Conceptualization of Region-Specific Comprehensive Ocean Management Regime for Maritime Economic Exploration

Regional and global ocean governance share complex, co-evolutionary histories in which both regimes – among others – interacted with and used the ocean and resources therein to consolidate, expand, and express power. Simultaneously, regional and global ocean governance relations have changed continuously, particularly when we are trying to understand their differences within the logic of regionalisation, regionalism, and globalisation. The paper is generally based on deductive reasoning and reflects scholarship in security studies, political science, international law, international relation, development studies, and African studies. It delves into the critical aspect of understanding the nexus/relationship between regional and global ocean governance in critical traditional and contemporary ocean policy domains, specifically from an African regional ocean governance standpoint. Ocean governance processes that are historically confronted by globalisation, multilateralism, and post-colonisation are confronted by the rise of regionalism, especially the need for nation-states and regions to respond to and manage traditional and emerging ocean challenges. Responses to these challenges by various actors, including states, economic blocks, private sector, financial institutions, and non-governmental organisations, development partners, etc., result in different forms of relationships that refocus regions’ activities toward globally defined ocean agendas. A review of different policy domains (including maritime security, environmental, economic, and socio-political governance) critical for regional ocean governance sets a robust background for understanding the contextual factors and concerns inherent in the regional-global ocean governance nexus. These outcomes, therefore, help us to arrive at a five-fold taxonomy of different types/degrees of linkages developed around the regional-global ocean governance relationship spectrum described as (1) discrete, (2) conflictual, (3) cooperative, (4) symmetric, and (5) ambiguous. Comparatively, experience and perspective from Africa are utilised to support raised arguments about these linkages. Furthermore, this spectrum allows for the diagnosis of the utilities and most prevalent arguments that regional governance’s effectiveness is directly related to the nature of the interaction between regional governance schemes and global governance; and vice-versa. This paper’s outcomes reveal how government, institutions, actors, and researchers address the relationship between regional and global ocean governance and generate a valuable way to think about current and future global and regional ocean governance direction while outlining some logical possibilities for an effective form of ocean governance.

Building multiscalar sustainable ocean governance: How do global perspectives interact with the Portuguese national approach?

It is urgent to improve the prediction accuracy of precipitation in the preflood season (PFS) over South China (SC) under the background of global warming, and thus the research of water vapor conditions is the key. For the period of 1960–2012, using the daily precipitation data from 60 meteorology stations in SC and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data, the synergistic effect of PDO (the Pacific Decadal Oscillation) &IOD (the Indian Ocean Dipole Mode) on water vapor transport process to frontal/monsoon precipitation is revealed, based on the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model (HYSPLIT_4.9). For the frontal precipitation, the positive PDO phase (PDO+) compared with the negative PDO phase (PDO−), there is more water vapor over the West Pacific (WP), the northern South China Sea (SCS), and the Bay of Bengal (BOB). Water vapor for frontal precipitation mainly comes from WP and SCS. When PDO and IOD are in phase resonance, the water vapor transport tracks from the SCS, WP are shorter and westward, so more water vapor is transported to SC, the precipitation efficiency of water vapor to PFS precipitation is higher too. For the summer monsoon precipitation, the tropical Indian Ocean (IO)-BOB is rich in water vapor, especially for PDO−& IOD+. The main water vapor transport tracks are the cross-equatorial flows in the IO, BOB and SCS. The precipitation efficiency of water vapor from the IO-BOB is higher for the positive IOD phase (IOD+) than that for the negative IOD phase (IOD−); however, the precipitation efficiency of water vapor from SCS is higher for the IOD− than that for IOD+. Compared with frontal precipitation, the strong westerly anomaly in the northern IO increases the water vapor transport from the north IO, BOB to SC during monsoon precipitation. For the PDO+&IOD+, the stronger Indian Low and cyclonic anomaly in the WP increases the water vapor transported from the IO-BOB to SC, improving the precipitation efficiency of water vapor. Understanding the synergistic effect of the PDO and IOD on water vapor transport will help to improve the accuracy of precipitation prediction, and reduce the negative impact of drought and flood disasters.

