Biologically induced modification of seawater viscosity in the Eastern English Channel during a Phaeocystis globosa spring bloom

To identify the potential relationship between Pheaocystis globosa bloom conditions and seawater properties, a hydrobiological survey was performed in the inshore waters of the Eastern English Channel over the course of the phytoplankton spring bloom. Chlorophyll concentration, auto- and hetero/mixotrophic composition of protists and standing stock, and seawater viscosity were measured weekly from March to June 2004. The decline of the bloom is characterized by a massive foam formation in the turbulent surf zone. Before foam formation, seawater viscosity significantly increased, showing a significant positive correlation with chlorophyll concentration. In contrast, after foam formation this correlation was negative, seawater viscosity kept increasing despite a sharp decrease in chlorophyll concentrations. No significant correlation has been found between seawater viscosity and the composition of the phytoplankton assemblages observed during the survey. However, significant positive correlations have been found between seawater viscosity and both the size and the abundance of P. globosa colonies. From the correlation patterns observed between chlorophyll concentration and seawater viscosity, we suggest that the rheological properties of seawater are mainly driven by extracellular materials associated with colony formation and maintenance rather than by cell composition and standing stock.     

An environmental assessment of air traffic speed constraints in the departure phase of flight: A case study at Gothenburg Landvetter Airport,Sweden

This paper considers the environmental effects of air traffic management speed constraints during the departure phase of flight. We present a CO₂ versus noise trade-off study that compares aircraft departure procedures subject to speed constraints with a free speed scenario. A departure route at Gothenburg Landvetter Airport in Sweden is used as a case study and the analysis is based on airline flight recorded data extracted from the Airbus A321 aircraft. Results suggest that CO₂ emissions could be reduced by 180 kg per flight if all departure speed constraints were removed at a cost of increased noise exposure below 70 dB(A).     

The economics of conventional liner break-bulk cargo-handling efficiency

In this paper the authors, after examining the relationships between cargo handling performance of break-bulk cargo and ship and cargo related variables, demonstrate that systematic relationships exist in general cargo systems despite the many variables that affect handling operations.     

The economics of conventional liner break-bulk cargo-handling efficiency

In this paper the authors, after examining the relationships between cargo handling performance of break-bulk cargo and ship and cargo related variables, demonstrate that systematic relationships exist in general cargo systems despite the many variables that affect handling operations.     

The lost waterfront of New York

Abstract

No integrated municipal policy exists for managing the New York City waterfront. Despite much rhetoric and many proposals to renew the city's coast, the municipal government has done little to improve the city's coastal shoreline. External organizations and citizens’ groups have been largely responsible for efforts to improve the use of the city's coastal resources. This article assesses the role of the city government and analyzes the factors affecting its performance in coastal management. It proposes new policies to foster local initiatives and encourages private and public cooperation in the revitalization of the coast. Given the size and diversity of the city's coast, an incremental strategy may be the most feasible and sensible approach to recapture the city's lost waterfront.     

Towards a seascape topology II: Zipf analysis of one-dimensional patterns

Large temporal and spatial data series are increasingly available and easy to produce. This paper uses Zipf analysis to evaluate serial data sets from the HOTS, BATS, EquaPac and high-resolution vertical profiles of FluoroMAP. Zipf analysis produced Zipf exponents from best-fit lines that permitted comparison among data sets. It allows comparison of one-dimensional series despite differences in scale and missing data. Zipf exponents ranged from 0.043 to 0.83. Serial data with sampling intervals of milliseconds and months showed exponents that ranged around 0.3. To the extent that Zipf exponents measure structure and variation, the indication is that structure of distributions is similar over millimeters and hundreds of kilometers. Zipf analysis provides a means to quantify similarities and differences, and suggests that variation is linked across many length scales for phytoplankton.     

