The role of marine spatial planning in sea use management: The Belgian case

The expansion of offshore activities and the increasing need to meet international and national commitments to biodiversity conservation have led to an enhanced interest in marine spatial planning (MSP) as a tool for sea use management. Several European countries, on their own initiative or driven by European legislation and policy, have taken global leadership in implementing MSP. This article will discuss the Belgian experiences with MSP. It will give a short historical overview based on legal developments and review the implementation process of a ‘Master Plan’ as a spatial management policy for the Belgian Part of the North Sea. Additionally, this article will reflect on the research that has been done in Belgium to apply a land-use planning approach to the marine environment. The MSP process in Belgium shows that a spatial approach to sea use management is possible despite the lack of a legal zoning framework. However, it concludes that a legal basis for MSP, in addition to the current permit system, would provide a more strategic and integrated framework for ecosystem-based, sea use management.     

Developing a Marine Information System by Integrating Existing Ocean Models Using Object-Oriented Technology

Information systems developed for different applications within the environmental domain have common characteristics, which can potentially be abstracted for sharing and reuse of design and software modules. This article presents an approach to designing for reuse by abstracting commonalities in the design of a Marine Information System (MIS), facilitating data management in a prototype operational monitoring, forecasting, and management system for the North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas. A detailed study of the requirements and data analysis was carried out, and Object-Oriented Technology (OOT) is employed to encapsulate abstractions and to promote reuse of code and design. This article identifies the Object-Oriented Frameworks (OOFW) required to build the MIS. It also provides guidelines to environmental scientists for restructuring legacy software and employing modern programming techniques.     

Oceanographic influences on seabirds and cetaceans of the eastern tropical Pacific: A review

This paper is part of a comprehensive review of the oceanography of the eastern tropical Pacific, the oceanic region centered on the eastern Pacific warm pool, but also including the equatorial cold tongue and equatorial current system, and summarizes what is known about oceanographic influences on seabirds and cetaceans there. The eastern tropical Pacific supports on the order of 50 species of seabirds and 30 species of cetaceans as regular residents; these include four endemic species, the world’s largest populations for several others, three endemic sub-species, and a multi-species community that is relatively unique to this ecosystem. Three of the meso-scale physical features of the region are particularly significant to seabirds and cetaceans: the Costa Rica Dome for blue whales and short-beaked common dolphins, the Equatorial Front for planktivorous seabirds, and the countercurrent thermocline ridge for flocking seabirds that associate with mixed-species schools of spotted and spinner dolphins and yellowfin tuna. A few qualitative studies of meso- to macro-scale distribution patterns have indicated that some seabirds and cetaceans have species-specific preferences for surface currents. More common are associations with distinct water masses; these relationships have been quantified for a number of species using several different analytical methods. The mechanisms underlying tropical species–habitat relationships are not well understood, in contrast to a number of higher-latitude systems. This may be due to the fact that physical variables have been used as proxies for prey abundance and distribution in species–habitat research in the eastern tropical Pacific.Though seasonal and interannual patterns tend to be complex, species–habitat relationships appear to remain relatively stable over time, and distribution patterns co-vary with patterns of preferred habitat for a number of species. The interactions between seasonal and interannual variation in oceanographic conditions with seasonal patterns in the biology of seabirds and cetaceans may account for some of the complexity in species–habitat relationship patterns.Little work has been done to investigate effects of El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycles on cetaceans, and results of the few studies focusing on oceanic seabirds are complex and not easy to interpret. Although much has been made of the detrimental effects of El Niño events on apex predators, more research is needed to understand the magnitude, and even direction, of these effects on seabirds and cetaceans in space and time.     

