A review of marine mammal,sea turtle and seabird bycatch in USA fisheries and the role of policy in shaping management

This paper reviews the available information (observer programs, estimates, statutes, regulations) for bycatch of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds in fisheries of the United States. Goals of the review were to evaluate the state of knowledge of bycatch and the role of existing protective legislation in shaping bycatch management for different taxa. Pressing issues are identified, as well as knowledge gaps and policy limitations that hinder multi-species bycatch reduction. The USA has made important progress toward reducing bycatch in its fisheries, but the efficacy of its management has been limited somewhat by a focus on taxon- and fishery-specific regulation and the lack of consistent mandate across taxa for taking a cumulative perspective on bycatch. Applying consistent criteria across taxa for setting bycatch limits (e.g., extending the approach used for marine mammals to sea turtles and seabirds) would be the first step in a multi-species approach to bycatch reduction. A population-based multi-species multi-gear approach to bycatch would help identify priority areas where resources are needed most and can be used most effectively.     

Diel variation of benthic respiration in a coral reef sediment (Reunion Island,Indian Ocean)

Oxygen and total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) fluxes at the water–sediment interface were measured using benthic chambers to assess the short-term variations of community respiration (CR) in the back reef sediments of Reunion Island (Indian Ocean). Benthic CR had a daily cycle of minimal (6:00 AM) and maximal values (6:00 PM), showing increases of oxygen and DIC fluxes of 2.8- and 3.8-fold, respectively. Average CR values were observed at midday and midnight. The evolution of fluxes was positively related to oxygen concentration in ambient water, but not to temperature changes. In the study area, high daytime primary production augments the amount of energy available for community metabolism and increases benthic respiration. The benthic communities are therefore subjected to short-term variable environmental conditions with oxygen supersaturation during the day, and moderately hypoxic conditions at the end of the night.     

Fraile Detection of Solar $$-Modes by Fossat et al.

The internal gravity modes of the Sun are notoriously difficult to detect, and the claimed detection of gravity modes presented by Fossat et al. (Astron. Astrophys.604, A40, 2017) is thus very exciting. Given the importance of these modes for understanding solar structure and dynamics, the results must be robust. While Fossat et al. described their method and parameter choices in detail, the sensitivity of their results to several parameters was not presented. Therefore, we test the sensitivity of the results to a selection of the parameters. The most concerning result is that the detection vanishes when we adjust the start time of the 16.5-year velocity time-series by a few hours. We conclude that this reported detection of gravity modes is extremely fragile and should be treated with utmost caution.     

Collapsing supra-massive magnetars: FRBs,the repeating FRB121102 and GRBs

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) last for \(\sim \) few milli-seconds and, hence, are likely to arise from the gravitational collapse of supra-massive, spinning neutron stars after they lose the centrifugal support (Falcke & Rezzolla 2014). In this paper, we provide arguments to show that the repeating burst, FRB 121102, can also be modeled in the collapse framework provided the supra-massive object implodes either into a Kerr black hole surrounded by highly magnetized plasma or into a strange quark star. Since the estimated rates of FRBs and SN Ib/c are comparable, we put forward a common progenitor scenario for FRBs and long GRBs in which only those compact remnants entail prompt \(\gamma \)-emission whose kick velocities are almost aligned or anti-aligned with the stellar spin axes. In such a scenario, emission of detectable gravitational radiation and, possibly, of neutrinos are expected to occur during the SN Ib/c explosion as well as, later, at the time of magnetar implosion.     

Better air for better health: Forging synergies in policies for energy access,climate change and air pollution

Air pollution and its related health impacts are a global concern. This paper addresses how current policies on air pollution, climate change and access to clean cooking fuels can effectively reduce both outdoor and household air pollution and improve human health. A state of the art modeling framework is used that combines an integrated assessment model and an atmospheric model to estimate the spatial extent and distribution of outdoor air pollution exposures. Estimates of household energy access and use are modeled by accounting for heterogeneous household energy choices and affordability constraints for rural and urban populations spanning the entire income distribution. Results are presented for 2030 for a set of policy scenarios on air pollution, climate change and energy access and include spatially explicit emissions of air pollutants; ambient concentrations of PM2.5; and health impacts in terms of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) from both ambient and household air pollution. The results stress the importance of enforcing current worldwide air quality legislation in addressing the impacts of outdoor air pollution. A combination of stringent policies on outdoor air pollution, climate change and access to clean cooking fuels is found to be effective in achieving reductions in average ambient PM2.5 exposures to below World Health Organization recommended levels for a majority of the world's population and results in a significant decline in the global burden of disease from both outdoor and household air pollution.     

