of unit B.     

Projected Changes in Surface Air Temperature and Surface Wind in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Abstract

The impacts of climate change on surface air temperature (SAT) and winds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL) are investigated by performing simulations from 1970 to 2099 with the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM), driven by a five-member ensemble. Three members are from Canadian Global Climate Model (CGCM3) simulations following scenario A1B from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); one member is from the Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3) simulation, also following the A1B scenario; and one member is from the CCSM4 (version 4) simulation following the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP8.5) scenario. Compared with North America Regional Reanalysis (NARR) data, it is shown that CRCM can reproduce the observed SAT spatial patterns; for example, both CRCM simulations and NARR data show a warm SAT tongue along the eastern Gulf; CRCM simulations also capture the dominant northwesterly winds in January and the southwesterly winds in July. In terms of future climate scenarios, the spatial patterns of SAT show plausible seasonal variations. In January, the warming is 3°–3.5°C in the northern Gulf and 2.5°–3°C near Cabot Strait during 2040–2069, whereas the warming is more uniform during 2070–2099, with SAT increases of 4°–5°C. In summer, the warming gradually decreases from the western side of the GSL to the eastern side because of the different heat capacities between land and water. Moreover, the January winds increase by 0.2–0.4?m?s^?1 during 2040–2069, related to weakening stability in the atmospheric planetary boundary layer. However, during 2070–2099, the winds decrease by 0.2–0.4?m?s^?1 over the western Gulf, reflecting the northeastward shift in northwest Atlantic storm tracks. In July, enhanced baroclinicity along the east coast of North America dominates the wind changes, with increases of 0.2–0.4?m?s^?1. On average, the variance for the SAT changes is about 10% of the SAT increase, and the variance for projected wind changes is the same magnitude as the projected changes, suggesting uncertainty in the latter.     

Environmental characterization of periphyton community

The present paper deals with the behavior of the Attached Microbial Community （AMC） for water self-purification at different riverbeds in a typical local river. The study quantitatively investigated the problem starting with in-situ sampling. It was found that more biomass of AMC was at riffles with wider distribution than in pools. High current velocity （HCV） plays a negative role at the initial stage of attachment on the riverbed, but HCV aids the community proliferation after stable attachment. External disturbances such as rainfalls and discharges from dams or reservoirs would detach the periphyton depending on the intensity of turbulence in water. However, it was discovered that the flock of periphyton could be restored very quickly because it was not completely removed. Thus, in order to enhance self-purification by periphyton, a suitable configuration of the riverbed must be constructed, and occasional appropriate repair along the channels would improve the decontamination of the river.     

Sulfur Isotope Variations of Metallic Ore Deposits in the Gyeongsang Basin,South Korea

Many metallic ore deposits of the Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary periods are distributed in the Gyeongsang Basin. Previous and newly analyzed sulfur isotope data of 309 sulfide samples from 56 ore deposits were reviewed to discuss the genetic characteristics in relation to granitoid rocks. The metallogenic provinces of the Gyeongsang Basin are divided into the Au–Ag(–Cu–Pb–Zn) province in the western basin where the sedimentary rocks of the Shindong and Hayang groups are distributed, Pb–Zn(–Au–Ag–Cu), Cu–Pb–Zn(–Au–Ag), and Fe–W(–Mo) province in the central basin where the volcanic rocks of the Yucheon Group are dominant, and Cu(–Mo–W–Fe) province in the southeastern basin where both sedimentary rocks of the Hayang Group and Tertiary volcanic rocks are present. Average sulfur isotope compositions of the ore deposits show high tendencies ranging from 2.2 to 11.7‰ (average 5.4‰) in the Pb–Zn(–Au–Ag–Cu) province, ?0.7 to 11.5‰ (average 4.6‰) in the Cu–Pb–Zn(–Au–Ag) province, and 3.7 to 11.4‰ (average 7.5‰) in the Fe–W(–Mo) province in relation to magnetite‐series granitoids, whereas they are low in the Au–Ag(–Cu–Pb–Zn) province in relation to ilmenite‐series granitoids, ranging from ?2.9 to 5.7‰ (average 1.7‰). In the Cu(–Mo–W–Fe) province δ³⁴S values are intermediate ranging from 0.3 to 7.7‰ (average 3.6‰) and locally high δ³⁴S values are likely attributable to sulfur derived from the Tertiary volcanic rocks during hydrothermal alteration through faults commonly developed in this region. Magma originated by the partial melting of the ³⁴S‐enriched oceanic plate intruded into the volcanic rocks and formed magnetite‐series granitoids in the central basin, which contributed to high δ³⁴S values of the metallic deposits. Conversely, ilmenite‐series granitoids were formed by assimilation of sedimentary rocks rich in organic sulfur that influenced the low δ³⁴S values of the deposits in the western and southeastern provinces.