Landscape-scale analysis of ecosystem risk and returns: A new tool for ICZM

Management of the coastal zone often focuses on “islands” of high value ecosystems, in terms of economic value or conservation. However, integrated management requires landscape-level analysis of all ecosystem values. The biodiversity portfolio analysis (BPA) method is derived from the logic used in share (equity) portfolio management in terms of balancing within a portfolio the returns with the risks. Optimising the returns from a share portfolio, or a suite of ecosystems in a landscape, is dependent on the relationship between the units in terms of risk and return. Three case studies are then presented to test the applicability of the BPA method at the international (North West Europe), regional (Durham Heritage Coast, UK) and local (part of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, UK) spatial scale. The Biodiversity Portfolio Analysis for NW Europe showed that risk and return were highly correlated in the studied Member States. The ranking of risk and return, with the highest first, was Ireland > UK > France=Netherlands > Belgium. For these Member States the risks to ecosystem service provision were positively correlated with GNI (r=0.97, P<0.01); suggesting that the higher the economic importance of coastal and marine resources in a Member State the more at risk the resources are. The regional and local case studies were more focussed on providing information on which to base Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) decision making; both case studies used stakeholder participation to determine risks and returns. The conclusions from these two case studies show how the BPA method can be useful in terms of setting ICZM priorities and in addressing local coastal issues. The BPA involves making a number of assumptions, however, it does provide coastal managers with a potential tool to strategically plan due to increased awareness of the interaction between the ecosystems in the portfolio.There is a need for such techniques, which involve stakeholder participation and which create objective outcomes, to support the implementation of ICZM.     

The structure and evolution of the coastal migrant fishery of Kenya

The current study was carried out over a period of one year to characterise the coastal migrant fishery of Kenya. The study looked at gears and vessels used, and ownership, demographic factors including ages of the fishers and family sizes, migrant activity and resource conservation at two main fishing villages in Kenya; Vanga and Mayungu in the south and north coasts, straddling at 4.663°S and 39.215°E and 3.214°S and 40.135°E respectively. Further, the fishers were categorised with regard to fishing, gear and vessel operation and trade, and evolution upon entry into the fishery was also assessed in order to define fisher-stake in the fishery for resource management and conservation planning. Structured questionnaires were used to interview the fishers, and data and information recorded from 1018 fishers during the survey. Migrants accounted for over 63% of the fishers in the two study sites, with majority of the fishers lying in the 15–45 year age bracket. Dependence level averages at 4–6 person families per fisher. Entry to the fishery was mainly at seamen level, progressing to fishermen and finally to fish dealers (tajiris), with the latter holding >62% capital in the fishery. Resource management in the fishery was low and only 10% of the fishers were active participants in marine conservation and community beach management issues. Fisher migrations were mainly monsoon season-linked (>58%) although social factors such as family location determined to a great extent the expanse of the migrations. The revival of fisheries cooperatives and active participation in community resource management and conservation groups is envisaged as the key to the sustainability of both the marine resources and the economies associated with this high mobility, cross-border fishery.     

Fundamental study for morphodynamic modelling: Sand mounds in oscillatory flows

Experiments on sand mounds in oscillatory flow, undertaken in controlled, large-scale laboratory conditions, have produced well-defined data sets for model comparison. Three bathymetries with different levels of submergence, including a surface-piercing case, were tested. The maximum slope was about 1:5.5. Sediment transport is due to bed load with ripple formation. The principal time-dependent bulk parameters are the vertical distance of the centre of gravity above the base and the volume of the mound. A semi-implicit finite-volume depth-averaged hydrodynamic model is used to drive morphodynamics, using van Rijn's sediment flux model generalized to take account of bed slope, and some justification is given for depth-averaged modeling in these conditions. Starting the model runs with the conditions at the end of the first cycle avoided initial atypical physical behaviour. In general good predictions were obtained with an angle of repose reduced from the standard value of about 30° for stationary beds to 15°. For these situations, morphodynamics was largely unaffected by a hydrodynamic roughness height in the range 2.5D₅₀ to 51D₅₀, with larger values accounting for ripple roughness. The reduced angle of repose may be physically expected with mobile beds but this specific value is only expected to be suited to this form of bed motion. In one case an exaggerated ripple formed near the top of the mound reducing agreement with experiment. For the submerged case with normal ripple structure excellent predictions were obtained. For the initially surface-piercing mound, the time of submergence was better predicted with a 30° angle of repose, presumably due to the prominent influence of the near stationary bed near the wet/dry interface, although long term predictions were better predicted with 15°. The occurrence of vortex shedding in the first cycle modeled was in agreement with experimental observation.     

