A two-dimensional morphological model based on next generation circulation solver II: Application to Caofeidian, Bohai Bay, China

This paper is a companion of a two-part papers on the development of a two-dimensional morphological model—CurWaC2D-Sed, based on next generation circulation solver. In this paper, the model developed in paper I is applied to the large-scale construction of near-harbor industrial zone with deep water harbor by reclamation in Caofeidian, Bohai Bay, which is a typical sandbar-lagoon bay-type tidal inlet system. Characteristics of tides, currents, waves and sediments in Caofeidian are firstly analyzed with field data from comprehensive field observations carried out in 2008. These data are then used for model calibration and validation, showing a good agreement between simulated results and field measurements for tides, currents and suspended sediments. The verified model is applied to study the effects of the construction of Caofeidian embankment and the on-going engineering scheme on hydrodynamics and sediment transports as compared with no constructions under three representative tide conditions and their combinations with normal and strong waves as well as on morphology evolution. The simulated results indicate that the present scheme leads to morphological changes in Caofeidian with acceptable rates of erosion and sedimentation. However, some attentions should be paid to erosion at offshore wharf in front of Caofedian foreland which may lead to potentially increasing landslide risks due to steep slope and sedimentation in Laogonggou creek.     

Missing the boat: Critical threats to coral reefs are neglected at global scale

Coral reefs have experienced a global decline due to overfishing, pollution, and warming oceans that are becoming increasingly acidic. To help halt and reverse this decline, interventions should be aimed at those threats reef experts and managers identify as most severe. The survey included responses from 170 managers, representing organizations from 50 countries and territories, and found that respondents generally agreed on the two major threats: overfishing and coastal development. However, resource allocation did not match this consensus on major threats. In particular, while overfishing receives much attention, coastal development and its attendant pollution are largely neglected and underfunded. These results call for a re-examination of how resources are allocated in coral reef conservation, with more attention given to aligning how money is spent with what are perceived to be the primary threats.     

Anoxia over the western continental shelf of India: bacterial indications of intrinsic nitrification feeding denitrification

Studies on the Arabian Sea coastal anoxia have been of immense interest, but despite its ecological significance there is sparse understanding of the microbes involved. Hence, observations were carried out off Goa (15 degrees 30'N, 72 degrees 40'E to 15 degrees 30'N, 72 degrees 59'E) to understand the processes that mediate the changes in various inorganic nitrogen species in the water column during anoxia. Water column chemistry showed a clear distinct oxic environment in the month of April and anoxic condition in October. Our study based on microbial signatures indicated that oxygen deficit appeared as a well-defined nucleus almost 40 km away from the coast during the oxic period (April) and spreads there after to the entire water column synchronizing with the water chemistry. Striking results of net changes in inorganic nitrogen species in nitrification blocked and unblocked experimental systems show that denitrification is the predominant process in the water column consuming available nitrate ( approximately 0.5 microM) to near zero levels within approximately 72 h of incubation. These observations have been supported by concomitant increase in nitrite concentration ( approximately 4 microM). Similar studies on denitrification-blocked incubations, demonstrate the potential of nitrification to feed denitrification. Nitrification could contribute almost 4.5 microM to the total nitrate pool. It was found that the relation between ammonium and total dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) pool (r=0.98, p<0.001, n=122) was significant compared to the latter with nitrite and nitrate. The occurrence of high ammonium under low phosphate conditions corroborates our observations that ammonium does not appear to be locked under low oxygen regimes. It is suggested that ammonium actively produced by detrital breakdown (ammonification) is efficiently consumed through nitrification process. The three processes in concert viz. ammonification, nitrification and denitrification appear to operate in more temporal and spatial proximity than hitherto appreciated in these systems and this gives additional cues on the absence of measurable nitrate at surface waters, which was earlier attributed only to efficient algal uptake. Hence we hypothesize that the alarming nitrous oxide input into the atmosphere could be due to high productivity driven tighter nitrification-denitrification coupling, rather than denitrification driven by extraneous nitrate.     

Conservation Priority Index for Estuarine Fish (COPIEF)

Public awareness regarding environmental issues has increased in recent decades. The increasing number of impact assessment studies, management and conservation plans, as well as ecological monitoring studies, demand new and more efficient techniques. Indices are an important tool to aid biologists in these studies and should allow an easier comprehension of the data by managers, decision-makers and the general public. This study presents the first multi-metrical index able to establish a hierarchical ordination of the conservation priority of the estuarine fish species using 72 species from 16 estuarine systems (W and S coasts of Portugal). The index is composed of 10 metrics, comprising species life traits, distribution and population trends. The information needed to score each metric was gathered from the published literature and the index validation was done by external means. This methodology allowed the definition of those fish species most in need of conservation planning, and those less prone to extinction in Portuguese estuarine systems. The proposed index fills a gap in our knowledge and provides a useful tool to the scientific community and to the decision-makers, being a breakthrough in the field of conservation planning of estuarine fish species.     