典型低纬度海区(南海、孟加拉湾)初级生产力比较

This study compares the structure of the zooplankton community in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and South China Sea (SCS) during the period of spring inter-monsoon, 2010. A total of 215 species of zooplankton were identified, of which 187 species were present in the BoB and 119 in the SCS. Of the taxonomic groups recorded, Copepoda was the most diverse group in all samples followed by pelagic Tunicata, Siphonophorae and Chaetognatha. Flaccisagitta enflata, Cosmocalanus darwinii, Euchaeta larva, Macrura larva and Candacia truncata were predominant both in the BoB and SCS. Moreover, the distribution of some dominant species differed regionally, such as Cypridina dentata, Pleuromamma robusta and Mesosagitta decipiens only in the BoB, and Pleuromamma gracilis, Neocalanus gracilis and Eudoxoides spiralis in the SCS. The average zooplankton abundance was 33.37 ± 7.19 ind. m−3 in the BoB and 35.08 ± 2.07 ind. m−3 in the SCS. Copepoda was one of the most abundant groups in the BoB and SCS. Based on multivariate analysis, it was possible to distinguish the zooplankton in the BoB and SCS communities at the similarity level of approximately 55%, and the dissimilarity was mainly due to C. dentata, P. robusta, M. decipiens, C. darwinii, N. gracilis and P. gracilis. The relationships between zooplankton and temperature, salinity and chlorophyll a were not statistically significant. Zooplankton community structure in the BoB and SCS was observed to be generally similar in terms of species composition and abundance, but the differences observed may be the result of species-specific geographical distribution and local hydrographic conditions.

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is an integrated and comprehensive approach to ocean governance and is used to establish a rational use of marine space and reconcile conflicting interests of its users. MSP allows both a high level of environmental protection and a wide range of human activities and emphasizes coordinated networks of national, regional and global institutions. This book focuses on the framework of international law behind MSP and especially on the transboundary aspects of MSP. It first sets out a general framework for transboundary MSP and then moves on to compare and assess differences and similarities between different regions. Specific detailed case studies include the EU with the focus on the Baltic Sea and North Sea, the Bay of Bengal and Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The authors examine the national and regional significance of MSP from an integrated and sustainable ocean governance point of view. They also show how transboundary MSP can create opportunities and positive initiatives for cross-border cooperation and contribute to the effective protection of the regional marine environment.

Global ocean governance is the concretization of global governance. Various interest groups interact with and coordinate ocean issues. Global ocean governance is inevitably linked to the new global governance landscape. In recent years, a series of new scenarios in global governance have emerged. These situations have further shaped the plurality of participants and the diversity of mechanisms in global ocean governance. Science and technology innovation and application are prerequisites and prime movers for the evolution of global ocean governance. Major worldwide crises, represented by global climate change and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, have added great uncertainty to the future development of global ocean governance. The divergence of interests and positions between emerging countries and developed countries, as well as the reshaping of the global geopolitical landscape in recent years, has led to the stagnation or deadlock of a series of international negotiations and international cooperation platforms related to global ocean governance. With the deepening of global governance, non-state actors are not only objects of ocean governance but also bearers of legal obligations and enjoy varying degrees of legal rights, participating in agenda setting, rule construction, and monitoring implementation at different levels of ocean governance. From a critical jurisprudence perspective, in the practice of global ocean governance, the relationship between non-governmental organizations, states, and international organizations is more likely to be one of reconciliation than the “state–civil society” dichotomy of moral imagination. This new set of circumstances exposes the divisive and fragmented nature of global ocean governance. This study concludes that the new situation of global ocean governance constitutes a historic opportunity for countries to reexamine the role of the rule of law during the Anthropocene to bridge the fragmentation and gaps in mechanisms and achieve a truly integrated, holistic, and closely nested global ocean governance. The question of how to implement the rule of law requires the introduction of theoretical perspectives such as the Anthropocene, complex systems theory, and the community of a shared future for humanity to undertake a fundamental critical reflection and rethinking of global ocean governance.

The impact of early and late Bay of Bengal (BoB) summer monsoon (BoBSM) onset on Asian precipitation in May is investigated. When the BoBSM occurs earlier (later), May rainfall tends to be enhanced (suppressed) in the southern Indian peninsula (SIP), the Indochinese peninsula (ICP), southwest China (SWC) and the South China Sea (SCS), while south China (SC) rainfall tends to be suppressed (enhanced). When the BoBSM occurs earlier than the climatological mean (late April), strong convective activity emerges earlier over the BoB, which causes local strong convective heating earlier. Then, earlier spread of heating in the BoB towards both sides leads to earlier retreat of the subtropical highs in the western Pacific (WPSH) and Indian Ocean outwards the BoB. Thus, compared to the climatological mean, the two subtropical highs present larger retreat outwards the BoB and smaller meridional extent over the SCS and Arabian Sea in May, which contributes to positive heating anomalies over the SCS and Arabian Sea. Therefore, anomalous cyclonic circulations occur over the BoB, SCS and Arabian Sea in May. Anomalous cyclonic circulation is favorable for low-level convergence over the SIP, and thus resulting in local heavy rainfall. Associated with cyclonic circulation anomalies over the BoB and SCS, anomalous low-level convergent winds and ascending flows favor positive precipitation anomalies in the ICP, SWC, and SCS, while anomalous northeasterlies and descending flows affected by the southward retreat of the WPSH lessen SC rainfall. In late onset years the opposite occurs.

