An index to assess maritime importance in the European Atlantic economy

Successive marine policies set by the European Union identify the maritime sectors as crucial drivers for growth and jobs in the EU economy. The design of marine policies and the assessment of the importance of the maritime economy need empirical support that provides the basic data to help the decision-making process. This paper proposes a metric, in the form of a synthetic index, to measure and compare the importance of the maritime sectors in the European Atlantic area. The index scores can be used to assess the position of each Atlantic region so that it is possible to compare its performance to the rest of the area. The results show the relative weight of the maritime sectors in the European Atlantic regions and the high heterogeneity among them. Analyzing the maritime economy with this index can provide guidance for the design of economic policies to identify and revitalize the regions with greater potential for Blue Growth in the Atlantic area. This may help to put into perspective the importance of the maritime economy and can serve to improve the socio-economic dimension of the use of marine waters.     

Organizations: INMARSAT: improving maritime communications

Improving maritime communications is the raison d'être of INMARSAT, of which 40 countries are now members. INMARSAT operates the world's only commercial satellite system devoted to international mobile communications. This article describes the system and the services which can be provided through it, and covers the policy issues of interest to INMARSAT. It concludes by considering the future of maritime mobile communications via satellite.     

The geopolitical dimension of maritime security

This article discusses the geopolitical dimension of maritime security, which has been neglected by scholars despite the growing number of studies devoted to a variety of aspects related to maritime security. The first step consists in clarifying the definitions of the two concepts; ‘geopolitics’ and ‘maritime security’. Then the article introduces the geopolitical dimension of maritime security from a conceptual perspective, and then analyses three practical examples of maritime security geo-strategies released in 2014. The results demonstrate that states’ and international institutions’ maritime security objectives and interests are indirectly and directly influenced by geographical and geopolitical considerations, although this link is only tacitly acknowledged in official documents. Scholars and practitioners interested in maritime security are encouraged to further engage with this dimension.     

CLIMATOLOGICAL LOW-FREQUENCY OSCILLATION OF OLR OVER THE MARITIME CONTINENT WITH ITS POSSIBLE LINKAGE TO SUMMER PRECIPITATION IN CHINA

Using the 1979-2009 NCEP/NACR reanalysis data and precipitation records in East China, research is performed of the climatological features of low-frequency oscillation (LFO) in OLR over the Maritime Continent (MC) as well as their associations with precipitation disturbance in the eastern part of China. Results suggest that in the MC there is significant climatological low-frequency oscillation (CLFO) in outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR), with the intraseasonal oscillation (30-60 days) being the strongest for April-September, and the MC acting as a high-value region of percentage contributions of low-frequency OLR variance. On the low-frequency time scale there occur four events of more intense active OLR during this time interval. In the January-April (May-August) phase, MC convection is relatively weak (vigorous). The CLFO makes pronounced eastward displacement at tropics, with phase propagation seen longitudinally, too. There occur low-frequency disturbance circulations similar to the EAP wavetrain or P-J teleconnection, starting from the MC via the South China Sea and the Philippines to the Yangtze valley of China. At different phases, the variation in the low-frequency circulations and heating fields shows that the rainfall disturbance in eastern China is likely to be under possible effects of the CLFO from the MC in April-September, and the low-frequency heating variation exhibits a meridional pattern as an EAP wavetrain or P-J teleconnection. As the OLR CLFO is in a peak (valley) phase the low-level divergence or convergence with the reversal at high levels over the MC is related to relatively feeble (robust) low frequency convection, thereby exciting an EAP or P-J wavetrain from the MC to the Sea of Japan. At the higher levels, the South-Asian high is eastward (westward) of normal due to effects of low-frequency cyclones (anticyclones), resulting in less (more) rainfall in the Jiangnan (areas in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze and to the south of the river) and Hetao (the Great Bend of Yellow River) areas, and increased (decreased) rainfall in SW China, Qinghai Plateau and Gansu. At the conversion phases, low-frequency convection becomes more active in parts of the MC, consequently exciting low-frequency wavetrain of cyclones-anticyclones-cyclones at low levels, making the South-Asian high southward of the mean, so that strong convergent zones emerge in the upper and middle Yangtze basins and Jilin of NE China, responsible for plentiful precipitation there in sharp contrast to the rainfall over the band between the Yellow and Huaihe Rivers and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. These results help understand in depth the climatological LFO characteristics and the phase-locked feature, thereby further improving our understanding of the causes of rainfall disturbances in different parts of the country.     