Towards a seascape typology. I. Zipf versus Pareto laws

Two data analysis methods, referred to as the Zipf and Pareto methods, initially introduced in economics and linguistics two centuries ago and subsequently used in a wide range of fields (word frequency in languages and literature, human demographics, finance, city formation, genomics and physics), are described and proposed here as a potential tool to classify space–time patterns in marine ecology. The aim of this paper is, first, to present the theoretical bases of Zipf and Pareto laws, and to demonstrate that they are strictly equivalent. In that way, we provide a one-to-one correspondence between their characteristic exponents and argue that the choice of technique is a matter of convenience. Second, we argue that the appeal of this technique is that it is assumption-free for the distribution of the data and regularity of sampling interval, as well as being extremely easy to implement. Finally, in order to allow marine ecologists to identify and classify any structure in their data sets, we provide a step by step overview of the characteristic shapes expected for Zipf's law for the cases of randomness, power law behavior, power law behavior contaminated by internal and external noise, and competing power laws illustrated on the basis of typical ecological situations such as mixing processes involving non-interacting and interacting species, phytoplankton growth processes and differential grazing by zooplankton.     

Impact of offshore oil and gas development on the coastal zone: Reforming the impact assessment process

In an otherwise complex regulatory system, the federal Environmental Impact Statement process affords local decision makers and coastal zone residents a rare opportunity to analyze the comprehensive range of land‐use and environmental issues that may arise from Offshore Continental Shelf (OCS) hydrocarbon development, while there is still time to formulate effective management strategies. As exemplified by the lease sale 40 statements, present onshore impact assessment procedures are sufficiently flawed to seriously compromise this goal. Critical deficiencies include failure to emphasize onshore impacts; insensitivity to spatial variations of impact; neglect of available data; rigid, unsupported assumptions; and preoccupation with short‐trm effects to the exclusion of more significant and dependent long‐term consequences. Suggested reforms include preparation of separate exploration and development impact statements; establishment of special Council on Environmental Quality review procedures; modification of the judicial review process; and provision of additional support to local onshore OCS impact areas.     

Phytoplankton patch patterns: Seascape anatomy in a turbulent ocean

Marine phytoplankton experience competition, predation, infection and aggregation occurring across distances of micrometres to centimetres. However, the consequences of these interactions influence global processes, such as climate and fisheries productivity. There is a long-standing default assumption that these global processes cannot be traced to plankton distributions and interactions below a few metres because of the homogenising effect of turbulence [Hutchinson, G.E., 1961. The paradox of the plankton. Am. Nat. 95, 137–146.; Siegel, D.A., 1998. Resource competition in a discrete environment: Why are plankton distributions paradoxical? Limnol. Oceanogr. 43, 1133–1146.]. We show that, in active turbulence, phytoplankton patches, on the order of 10 cm, have repeatable asymmetry and regular spacing over distances of centimetres to tens of metres. The regularity and hierarchical nature of the patches in mixed ocean water means that phytoplankton are distributed in a dynamic, but definite seascape topography, where groups of patches coalesce between intermittent turbulent eddies. These patches may link large scale processes and microscale interactions, acting as fundamental components of marine ecosystems that influence grazing efficiency, taxonomic diversity, and the initiation of aggregation and subsequent carbon flux.     

Community Participation in Marine Protected Area Management: Wakatobi National Park,Sulawesi, Indonesia

Coral reef areas are threatened worldwide by growing populations, tourism development, and use of poison and dynamite in fishing in areas adjacent to the reefs. The designation of marine protected areas is one strategy for addressing these problems. Wakatobi National Park, established in Eastern Indonesia in 1996, contains approximately 50,000 ha of coral reefs and a resident population of Sama-Bajo people whose traditions and current livelihoods tie them closely to the sea. The present research, using participatory rural appraisal methods, focused upon the impact of the designation of the Marine Park on their lives and investigated the potential for public participation in park planning and management. The Wakatobi Park Management Plan does not address the needs and interests of local people. Priority should be placed on adaptation of park zoning and protection regulations to accommodate the livelihood requirements of indigenous communities.