The Baltic Sea environment and the European Union: Analysis of governance barriers

The EU enlargement brought the Baltic Sea into the sphere of EU environmental policymaking, making the sea, with the exception of Russia, an EU inland sea. Yet, the state of the Baltic Sea environment is deteriorating at an alarming pace. This paper describes the evolution of the EU governance of the Baltic Sea environment, focussing on governance barriers. The findings demonstrate how the choice of analytical lens influences the construction of governance barriers and the respective intervention strategies. Such understanding can help policy practitioners in their search for successful measures to improve the governance situation in the Baltic Sea region.     

Anchor loads in taut moorings: The impact of inverse catenary shakedown

Taut mooring systems have become prospective alternatives for the station keeping of offshore floating facilities in deep water. The associated embedded anchors cause a part of the mooring line to be buried in the seabed − the inverse catenary − which introduces a requirement to predict the load and uplift angle at the padeye, where the chain is connected to the anchor. The padeye load and angle depend on the shape and tension profile of the inverse catenary, which must be assessed in the mooring system design. The dynamic interaction between the embedded chain and the soil in the inverse catenary is not usually considered in this analysis. Instead, the inverse catenary is assessed statically, albeit potentially using cyclically-degraded soil strength parameters. The present study employs the lumped mass method to simulate the dynamic response of mooring lines under different imposed oscillations at the fairlead, where the chain is connected to the floating facility. A new chain-soil interaction model, which includes hysteresis effects associated with irrecoverable relative chain-soil displacement is calibrated by experimental results. Simulations of cyclic vessel motion are then performed, and the resulting chain-seabed interaction is observed. During constant-amplitude vessel motion cycles, the load angle at the padeye significantly decreases due to progressive ratcheting or ‘shakedown’ of the inverse catenary from the initial static profile towards a straighter profile. This effect is due to the hysteretic soil response and creates a less onerous loading condition for the anchor which may be beneficial, but is conventionally overlooked in design. At the end of the present study, an elastic bound method is proposed to estimate the profile of the inverse catenary after shakedown. A parametric study illustrates the performance of this simple method for predicting the steady state condition.     

Time-domain numerical and segmented ship model experimental analyses of hydroelastic responses of a large container ship in oblique regular waves

Real sea conditions are characterized by multidirectional sea waves. However, the prediction of hull load responses in oblique waves is a difficult problem due to numeral divergence. This paper focuses on the investigation of numerical and experimental methods of load responses of ultra-large vessels in oblique regular waves. A three dimensional nonlinear hydroelastic method is proposed. In order to numerically solve the divergence problem of time-domain motion equations in oblique waves, a proportional, integral and derivative (PID) autopilot model is applied. A tank model measurement methodology is used to conduct experiments for hydroelastic responses of a large container ship in oblique regular waves. To implement the tests, a segmented ship model and oblique wave testing system are designed and assembled. Then a series of tests corresponding to various wave headings are carried out to investigate the vibrational characteristics of the model. Finally, time-domain numerical simulations of the ship are carried out. The numerical analysis results by the presented method show good agreement with experimental results.     

Mapping the global value and distribution of coral reef tourism

Global coral reef related tourism is one of the most significant examples of nature-based tourism from a single ecosystem. Coral reefs attract foreign and domestic visitors and generate revenues, including foreign exchange earnings, in over 100 countries and territories. Understanding the full value of coral reefs to tourism, and the spatial distribution of these values, provides an important incentive for sustainable reef management. In the current work, global data from multiple sources, including social media and crowd-sourced datasets, were used to estimate and map two distinct components of reef value. The first component is local “reef-adjacent” value, an overarching term used to capture a range of indirect benefits from coral reefs, including provision of sandy beaches, sheltered water, food, and attractive views. The second component is “on-reef” value, directly associated with in-water activities such diving and snorkelling. Tourism values were estimated as a proportion of the total visits and spending by coastal tourists within 30 km of reefs (excluding urban areas). Reef-adjacent values were set as a fixed proportion of 10% of this expenditure. On-reef values were based on the relative abundance of dive-shops and underwater photos in different countries and territories. Maps of value assigned to specific coral reef locations show considerable spatial variability across distances of just a few kilometres. Some 30% of the world's reefs are of value in the tourism sector, with a total value estimated at nearly US$36 billion, or over 9% of all coastal tourism value in the world's coral reef countries.     

