Modelling the effects of ‘coastal’ acidification on copper speciation

We present here a copper speciation model that accounts for the long-term (‘coastal-acidification’) and short-term (daily and seasonal variation) variability in water pH and water temperature. The developed model is applied to a sub-tropical estuary (Moreton Bay, Australia) at a one hundred year time scale so that outputs are consistent with climate change projections. The model predicts that the mean cupric ion concentration (Cu²⁺) in the estuary will increase by 115% over the next 100 years as a result of the projected decrease in pH and increase in water temperature. Through calibration, the estimated concentration of copper-complexing dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the estuary is found to be 22.5 nM. An increase in the concentration of Cu²⁺, which is the most toxic and bioavailable form of copper, has implications for ecosystem health and may have a negative effect on the detoxifying capacity of DOM. Models that provide a framework for coupling biological, chemical and physical processes are important for providing a holistic perspective of coastal systems, especially for better understanding a system within the context of climatic and non-climatic drivers.     

Knowledge gaps and management recommendations for future paths of sustainable seaweed farming in the Western Indian Ocean

Farming of eucheumatoid seaweeds is a widespread, promising activity and an important livelihood option in many tropical coastal areas as for example in East Africa, Western Indian Ocean (WIO). Compared to other types of aquaculture, seaweed farming has generally low impact on the environment. Nonetheless, there are potential direct or indirect negative effects of seaweed farming, such as introduction of alien species and changes in local environmental conditions. Although farming has been practiced in this region during several decades, the knowledge concerning the actual environmental impacts from faming non-native eucheumatoid haplotypes and consequently how to manage farming activities to mitigate those is highly limited. In this review, we provide a summary of the current scientific knowledge of potential direct and indirect negative environmental effects linked to eucheumatoid seaweed farming such as alterations of benthic macrophyte habitats and loss of native biodiversity. Furthermore, we highlight knowledge gaps that are of importance to address in the near future, e.g., large-scale ecosystem effects and farms as potential vectors of pathogens. We also provide a number of feasible management recommendations to be implemented for a continued development of environmentally sustainable seaweed farming practices in the WIO region, which includes spatial planning of farms to avoid sensitive areas and farming of native haplotypes of eucheumatoids instead of introduced specimens.     

Contribution of women’s fisheries substantial,but overlooked,in Timor-Leste

A greater understanding of gendered roles in fisheries is necessary to value the often-hidden roles that women play in fisheries and households. We examine women’s contributions to household food and income using focus group discussions, market surveys, and landings data in six communities in Timor-Leste. Women were actively fishing more days per month than men. Gleaning was the most frequent activity and 100% of trips returned with catch for food and/or income. Mollusc and crab catches were common and exploitation appeared targeted on a dynamic reappraisal of changing food values and changing estimates of group needs. With as many as 80% of households in coastal areas involved in fishing, and at least 50% of women fishing, this highlights the current lack of women’s engagement as a critical gap in fisheries management approaches. The current androcentric dialogue limits social-ecological understanding of these systems and the potential for their effective stewardship.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01335-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A discussion of the potential impacts of climate change on the shorelines of the Northeastern USA

An increase in the rate of sea-level rise and potential changes in storminess represent important components of global climate change that will likely affect the extensive coasts of the Northeastern USA. Raising sea level not only increases the likelihood of coastal flooding, but changes the template for waves and tides to sculpt the coast, which can lead to land loss orders of magnitude greater than that from direct inundation alone. There is little question that sea-level rise, and in particular an increased rate of rise, will result in permanent losses of coastal land. However, quantitative predictions of these future coastal change remains difficult due in part to the complexity of coastal systems and the influence of infrequent storm events, and is further confounded by coastal science’s insufficient understanding of the behavior of coastal systems over decadal timescales. Recently, dramatic improvements in technology have greatly improved our capabilities to investigate and characterize processes and sedimentary deposits in the coastal zone, allowing us, for the first time, to address some of the over-arching problems involved in shoreline change. Despite advances in many areas of coastal geology, our fundamental understanding of shoreline change has been limited by a lack of a broad and integrated scientific focus, a lack of resources, and a lack of willingness on the part of policymakers who make crucial decisions about human activity along the coast to support basic research in this area. Although quantitative predictions remain constrained, there remains little doubt that the predicted climates changes will have profound effects upon the Northeastern coast.     

渤海沿岸底栖贝类体内微污染物残留

依据第二次海洋污染基线调查数据以确定渤海沿岸站位底栖贝类体内重金属和有机污染物含量范围和分布特征.结果表明,沿岸贝类体内Cd的含量普遍较高,而As、Hg和Pb的浓度水平大多较低.辽东湾沿岸贝类体内检测到较高的DDT显示附近区域有新的DDT输入.PCBs的生物残留量以莱州湾近岸为最高,其次是渤海湾近岸;酞酸酯的生物残留主要出现在莱州湾和辽东湾沿岸站位.渤海沿岸大部分站位贝类体内DDTs组份含量已超出相应的USEPA人体健康和野生动物的质量基准,应予以关注.     

中国海岸侵蚀特点及侵蚀加剧原因分析

中国海岸侵蚀具有普遍性、多样性和加剧发展等三个特点，侵蚀岸线长度占全国大陆岸线的１／３以上，尤以渤海和黄海沿岸较重。但因沿海泥沙来源丰富、堆积条件较好，使总体侵蚀强度通常稍轻于国外许多海岸。中国海岸的侵蚀因素有海平面上升、风暴潮加剧、入海泥沙减少和多种不合理的人为开发活动等９种，其中７种与全球变化有直接或间接关系。它们主要通过增强海洋动力作用、减少沿岸泥沙和降低海岸稳定性三个原因，加剧海岸侵蚀。     

山东省海岸侵蚀灾害研究

本文根据大量外业调查资料,阐述了山东海岸侵蚀灾害状况.并探讨了山东海岸侵蚀原因,认为自然条件的变化和人类活动的影响是引起海岸侵蚀的原因,作者强调指出,人类活动在海岸侵蚀和灾害中起更重要的作用。     

中国沿海地区灾害带及其对策

本文通过对1949～1990军我国灾害经济损失分区分析,得出我国沿海地区受灾最为严重;沿海地区的投入产出比较高,所以应将减灾的重点放在沿海地区。并提出相应的对策。     

华北地区滨海湿地生态系统健康评价体系构建研究

以华北地区滨海湿地中的天津宁河七里海湿地为例,以PSR模型作为评价基础框架,运用可持续发展的理论、环境生态学、城市生态学、景观生态学等科学理论,结合社会经济资料收集、地面数据的采集与生态环境现状调查,应用层次分析法(AHP),在咨询专家意见的基础上,利用T L Saaty的标度法,构建了华北地区滨海湿地生态系统健康评价体系。体系由压力子系统、状态子系统、响应子系统构成,共筛选出三大类共计19项综合指标,其中压力指标6项、状态指标9项、响应指标4项。通过实际验证,该评价体系能客观地反映出湿地生态系统健康水平,可为环境管理部门的科学决策以及湿地的可持续发展提供技术支持,可供其他滨海地区湿地评价时参考。     

江苏省近岸海域表层海水微塑料的组成与赋存特征

于2019年10月,对江苏省(连云港、盐城和南通3市)近岸海域6个站位进行了1个航次的表层海水微塑料采样,监测分析了微塑料的粒径、丰度和组分分布情况.结果表明,江苏省近岸海域表层海水中微塑料污染广泛存在,监测站位检出率100％.微塑料粒径分布为0.02～4.80 mm,微米级微塑料占比最高(总体粒径占比83.4％),6...