海洋钢筋混凝土结构牺牲阳极保护系统电极行为的研究

于１９８９－１９９０年在室内条件下，用牺牲阳极保护浸泡于海水中的多种钢筋凝土试件测试不同试件中钢筋极化与阳极布局、涂层质量，涂层厚度及试件浸水情况的关系。结果表明，牺牲阳极能有效地保护全浸海水中的混凝土试件，对间断浸淋海水的试件也有一定的保护作用，通过改善阳极安装工艺，保护作用可望提高；电偶电流在各阴阳极上的分布将随涂层质量，涂层厚度和试件浸水情况不同而异，回路中电阻和电极极化情况是影响电流分布的     

Degradation in Cemented Marine Clay Subjected to Cyclic Compressive Loading

The influence of cyclic loading on the strength and deformation behavior of cemented marine clay has been studied. This marine clay is of recent Pleistocene origin and deposited in a shallow water marine environment. Open pits were dug in sheeted enclosures and from these pits, undisturbed samples were taken for strength testing. A series of standard triaxial shear tests and stress controlled one-way cyclic load tests were conducted at consolidation stress ranges below and above the preconsolidation pressure. For the stress levels below the preconsolidation pressure, the cyclic loading has brought about the collapse of the cementation bond through an increase in strains, and at higher pressure ranges, the soil behaves like typical soft clay. This experiment studied the rate of development of strain and pore water pressure and shows that rate is a function of number of cycles, applied stress, and stress history. In addition, soil degradation during cyclic loading is studied in terms of Degradation Index. Attempt has been made to predict stain, pore water pressure, and degradation index through an empirical model.     

海洋沉积样品~(14)C测年差异来源及其结果解释

~(14)C测年已为海洋研究工作广泛应用,但由于时有不合理取样或在运用数据时没有充分考虑各种海洋环境和动力因素,因而产生无法使用数据作合理解释的现象。本文试从海洋样品本身和海洋各种营力作用分析各种数据差异的来源,认为海洋环境特别是海岸带环境的复杂性是造成海洋样品~(14)C测年数据差异的主要原因,它可能影响样品的代表性或使数据解释时得出错误结论.并指出在运用年代结果时一定要充分考虑地质地理和各种营力作用因素。     

黑鲷和青石斑鱼对气泡幕反应的比较

在室内水池中观察了黑鲷（Ｓｐａｒｕｓｍａｃｒｏｃｅｐｈａｌｕｓ）和青石斑鱼（Ｅｐｉｎｅｐｈｅｌｕｓａｗｏａｒａ）对孔径０．５ｍｍ、孔距５．０ｃｍ，空气压力０．２５ｋｇ／ｃｍ２固定气泡幕的反应。结果表明，气泡幕对两种海水鱼都有显著的阻拦作用，平均阻拦率分别为黑鲷７５．１％、青石斑鱼８２．４％。分析显示，气泡幕对两种鱼的阻拦率间无显著差异。在本实验中，该两种鱼对气泡幕均无明显的适应现象     

锶诱导的氧化胁迫对叉鞭金藻(Dicrateria inornata)的影响

采用不同浓度的锶胁迫方法研究了叉鞭金藻生长、叶绿素、MDA含量及三种抗氧化酶SOD、CAT、GPX活性的变化。结果表明，在实验设计的各种Sr^2 浓度内叉鞭金藻均能生长，但Sr^2 浓度较高时生长受到不同程度的抑制，细胞数量比对照组分别减少15．9％和51．0％；叉鞭金藻中叶绿素含量随着Sr^2 浓度的升高而降低，呈负相关关系；叉鞭金藻中MDA含量在较低Sr^2 浓度下稍呈下降趋势，但与对照组相比并无显著差异，而在23．04mmol／L Sr^2 浓度时是对照的1．25倍；低Sr^2 浓度时，叉鞭金藻中蛋白质含量没有大的变化，当浓度超过5．76mmol／L时则引起蛋白质含量下降；叉鞭金藻中抗氧化酶SOD在低Sr^2 时分别降低12．5％、7．5％和9．5％，高Sr^2 时显著升高，为对照组的85．7％；CAT、GPX活性在低Sr^2 浓度时差别不大，但当浓度为23．04mmol／L时升高显著，比对照组分别增加了19．8％和74．4％。