Geoacoustic Inversions of Horizontal and Vertical Line Array Acoustic Data From a Surface Ship Source of Opportunity

The application of an inversion methodology produces the first demonstration of a simultaneous solution for geoacoustic and source track parameters from acoustic data collected in a shallow-water, sandy sediment environment. Inversion solutions from data collected in the 2006 Shallow Water Experiment (SW06) are extracted from noise measurements of a surface ship source on an L-array. The methodology includes a screening algorithm to determine a set of frequencies for the inversion data. In addition, the methodology assesses the accuracy of the inversion solution and incorporates an estimation of parameter value uncertainties. The solution from the inversion of the horizontal component of the L-array data from the surface ship source before its closest point of approach (CPA) is used to construct modeled propagation loss for comparison with observed received level (RL) structure as the source departs from CPA. Inversion of the data from a single element in the vertical component of the L-array produces a solution that agrees with the solution obtained from the inversion of horizontal subaperture data. Also, modeled transmission loss (TL) structure obtained from the single-element inversion solution reproduces the depth dependence of the RL structure observed at other elements of the vertical component of the L-array.      

Large bio-geographical shifts in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean: From the subpolar gyre, via plankton, to blue whiting and pilot whales

Pronounced changes in fauna, extending from the English Channel in the south to the Barents Sea in the north-east and off Greenland in the north-west, have occurred in the late 1920s, the late 1960s and again in the late 1990s. We attribute these events to exchanges of subarctic and subtropical water masses in the north-eastern North Atlantic Ocean, associated with changes in the strength and extent of the subpolar gyre. These exchanges lead to variations in the influence exerted by the subarctic or Lusitanian biomes on the intermediate faunistic zone in the north-eastern Atlantic. This strong and persistent bottom-up bio-physical link is demonstrated using a numerical ocean general circulation model and data on four trophically connected levels in the food chain – phytoplankton, zooplankton, blue whiting, and pilot whales. The plankton data give a unique basin-scale depiction of these changes, and a long pilot whale record from the Faroe Islands offers an exceptional temporal perspective over three centuries. Recent advances in simulating the dynamics of the subpolar gyre suggests a potential for predicting the distribution of the main faunistic zones in the north-eastern Atlantic a few years into the future, which might facilitate a more rational management of the commercially important fisheries in this region.     

Distribution patterns of interstitial polychaetes in sandy beaches of southern Brazil

This study describes the distribution patterns of interstitial polychaetes along morphodynamic gradients on six exposed sandy beaches in Santa Catarina and Paraná (South Brazil). Three random transects were sampled at two points on each beach, one at the swash and another at the surf zone, in winter and summer conditions. Six sediment replicates were collected at each sampling point using a corer of 4.6 cm internal diameter that removed 10 cm into the sediment. Abundance and composition of interstitial polychaete were correlated to wave height, slope, grain size, CaCO₃, chlorophyll a , omega indexes, temperature and relative tide range using a canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). A factorial ANOVA showed that taxa richness, mean density and Shannon's diversity were significantly higher at the reflective beaches, but average values differ significantly between transects and these differences change according to the beach zones on both sampling dates. PERMANOVA showed that polychaete associations differ among transects according to the beach zones. The composition of interstitial polychaete associations was significantly correlated to beach morphodynamics and features (P < 0.01). Polychaete associations of reflective beaches were more diverse than in other morphodynamic states. Intermediate beaches may also sustain diverse associations due to temporal variability of the morphodynamic patterns. Beaches presenting extreme dissipative morphodynamics and compacted sediments appear to be unfavourable for the occurrence of interstitial polychaetes.     

Identifying anthropogenic sources of nitrogen oxide emissions from calculations of Lagrangian trajectories and the observational data from a tall tower in Siberia during the spring-summer period of 2007

The task of identifying climatically significant regional anthropogenic emissions and estimating their contribution to the variability of nitrogen oxides observed at a monitoring station is considered on the basis of NO and NO₂ surface concentrations measured at the Zotino background observation station (60°26′ N, 89°24′ E, Krasnoyarsk Territory). The approach used is based on an estimation of the conditional probability of polluted air arriving from individual regions by using the results of calculating backward Lagrangian trajectories in the lower troposphere. It is established that the contribution of air masses supplied from industrial regions in the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory to episodes of high concentrations of nitrogen oxides (>0.7 ppb) is larger than the contribution from cities and towns located in the south of Western Siberia. The results indicate that anthropogenic sources of pollution substantially affect the balance of minor gases in the lower troposphere on a regional scale and that this factor must be taken into account when observational data from the Zotino background station are analyzed and interpreted.     