Declining Arctic Ocean oil and gas developments: Opportunities to improve governance and environmental pollution control

There has been global interest in the exploitation of rich hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic for decades. However, recent low oil prices, a low carbon economy climate agenda, and technical challenges of Arctic oil extraction have curbed interest in these Arctic resources. Despite a recent reluctance to explore and develop an offshore Arctic drilling industry, a resurgence in oil and gas prices could spark renewed interests that could pose unacceptable risks of pollution from oil spills. These risks are further compounded by complex governance and sovereignty issues between circumpolar nations. This paper (i) compares cycles of Arctic hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation activity with global energy prices; (ii) outlines current pollution abatement techniques under pan-Arctic national regulations to identify potential gaps; (iii) describes current international frameworks for Arctic governance to highlight how problems could arise if offshore oil drilling returns to the Arctic and associated spills migrate to international waters; and (iv) provides policy recommendations to aid both national and international policy-makers regarding pollution abatement methods for future Arctic drilling.     

海洋油气开发工程环境影响评价特点浅析

相比陆上油气开发工程和其他海洋工程而言,海洋油气开发工程有其自身的特点,海洋油气开发工程环境影响评价应关注的内容与其他工程有所不同。文章通过分析海洋油气开发工程的特点以及对环境影响的特点,提出海洋油气开发工程环境影响评价要点,即包括施工期悬浮泥沙及钻井液钻屑排放对海洋生态环境的影响、运营期含油生产水排放对海洋生态环境的影响、工程建设对海洋环境敏感目标的影响、溢油事故环境风险分析、污染防治及生态保护措施,并针对目前海洋油气开发工程环境影响评价存在的问题提出改进建议。     

辽宁海洋生态系统恶化的经济学阐释

文章在辨析和定义海洋生态系统概念的基础上,分析辽宁海洋生态系统的恶化态势,主要体现在过度捕捞导致的海洋生物资源衰退,陆源污染、养殖污染和油类污染导致的海洋水体环境污染以及填海造地和海岸侵蚀等导致的海岸生态系统弱化。进而,从公地悲剧理论、环境库兹涅茨理论、外部性理论和产权理论4个维度做出具体的经济学阐释,阐明海洋生态系统恶化态势与经济开发行为之间的关系。     

Evaluation of pullout load capacity of suction caissons in sand using a three-dimensional displacement approach

An investigation was conducted to obtain analytical solutions for the pullout behavior of a suction caisson undergoing inclined loads in sand. The inclined load is transformed into an equivalent load system in which the vertical, horizontal, and moment loads are applied on the center of the lid of the suction caisson. The vertical and lateral stiffness coefficients along the skirt of the suction caisson in sands are presented using the new three-dimensional elastic solutions taking into account the nonhomogeneous and nonlinear properties of the sand. The vertical, lateral, and rocking stiffness coefficients on the base of the suction caisson are presented considering the solutions of a hollow rigid cylindrical punch acting on the surface of a soil. The yield, pullout, and failure for sands with the nonhomogeneous and nonlinear characteristics are taken into consideration. The effects of the load inclination, the loading depth, and the aspect ratio on the pullout load capacity of the suction caisson are presented. Behaviour of the suction caisson in sand prior to failure is clarified from the relationship between tensile load, displacement, and rotation and that between depth, vertical pressure, and lateral pressure.     

Lateral dynamic response of a partially embedded pile subjected to combined loads in saturated soil

In this article, an analytical solution is proposed to investigate the lateral dynamic response of a pile which is partially embedded in saturated soil layer and subjected to combined lateral and vertical loads. The saturated soil is described by Biot’s poroelastic theory and the resistance of soil is derived by potential function method. The governing equation of the pile is solved by coupling soil resistance and continuity conditions between the pile and the soil. The dynamic impedances of the pile are then obtained through transfer matrix method. To verify the validity of the proposed procedure, the present solution is compared with available solution for an idealized case. Finally, a parametric study is performed to investigate the effects of various parameters on the stiffness and damping properties of the pile-soil system. It is found that permeability of the soil and vertical load has significant effects on the dynamic response of the pile.     

移动荷载作用下非均匀地基的动力响应分析

基于线弹性动力学理论,结合坐标变换,建立了移动荷载作用下非均匀弹性半平面地基的动力控制方程,利用半解析法研究了移动荷载作用下二维非均匀地基的动力响应问题。采用傅里叶（Fourier）级数展开,假设了响应函数的级数形式,通过理论推导获得了剪切模量随深度任意变化的非均匀地基在移动荷载作用下各物理量的解析表达式。考虑土体的剪切模量沿厚度方向按幂函数梯度变化,通过数值算例分析并讨论了地基非均匀参数、荷载移动速度以及地基表面的剪切模量等对地基力学响应的影响规律,并与均质地基的计算结果进行了比较。数值结果表明：地基中各点的竖向位移随着土体表面剪切模量和表征土体非均匀性的梯度因子的增大而减小,随着荷载移动速度的增大而增大。在移动荷载作用下,非均匀地基与均匀地基的动力响应有着显著的区别。