Relevance of systems approaches for implementing Integrated Coastal Zone Management principles in Europe

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) development is described here in the broader context of European coastal management initiatives. The European approach to coastal governance revolves around the principles of ICZM, as enshrined in EC Recommendation 2002/413/EC. This study investigates the extent to which the FP6 funded project SPICOSA (Science Policy Integration for Coastal Systems Assessment) was able to implement these principles. The SPICOSA project aimed to test whether it was possible to develop and implement a systems approach framework via delivery of a structured engagement process between scientists and policymakers. A survey of representatives from 14 European study sites involved in the project revealed that the approach had been effective at implementing some ICZM principles, particularly the “holistic approach”. However, not all principles were fully implemented at all sites and the most challenging to implement was that of “a long term approach”. The paper concludes with a critical consideration of the role of a systems approach framework in progressing the current state of intellectual assent towards practical implementation of ICZM principles. The findings provide evidence of contributions and limitations of systems approaches to sustainability science and good governance.     

Coping with disaster: Rehabilitating coastal livelihoods and communities

This paper examines lessons from past approaches to natural disasters, as well as early lessons from the post-2004 Asian tsunami rehabilitation, to draw out general principles for rehabilitating livelihoods in poor coastal communities. We contend that avoiding the mistakes of the past requires: (1) a framework for understanding the diversity of coastal people's livelihood strategies and the sources of their vulnerability, (2) a process for designing interventions that build on this understanding in order to strengthen and revitalize coastal communities, including a means of assessing and selecting the most promising livelihood options, and (3) a focus on the longer-term challenge of building future resilience and sustainability in the communities by addressing the root causes of vulnerability.     

Nutrients and zooplankton composition and dynamics in relation to the hydrological pattern in a confined Mediterranean salt marsh (NE Iberian Peninsula)

The role of the hydrological regime in the nutrients and zooplankton composition and dynamics has been analysed in five lagoons of La Pletera salt marshes (NE Iberian Peninsula) during a complete hydrological cycle (2002–2003). Two of the lagoons have their origin in the old river mouths while the other three were recently created in the framework of a Life Restoration project. This fact has also allowed us to study the effect of the lagoon age on nutrient and zooplankton composition and dynamics. The salt marsh hydrology is determined by a prolonged period of confinement without water inputs, irregularly interrupted by sudden water inputs due to flooding events (sea storms or intense rainfalls). While the dynamics of oxidized nitrogen compounds in the lagoons depends on the water inputs variability within each hydrological cycle, the internal load of phosphorus, total nitrogen and organic matter is related more to the cumulative mechanisms during the confinement periods. Accumulation processes may be easily related to lagoon age, since old lagoons have higher content of nutrients and organic matter, suggesting that these lagoons progressively accumulate nutrients during the successive confinement events. This is the usual case for most Mediterranean salt marshes without an artificially manipulated water regime. The zooplankton community in La Pletera integrates the effects of both the hydrological regime and the lagoon age since the former determines the temporal pattern of the main zooplankton species and the latter explains differences in composition and structure between old and new lagoons.     

Heterogeneous Gravity Data Fusion and Gravimetric Quasigeoid Computation in the Coastal Area of China

ABSTRACT

Different types of gravity observations are available over coastal areas. The main challenge for coastal geoid determination is the proper fusion of heterogeneous gravity data including land, shipborne, airborne, and altimetry-derived gravity data. This paper describes the gravity data fusion and the computation of the gravimetric quasigeoid in the coastal area of mainland China. An iterative procedure of the weighted least-squares prediction based on rectangular harmonic functions is used for merging the land, altimetric, shipborne, and airborne gravity data. Applying the analytical continuation method in Molodensky's theoretic frame, the merged gravity data are then used to determine the gravimetric quasigeoid model by using the generalized Stokes' integral in a remove-compute-restore fashion. The gravimetric quasigeoid model is compared with the height anomalies determined at 662 GPS leveling points over the coastal region of mainland China, where both the geodetic height and the normal height are known. The standard deviations of the differences in the coastal provinces range from 1.8 to 4.4 cm. For the entire computation area, the mean and standard deviation of the differences are 27.9 and 3.9 cm, respectively.     

Marine management for human development: A review of two decades of scholarly evidence

This paper reviews the evidence of the impacts of marine management interventions on human development and well-being reported in marine management literature in the past two decades. Documents dealing with fisheries, aquaculture, marine conservation and coastal zone management are assessed in terms of the methodologies used, the human development dimensions considered, and the results reported. The choice of dimensions for defining human development in this literature is contrasted with proposals from the literature on the capability and human development approaches. Possible areas for future research are discussed.     

Editorial: Reflections from Ireland

Responses of governance systems to change in coastal and marine ecosystems vary from country to country around the globe. Lessons can be learned from country specific case studies, as national governments strive to adapt and respond to issues of concern. This short paper highlights the benefits of a country-specific, special edition of Marine Policy, with a focus on Ireland. Despite the uniqueness of socio-ecological setting, many of the issues faced by policy makers in Ireland, such as the reconciliation of economic development and conservation needs, are shared elsewhere. This special edition was produced at the end of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ in Ireland. As a result, it reflects an era when economic development was very much a priority. The same period represented an unparalleled investment in marine science since the foundation of the State in 1922. Despite this, the papers in the Special Edition point to varying degrees of progress in policy integration and implementation. Papers covering a range of sectors (fisheries, ocean energy, conservation and fisheries) and disciplines (economics, science and management) will be of interest to academics, policy makers, students and practitioners of marine policy.