The strength of the Asian-Pacific summer monsoon (APSM) is associated with intensities from two major convective heat sources centered primarily over the Bay of Bengal (BB) and the western North Pacific (WNP). Because of the complexity of the APSM, especially over WNP, almost all of the general circulation models (GCMs) cannot simulate the climate features around the Asian monsoon region satisfactorily. This could be due to the inability of the GCMs to simulate correct cloud formations and radiative properties of clouds. In this study we will focus on the role of clouds and cloud radiative forcing (CRF) in the evolution of the APSM. Our study relies on radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and cloud data from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP-D1) to inquire about some common properties of CRF in the four regions of East and Southern Asia: the BB, South China Sea (SCS), WNP and Central China (CC). During the APSM, we arrived at the following conclusions: After the onset of the summer monsoon, there is a lower OLR and a larger high cloud fraction with heavy and persistent rainfall in the BB throughout the whole summer. At the same time, extremely dense clouds (with thick optical depth) reaching into the higher atmosphere associated with strong convergence in the lower layers and divergences over the upper troposphere persistently occur in the BB. The strong dynamic force associated with closed spaced convective updrafts, as in BB, can result in a significant negative CRF (as low as -70 Wm-²). However, WNP and SCS are different from BB, not only in the CRF but also in the cloud’s temporal and spatial distributions. A brief recess of deep convection occurs in mid-July in WMP and SCS, which causes the magnitude of precipitation, cloud amount, optical depth and CRF for the entire summer to average less than in BB. In both WNP and SCS, individual elements within the convective cloud system show a wide range of net radiative forcing (from the thick anvil clouds near convective cores to thin cirrus clouds near the edges of the anvil cloud) which produces a net CRF of near zero when averaged over the convective cloud system. Through spectral analysis of high cloud amounts, we can find that over BB, the highest power is in the period around 75 days, which is the intra-seasonal timescale. While over WNP, the leading spectral peaks are at 10-20 days and 8-9 days. These two dominant frequencies are definitely related to the fast annual cycle (proposed by LinHo and Wang). Failure to simulate correctly these two frequencies may be the primary reason why the GCMs exhibit great difficulty in reproducing correct precipitation in the WNP. The cloud structures and CRF in CC are very different from the oceanic regions in our analysis and where mid-low level clouds with thick optical depths play more of a role than does the high, thin cloud.

The history of the global economy is the history of global international trade; whoever could command the oceans could control the wealth of that Era, e.g., Phoenicians and Arabs commanded the world before Europe’s colonial expeditions through seas. When the Cold War Bipolar Era ended, the USA has been enjoying the benefits of globalization through military presence and hegemony across oceans in the unipolar Era. The Indian Ocean is said to contain most of the significant sea trade routes of the world, and the Bay of Bengal in the Northeast does the same more precisely while interfacing with the South China sea. Regional peace and stability is a precondition for the sustainability of international maritime trade and other blue economic functions. Here, this research is to propose region specific COMR (comprehensive ocean management regime) model to achieve blue economic objectives sustainably for the BOB (Bay of Bengal) maritime-littoral region. This research examined coastal and ocean initiatives like Maritime Protected Areas and Integrated Coastal Zone Management for their challenges at policy, management and operation levels leading towards a conceivable solution, choosing to make a few insinuations to the nations and areas of the world. Sectoral data that has been aggregated might be confusing, and quantitative data lacks validity and precision. In an outcome, in the deficiency of quantitative data, the presentation is created qualitatively. Moreover, the study also uses the Delphi method to address the research objectives of this study because, to establish a consensus, the Delphi technique includes obtaining expert opinion through a series of progressive and iterative investigations.

Sub-seasonal prediction of significant wave heights over the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans, part II: The impact of ENSO and MJO

Sea level anomalies (SLAs) derived from satellite observations (over a period of 22 years) and tide gauge data compiled from 66 stations from the eastern Indian Ocean and South China Sea (SCS) and western Pacific Ocean have been analyzed to study the interannual to long term variation of SLAs in the eastern Indian Ocean and SCS. Spatial patterns of sea level variability on the eastern boundary of the Indian Ocean exhibit non-coherent variability with SCS but show coherent variability with western Pacific Ocean. We find coherent variability in interannual SLAs in the Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea, Malacca Strait and Java Strait. A large fraction of interannual SLA variations in the eastern SCS and interior SCS is linked to El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and rest of the region is characterized by small scale interannual variations. The interannual SLAs in the SCS show seasonality with pronounced variation during winter and fall seasons. Interannual surface wind anomalies associated with Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and ENSO explain sea level interannual variability in the eastern Indian Ocean and SCS. The decadal sea level variability associated with Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and decadal ENSO are observed in the SCS.