On the energy dissipation of jacket type offshore platforms with different pile–leg interactions

In recent years, considerable amount of effort has been made to design earthquake resistant offshore structures in seismic active areas. In order to achieve this objective, all components of a typical structure should function properly to dissipate seismically-induced energy within the members. Among components of an offshore installation, braces are of significant importance as they contribute substantially to total energy dissipation of the structure. Buckling in compression and yielding in tension assist the process of energy absorption. Nevertheless, the functionality of braces is dependent upon their joints where joint-cans are included to avoid any brittle fracture and unpredicted failure mechanisms.In this paper, special attention is being paid to energy dissipation of jacket type offshore platforms with two different pile–leg interactions. A case study representing an offshore platform is studied both analytically and experimentally. Analytical models are validated step by step based on available experimental tests and observations on individual members. Several parameters such as cyclic behavior, maximum bearing load and most importantly energy dissipation of two different 2D frames are investigated. Results provide promising insights into design and fabrication of fixed platforms with different pile–leg interactions.     

Long-term moored array measurements of currents and hydrography over Georges Bank: 1994–1999

In conjunction with the GLOBEC (Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics) program, measurements of moored currents, temperature and salinity were made during 1994–1999 at locations in 76 m of water along the southern flank of Georges Bank and at the Northeastern Peak. The measurements concentrate on the biologically crucial winter and spring periods, and coverage during the fall is usually poorer.Current time series were completely dominated by the semidiurnal M₂ tidal component, while other tidal species (including the diurnal K₁ component) were also important. There was a substantial wind-driven component of the flow, which was linked, especially during the summer, to regional–scale response patterns. The current response at the Northeast Peak was especially strong in the 3–4 days period band, and this response is shown to be related to an amplifying topographic wave propagating eastward along the northern flank. Monthly mean flows on the southern flank are southwestward throughout the year, but strongest in the summertime. The observed tendency for summertime maximum along-bank flow to occur at depth is rationalized in terms of density gradients associated with a near-surface freshwater tongue wrapping around the Bank.Temperature and salinity time series demonstrate the presence, altogether about 25% of the time, of a number of intruding water masses. These intrusions could last anywhere from a couple days up to about a month. The sources of these intrusions can be broadly classified as the Scotian Shelf (especially during the winter), the Western Gulf of Maine (especially during the summer), and the deeper ocean south of Georges Bank (throughout the year). On longer time scales, the temperature variability is dominated by seasonal temperature changes. During the spring and summer, these changes are balanced by local heating or cooling, but wintertime cooling involves advective lateral transports as well. Salinity variations have weak, if any, seasonal variability, but are dominated by interannual changes that are related to regional- or basin-scale changes.All considered, Georges Bank temperature and salinity characteristics are found to be highly dependent on the surrounding waters, but many questions remain, especially in terms of whether intrusive events leave a sustained impact on Bank waters.     

A predictive numerical model for potential mapping of the gas hydrate stability zone in the Gulf of Cadiz

This paper presents a computational model for mapping the regional 3D distribution in which seafloor gas hydrates would be stable, that is carried out in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment. The construction of the model is comprised of three primary steps, namely: (1) the construction of surfaces for the various variables based on available 3D data (seafloor temperature, geothermal gradient and depth-pressure); (2) the calculation of the gas function equilibrium functions for the various hydrocarbon compositions reported from hydrate and sediment samples; and (3) the calculation of the thickness of the hydrate stability zone. The solution is based on a transcendental function, which is solved iteratively in a GIS environment.The model has been applied in the northernmost continental slope of the Gulf of Cadiz, an area where an abundant supply for hydrate formation, such as extensive hydrocarbon seeps, diapirs and fault structures, is combined with deep undercurrents and a complex seafloor morphology. In the Gulf of Cadiz, the model depicts the distribution of the base of the gas hydrate stability zone for both biogenic and thermogenic gas compositions, and explains the geometry and distribution of geological structures derived from gas venting in the Tasyo Field (Gulf of Cadiz) and the generation of BSR levels on the upper continental slope.