The International GPS Service tracking network: Enabling diverse studies and projects through international cooperation

The International GPS Service (IGS), formulated beginning in 1989 and formalized in 1994, was founded on the collaborative operation of approximately 30 permanent GPS stations to benefit global geodynamics. The same cooperative principles, today applied to a network of over 300 stations, still serve to maximize global benefit without unnecessary duplication of investment in global infrastructure. The scope of applications of the dataset has grown to include atmospheric, oceanographic, subdaily, and low-earth orbiter activities through working groups and pilot projects fostered within the IGS in the now traditional IGS spirit of collaboration. These activities and the IGS infrastructure are viewed as critical elements to the Global Geodetic Observing System. This presentation will review the present nature of the IGS tracking network and its ability to support new applications.     

Spatialising the Melanesian Canarium industry: Understanding economic upgrading in an emerging industry among three Pacific small island states

This paper examines economic upgrading in the Canarium indicum (Canarium) nut industry in Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Canarium is a tree that is indigenous to Melanesia, and has been the subject of several commercialisation attempts since 1988. The paper assesses the outcomes to various actors in the Canarium supply chain from attempts to upgrade industry products and processes by: (1) increasing the available resource in suitable locations; (2) improving nut products and processing techniques; (3) increasing actors’ knowledge and supply chain coordination; and (4) establishing product standards. A two-phase data generation process was implemented. Document analysis and participant observations of industry workshops initiated a set of four economic upgrading interventions that were adaptively implemented. A second stage of workshops and 76 interviews enabled outcomes to be assessed at the project’s end. Findings suggest that a small number of urban-based entrepreneurs benefit and subsequently are lead actors in industry development, but at the expense of benefits being distributed to a larger, more spatially disparate group of smallholder and small commercial growers. These economic upgrading outcomes are circumscribed by core-periphery relations in Pacific small island states and the scale of industry in each country. Thus, spatial inequalities are reproduced through the emerging Canarium industries. We argue that different routes to industry development are required in each country. Development initiatives that capitalise on the benefits of micro-enterprise clusters, joint action and regional institutional arrangements are proposed to overcome the impediments imposed by the particular geographies of Pacific island states.     

Re-conceptualizing the Anthropocene: A call for collaboration

Since it was first proposed in 2000, the concept of the Anthropocene has evolved in breadth and diversely. The concept encapsulates the new and unprecedented planetary-scale changes resulting from societal transformations and has brought to the fore the social drivers of global change. The concept has revealed tensions between generalized interpretations of humanity’s contribution to global change, and interpretations that are historically, politically and culturally situated. It motivates deep ethical questions about the politics and economics of global change, including diverse interpretations of past causes and future possibilities. As such, more than other concepts, the Anthropocene concept has brought front-and-center epistemological divides between and within the natural and social sciences, and the humanities. It has also brought new opportunities for collaboration. Here we explore the potential and challenges of the concept to encourage integrative understandings of global change and sustainability. Based on bibliometric analysis and literature review, we discuss the now wide acceptance of the term, its interpretive flexibility, the emerging narratives as well as the debates the concept has inspired. We argue that without truly collaborative and integrative research, many of the critical exchanges around the concept are likely to perpetuate fragmented research agendas and to reinforce disciplinary boundaries. This means appreciating the strengths and limitations of different knowledge domains, approaches and perspectives, with the concept of the Anthropocene serving as a bridge, which we encourage researchers and others to cross. This calls for institutional arrangements that facilitate collaborative research, training, and action, yet also depends on more robust and sustained funding for such activities. To illustrate, we briefly discuss three overarching global change problems where novel types of collaborative research could make a difference: (1) Emergent properties of socioecological systems; (2) Urbanization and resource nexus; and (3) Systemic risks and tipping points. Creative tensions around the Anthropocene concept can help the research community to move toward new conceptual syntheses and integrative action-oriented approaches that are needed to producing useful knowledge commensurable with the challenges of global change and sustainability.     

The international legal framework for the management of the global oceans social-ecological system

This paper evaluates the international agreements in place for the protection of the environment and the regulation of human activities taking place in world's oceans and seas. 500 multilateral agreements were reviewed against a framework of reference, grounded on the theoretical approaches of Adaptive Management and Transition Management. According to this framework, oceans complex systems management should: (1) consider the global oceans as a Social-Ecological System (SES); (2) aim to achieve or maintain their ecological resilience; and (3) implement iterative, learning-based management strategies, supported by science-based advice to policy and management. The results show that the present international legal framework for the global oceans does not require countries to adopt an adaptive, complex systems approach for global oceans ecological resilience. Instead, this study supports the perspective of a double fragmentation among international agreements. First, global agreements focus on issue-based objectives for determined human activities, ecological components or anthropogenic pressures. Second, regional agreements have a wider scope, but also a varying level of inclusion of ecological resilience considerations. There is the need to foster the inclusion of such an approach into existing and future international agreements and their implementation, including through soft-law, project-based initiatives at global and regional scales.     