The Hybrid Single‐Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory platform is employed in this study to simulate trajectories of air parcels in the rainy season in North China during last six decades (1951–2010), with the purpose of investigating moisture sources, their variation, and the eventual relationship with precipitation in North China. Climatological trajectories indicate that moisture in North China originates, respectively, from Eurasia (14.4%), eastern China (10.2%), the Bay of Bengal‐South China Sea (33.8%), the Indian Ocean (10.7%), and the Pacific (30.9%). The spatiotemporal analysis of moisture trajectory based on extended empirical orthogonal function indicates that a decrease of precipitation in North China is caused mainly by a decrease of water vapor sources from the south, the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and the South China Sea, which overwhelms an increase of water vapor sources from the North, mainly Eurasia, eastern China, and northern western North Pacific Ocean. In particular, the significant decrease of precipitation in the late 1970s (by 11.6%) is mainly caused by a 10.6% decrease of moisture from all sources. The Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea, and the Indian Ocean are dominant moisture source areas affecting the decadal‐scale variation of precipitation in North China.

Based on precipitation data from 60 stations in South China (SC) and NCEP reanalysis data, the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model (HYSPLIT_4.9) is used to analyze the difference of water vapor transport tracks, water vapor sources, and their precipitation contribution rate to frontal/monsoon precipitation, with four combinations of ENSO and PDO phase for a period of 53 years (1960–2012). The results show that: (1) For the frontal precipitation, in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation positive phase (PDO+), there is a great positive water vapor difference between ENSO+ (the positive ENSO phase) and ENSO− (the negative ENSO phase) over the tropical Indian Ocean (IO), the Bay of Bengal (BOB), the South China Sea (SCS) and the western Pacific (WP), the distribution of the difference is adjusted for PDO− (the negative PDO phase). For monsoon precipitation, when PDO and ENSO are in phase resonance, water vapor gathers over IO-BOB-SCS. (2) For the frontal precipitation, both PDO+ and PDO−, compare with ENSO+, more water vapor from SCS for ENSO−, but the southward water vapor transport anomaly over the western part of BOB-SCS-ocean east of the Philippines, which leads a decline in precipitation contribution rate of SCS water vapor. Both ENSO+ and ENSO−, compare with PDO−, more water vapor comes from IO-BOB for PDO+, but their precipitation contribution rates are lower. (3) For the summer monsoon precipitation, SCS and IO are important rain contributor sources. Regardless of the PDO phase, compared with ENSO+, there is more water vapor from the IO and WP for ENSO−, the easterly anomaly in the south of the stronger subtropical high brings more water vapor from WP to SC, the strong westerly anomalies in the IO-BOB-SCS increases IO water vapor transporting to SC, so water vapor precipitation contribution rates of IO and WP are higher. Both ENSO+ and ENSO−, compare with PDO−, more water vapor comes from SCS and EC for PDO+, but their precipitation contribution rates are lower. (4) The water vapor transport process of precipitation in PFS over SC is jointly affected by ENSO and PDO.

The South China Sea Monsoon Experiment (SCSMEX), which was carried out from 1 May to 31 August 1998, is a multi-endeavor that is closely linked to and coordinated with activities of national weather services and oceanographic bodies of different nations and regions. The scientific goal of the SCSMEX is to provide a better understanding of the key physical processes for the onset, maintenance and variability of the summer monsoon over Southeast Asia and the South China Sea (SCS), leading to improved predictions of monsoons. Based on the datasets obtained from the SCSMEX Intensive Observation Period (IOP), the characteristics of upper and low-level circulation, outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR) and precipitation patterns have been analyzed. The obtained results have shown that (1) the onset of the SCS summer monsoon consists of two stages: the first onset on the northern SCS and the full onset over the whole SCS. The summer monsoon onset over the northern part of the SCS occurred in the fourth pentad of May while for the whole area of the SCS the onset occurred in the fifth pentad of May. The date of the onset of the SCS summer monsoon for 1998 was overall about 1-2 pentads later than normal condition (May 15); (2) the monsoon onset over the northern part of the SCS was not a localized phenomenon. It broke out simultaneously with the monsoon over the Bay of Bengal and Indo-China Peninsula. From a viewpoint of synoptic process, its onset is related to the early rapid development of a twin cyclone to the east of Sri Lanka and subsequently a monsoon depression over the Bay of Bengal, two stepwise significant retreats of the subtropical high from the SCS and possible triggering effect of a strong cold wave from mid-latitude; (3) activities of the SCS monsoon were mainly affected by activities of the Indian monsoon, and its enhancement and northward advances were greatly influenced by acceleration and eastward extending of the near equatorial westerly wind from the Indian Ocean.