A laboratory simulation of rock breakdown due to freeze-thaw in a maritime Antarctic environment

Results of freeze-thaw simulations on three large blocks of quartz-micaschist are presented. Three types of water to ice phase change were identified from temperature and ultrasonic measurements. It is suggested that the type of phase change results from a particular combination of rock moisture content, solute concentration, freeze amplitude, and rate of fall of temperature. The temperature at which ice thawed inside the rock (?0.7 to ?1.9°C) was also found, and this indicates the possibility of freeze-thaw effects without positive temperatures. Approximately 80 per cent of the water that will freeze under natural conditions, in the Maritime Antarctic environment under study, appears to have done so by ?6°.     

我国海洋意识教育探究

我国作为海洋大国,拥有广阔的海域和丰富的海洋资源。在全球海洋布局的时代背景下,加快海洋强国建设成为重中之重。国家开展海洋强国建设需要全民海洋意识的全面提升,由此海洋意识教育显得尤为重要。文章根据多年工作经验,从各方面研究数据出发,分析了海洋意识教育的含义以及加强海洋意识教育的重要性。根据我国国民海洋意识调查的现状,从基础教育、高等教育和大众宣传等方面提出了加强海洋意识教育的举措建议。最终得出应加强我国海洋意识教育,建设过硬的海洋人才队伍,以社会主义核心价值观为导向,加快我国海洋强国建设的步伐。     

Performance of GNSS-R GLORI data for biomass estimation over the Landes forest

The Above-Ground Biomass (AGB) is a key parameter used for the modeling of the carbon cycle. The aim of this study is to make an experimental assessment of the sensitivity of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflected signals to forest AGB. This is based on the analysis of the data recorded during several GLORI airborne campaigns in June and July 2015, over the Landes Forest (France). Ground truth measurements of tree height, density and diameter at breast height (DBH), as well as AGB, were carried out for 100 maritime pine forest plots of various ages. The GNSS-R data were used to obtain the right-left (Γ_RL) and right-right (Γ_RR) reflectivity observables, which are geo-referenced in accordance with the known positions of relevant GPS satellites and the airborne receiver. The correlations between forest AGB and the GNSS-R observables yield the highest sensitivity at high elevation angles (70°-90°). In this case, for (Γ_RL) and the reflectivity polarization ratio (PR = Γ_RL/Γ_RR) estimated with a coherent integration time Tc = 20 ms, the coefficients of determination R² are equal to 0.67 and 0.51, with a sensitivity of −0.051 dB/[10⁶g (Mg) ha⁻¹], and −0.053 dB/[Mg ha⁻¹], respectively. The relationships between AGB and the observables are confirmed through the use of a 5-fold cross validation approach, with several different coherent integration times.     

海洋强国战略下涉海大学生海洋领域就业研究

当代涉海专业大学生是建设海洋强国、实现国家发展战略的关键接班人和后备军。文章围绕某高校涉海大学生展开调查发现,海洋领域就业意向与专业满意度、家人的态度、实习经历等显著相关;影响择业的主要因素是收入和地域。文章提出,传播海洋强国战略、加强理想信念教育,弘扬海洋精神、培育敬业奉献素质,深化校企合作、拓宽海洋领域实习实践,细化职业规划、精准开展就业指导等途径,有助于培养和输送涉海大学生服务海洋战略、投身海洋重点领域就业。     

我国依港管船机制探究

"依港管船"制度的提出是我国对渔船管理模式的探索和创新,也是贯彻落实党的十九大精神,推进海洋生态文明的重要举措。文章通过对"依港管船"制度内涵与外延的阐述,从"依港管船"制度的法理基础与现实需求角度入手,研究其合理性与必要性。并且对国外港口建设与船舶管理制度进行分析,总结出目前日本、美国、韩国、德国等国家实施"依港管船"制度的相似性及主要差异,为我国"依港管船"制度的完善与实施提供了参照。并给出了完善"依港管船"以及"渔港生态"立法;明晰渔港产权制度;强化渔船管理制度建设;建立主管部门驻港管理机制;实行部门执法联动等对策建议。     

“21世纪海上丝绸之路”的海洋环境研究——印度洋海表风速变化趋势

文章利用ERA-40海表10m风场,采用一元线性回归方法,计算印度洋海表风速在45年间(1957年9月至2002年8月)的逐年变化趋势,为"21世纪海上丝绸之路"建设、海上风能开发和全球气候变化研究等提供科学依据。研究表明:海表风速呈显著性逐年递增的区域主要分布于25°S—10°N的海域和南半球咆哮西风带所控制的海域,递增趋势为0.01~0.035m·s-1·a-1,仅零星海域呈显著性递减趋势,其余海域的海表风速无显著变化趋势;南、北印度洋的海表风速分别以0.010 2m·s-1·a-1和0.004 7m·s-1·a-1的速度显著性逐年线性递增,年平均海表风速分别在7.5m·s-1左右和5.2m·s-1左右;南、北印度洋存在共同的2.6~2.7a和5.2a的变化周期以及26a以上的长周期变化,且海表风速的突变期分别为1989年和1978—1980年。