Seismic stability analysis of piled embankments: A multiphase approach

The seismic stability analysis of an embankment lying over a soft foundation soil reinforced by a group of vertical piles is performed within the framework of the upper bound kinematic approach of yield design. The analysis is based on a previously developed ‘multiphase’ model of the reinforced ground, which explicitly accounts for the shear and bending resistances of the piles. Making use of appropriate failure mechanisms involving shear zones across which the reinforcements are continuously deforming, along with ‘plastic hinge’ surfaces, upper bound estimates to the critical seismic coefficient of the structure are derived. The results, which are confirmed by the simulations obtained from a finite element elastoplastic code, give clear evidence of the key role played by the bending strength capacities of the piles in ensuring the stability of the pile reinforced embankment. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Calderas,landslides and paleo-canyons on Piton de la Fournaise volcano (La Réunion Island,Indian Ocean)

Based upon a re-interpretation of previous data and a new field campaign, a structural evolution is proposed for the early history of Piton de la Fournaise volcano from 500,000 to 50,000 years. Conceptually, it is shown that the formation of a caldera in which lava flows are contained inside the caldera depression, gives time for erosion to excavate deep canyons on the external slopes of the volcano, for example, the Rivière des Remparts, the Rivière Langevin and the Rivière de l'Est canyons on Piton de la Fournaise volcano. These canyons are infilled when lavas, filling the caldera and overflowing its rim, are able again to flow on the external slopes of the volcano. In the past, this excavating/infilling process has occurred twice following the formation of the Rivière des Remparts and Morne Langevin calderas. The formation of the third caldera, the Plaine des Sables caldera, was followed by the excavation of the current canyons. In addition to this process, two large landslides have been documented in the field. The first, which happened about 300,000 years ago, is apparently the first episode of the break up of Piton de la Fournaise volcano, predating the formation of the four large calderas. The second landslide, which occurred 150,000 years ago and is considered to be less extensive, has carried away the entire southern flank of the Rivière des Remparts caldera.     

Dispersion of surface plumes in the Southern North Sea

Summary Continuous releases of fluorescent dye were made in the southern North Sea and the power law dependence of the plume width, represented by _y , against the diffusion time determined. The spreading was non-Fickian and could be represented in the form _y ² =B ² t whereB was a diffusion velocity of magnitude 1.4×10^–2 m/s. Such spreading was reproduced in both particle tracking and finite difference plume models by allowing the horizontal diffusivity,K _H, to depend linearly on diffusion time. The weakness of this method is that it is not clear how the diffusion parameters can be extrapolated to weather conditions that are different to those prevailing at the time of the experiments. However, comparable spreading rates were obtained by combining a Fickian diffusion model with an advective field that represented the near-surface current shears due to wind and waves. The resulting shear diffusion effect produced realistic simulation of the observed dispersion rates. An advantage of this approach is that it enables predictions to be made over a range of weather conditions provided that the wind and wave shears can be accurately parameterized.

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Ausbreitung von Tracerwolken an der Oberfläche in der südlichen Nordsee

Zusammenfassung Fluoreszierender Farbstoff wurde in der südlichen Nordsee kontinuierlich freigesetzt und die Breite der Wolke, repräsentiert durch _y , in Abhägigkeit von der Ausbreitungszeit bestimmt. Die Ausbreitung folgte nicht dem Fickschen Ansatz und konnte in der Form _y ² =B ² t dargestellt werden, wobeiB eine Ausbreitungsgeschwindigkeit von der Größenordnung 1.4×10^–2 m/s darstellt. Eine derartige Ausbreitung wurde sowohl mit Modellen des Partikel-Tracking als auch mit Modellen der finiten Differenzen reproduziert, wobei die horizontale AusbreitungsgrößeK _H linear von der Diffusionszeit abhängig war. Die Schwäche dieser Methode ist, daß es nicht klar ist, wie die Diffusions-Parameter für andere Wetterbedingungen als zur Zeit des Experiments zu extrapolieren wären. Vergleichbare Ausbreitungsverhältnisse werden durch die Kombination eines Fickschen Diffusionsmodells mit einem advektiven Feld erreicht, welches die oberflächennahen durch Wind und Wellen verursachten Stromscherungen berücksichtigt. Der so resultierende Scher-Diffusions-Effekt erbrachte ein realistische Simulation der beobachteten Ausbreitung. Ein Vorteil dieses Vorgehens ist, daß es Vorhersagen über einen Bereich von Wetterbedingungen ermöglicht, vorausgesetzt, daß die durch Wind und Wellen verurschte Scherung zutreffend parameterisiert werden kann.

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La dispersion de la panache de surface dans la partie sud de la Mer du Nord

Résumé A partir de déversements continus de produits fluorescents effectués dans la partie sud de la Mer du Nord, on a pu déterminer l'expression de la largeur du panache _y , par son carré en fonction du temps de diffusion. La dispersion n'était pas du type Fickian et était représentée sous la forme _y ² =B ² t aB était une vitesse de diffusion de grandeur égale 1.4×10^–2 m/s. Une telle dispersion peut être reproduite par une modélisation du panache à la fois par suivi de particules et aux différences finies en admettant que le coefficient de diffusion horizontaleK _H dépendait linéairement du temps. L'inconvénient de cette méthode est qu'il n'est pas facile de savoir comment les paramètres de diffusion peuvent être extrapolés à des conditions météorologiques différentes de celles prévalant au moment des expériences. Quoi qu'il en soit, des taux de dispersion comparables ont été obtenus en combinant un modèle de diffusion Fickian avec un champ d'advection qui représentait les cisaillements de courant de surface dus au vent et aux vagues. L'effet de diffusion du cisaillement résultant produisit une simulation réaliste des taux de dispersion observés. Un avantage de cette approche est de rendre possible des prédictions réalisées à travers un éventail de conditions météorologiques à condition que les cisaillements liés au vent et aux vagues puissent être paramétrisés avec précision.

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