地磁匹配特征量的选择

论文旨在选择合适的地磁特征量用于匹配制导.从地磁匹配的实际要求出发,提出了选择匹配特征量时应重点考虑的几个因素,通过理论分析初步拟定了选取准则,并针对特定区域,依据IGRF(International Geomagnetic Reference Field)和WMM(World Magnetic Model)计算出的地磁数据,结合选取准则进行了综合分析,给出了初选结果,对地磁匹配基准图的制备、实时图的获取、匹配算法的研究,以及地磁场资源应用于其他领域的相关研究有一定的借鉴意义.     

Econometric analysis of the ship demolition market

The topic of ship recycling has obtained considerable attention during the last two decades for a variety of reasons with the likelihood of the adoption of a new international convention under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This study applies econometric modeling to a unique data set to provide insight into the dynamics of the ship recycling market. The data set contains information on 51,112 ships over 100 gt and includes 748,621 events over a period of 29 years. The analysis confirms a negative relationship of earnings and a positive relationship of scrap prices for all locations while Bangladesh seems to be more sensitive to changes in earnings than the other locations and more likely demolishes larger and older vessels. The results for flag and ownership vary across scrapping locations with Malta and Cyprus indicating potential importance from a registry perspective. The overall safety profile of a vessel seems to be less important towards the probability of a ship being scrapped. Possible implementation of the convention at EU level will mostly likely affect Turkey while non-ratification of one of the major flags will most likely affect China or Bangladesh.     

第二亚欧大陆桥的构成及其国际环境

本文将第二亚欧大陆桥描述为欧洲联盟网与中国东部网之间的连接,据此描绘了欧洲联盟网和中国东部网的构成,分析了亚洲、尤其是中亚地区围绕交通运输的国际合作形势和生态环境状况,阐述了泛欧洲交通与环境合作的内容和进程.     

基于卫星遥感数据的森林病虫害监测与评价

森林病虫害由于在森林资源中造成的重大破坏而被人们称为“不冒烟的火灾”,其对生态系统的研究具有重要意义。现有基于遥感数据的病虫害研究多集中在森林病虫害的监测、爆发原因以及发病区域内生产力的变化情况,而对于森林病虫害发生后森林中植被指数与叶面积指数之间的相关性的变化情况还相对较少,处于需要持续性深入探讨的阶段。以加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚地区2002—2012年森林病虫害数据为基础,分析不同严重程度的病虫害对叶面积指数（LAI）与归一化植被指数（NDVI）和增强型植被指数（EVI）的影响。结果表明：① 受病虫害感染的像元在轻度（Light）、中度（Moderate）和重度（Severe）三个严重级别中,NDVI与LAI之间的相关性由弱变强,又由强变弱;② EVI与LAI之间的相关性,在轻度（Light）、中度（Moderate）和重度（Severe）三个严重级别的像元中则依次变强。这一研究将为今后利用遥感数据识别病虫害、评价生态系统影响提供基础。     

基于连岛沙坝原理设计的海滩排水管头地貌稳定性研究

海滩排水管建设对海滩环境影响较大。以厦门会展中心连岛沙坝式排水管头工程影响海滩演变为例,研究连岛沙坝式海滩排水管头对海滩地形稳定性和沉积的影响。1)通过对研究区连岛沙坝式管头附近海滩10条剖面进行分析,研究管头附近海滩滩肩宽度、滩面坡度和单宽留存沙量等剖面形态变化特征。测量数据分析表明,无管头保护滩面高程降低,滩面坡度总体变陡,滩肩蚀退严重;受管头保护滩面高程上升,坡度变缓,滩肩宽度略有减小,剖面单宽沙量留存比例大于1。2)2012-2016年多期岸线及管头边界线变化结果表明,工程施工后,排水管身始终被沙体覆盖,一年后部分管头被沙体覆盖,最终管头被覆盖率稳定在70%以上。3)会展管头附近海滩潮上带和高潮带沉积物自北向南运移,低潮带则相反;潮上带和中潮带上部沉积物从管头所在"连岛沙坝"向两侧海滩输移,而低潮带和中潮带下部输移方向相反。沉积物粒径由岸向海逐渐变粗,越靠近管头,沉积物粒径呈变细趋势。最后讨论了引起管头局部海滩地形地貌变化的主要因素。     

我国海洋战略性新兴产业国际化发展研究

海洋战略性新兴产业的国际化发展对于建设海洋强国和发展海洋经济具有重要的理论和实际意义。文章分析我国海洋战略性新兴产业国际化起步晚和发展快、产业结构不断完善和区域发展水平存在差异的发展状况,提出目前存在的缺乏区域协调配合和交流合作以及政府支持政策亟须细化等主要问题,探索区域差异化发展模式、产业技术创新联盟合作模式、多元化投融资模式和国际合作模式等海洋战略性新兴产业国际化发展模式,在此基础上提出优化产业结构和布局、完善发展体制机制、加强国际交流合作、加强资金投入和人才培养以及强化示范项目建设的对策建议。