Mooring Areas Research Articles

Integrating issue-oriented solution of marine spatial planning (MSP): A case study of Koh Sichang in Thailand

As an effective means of coordinating sea use conflicts and promoting ecological conservation, Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) has been well-known by more and more countries. The study has developed an issue-oriented solution for Koh Sichang and its surrounding sea areas in Thailand. Through multi-source data collection and on-site survey, the characteristics of abundant coral reef resources, numerous waterways and mooring areas have been identified. Then, corresponding thematic studies and zoning were conducted, including cassava scatter risk prediction, habitat risk assessment, demarcation of aquaculture priority areas, and scenario analysis. The results show that: (1) Cassava powder accumulates northeast of Koh Sichang and adjacent areas and distributes as high as 84%, with significant diffusion under south wind. Suggest strengthening maritime transport supervision; (2) Human activities have led to a 100% moderate risk for coral reefs around Koh Sichang. While under conservation pattern, the proportion could be reduced to 30%, highlighting the urgency of protective measures; (3) Contrasting the protection and development patterns reveals the double-edged sword effect of the development of tourism and transportation industries on the environment, emphasizing the need to uphold the concept of sustainable development and ecosystem-based management.

Natural Climate Protection through Peatland Rewetting: A Future for the Rathsbruch Peatland in Germany

Draining peatlands to create agricultural land has been the norm in Europe, but in the context of climate change and the loss of biodiversity, these rich ecosystems may reactivate their functions as greenhouse gas sinks and retreat spaces for animals and plants. Against this background, the National Moor Rewetting Strategy was put into effect in Germany in 2023, together with the Natural Climate Protection Action Plan. This article examines the methodology of peatland rewetting from scientific, administrative, social, and technical perspectives. The article focuses on an example of moor rewetting in central Germany: the Rathsbruch moor near the municipality of Zerbst, Saxony-Anhalt. To illustrate the importance of rewetting projects for degraded peatlands, five scenarios with different target soil water levels were considered, and the associated greenhouse gas emissions were calculated for a period of five years. For the planning solution, an estimate of the medium-to-long-term development of the habitat types was made based on current use and the dynamics typical of the habitat. The results for the Rathsbruch moor area showed that increasing the water level in steps of 1, 0.8, or 0.5 m has no significant influence on reducing the CO2 emissions situation, while a depth of 0.3 m has a slight influence. When the water was raised to 0.1 m below the surface (Scenario 5), a significant CO2 reduction was observed. The calculated avoided CO2 costs due to environmental damage show that the environmental benefits multiply with every decimeter of water level increase. The rising groundwater levels and extensification favor the establishment of local biotopes. This means that two of the biggest man-made problems (extinction of species and climate change) can be reduced. Therefore, this research is applicable to the development and planning of recultivation work at municipal and regional levels in Germany and beyond within the framework of EU restoration policy.

We Came for the Lake—Late Pleistocene Landscape Reconstruction in Lieth Moor, District Pinneberg, Germany

The Lieth Moor area, located in the district of Pinneberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, is a hotspot of Late Palaeolithic settlement activity. The exceptional abundance of archaeological sites is commonly attributed to the presence of a large palaeolake. However, in the Weichselian Late glacial, there were numerous large lakes in Schleswig-Holstein. Thus, a well-founded explanation for the find concentration in Lieth Moor is still lacking, and forming a research desideratum until today. To improve our understanding of this Late Pleistocene landscape and its appeal to hunter–gatherer groups of that time, we conducted a large-scale archaeogeophysical study focusing on a possible ford of the potential palaeolake. We employed Ground-Penetrating Radar and Electromagnetic Induction measurements, supplemented by existing legacy drill-probing data, to identify and map limnic gyttja (organic lake mud) sediments and their spatial distribution within the area. The findings of our study indicate that during the Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene, the Lieth Moor area comprised a cluster of small ponds rather than a continuous lake. These ponds likely interconnected during periods of increased water levels. The presence of dry islands within the region corresponds with archaeological evidence, suggesting that Late Palaeolithic communities visited some of these islands. The absence of the previously postulated palaeolake places the known findings within a completely new palaeoenvironmental context: instead of the previously suspected ford, we assume that the proximity to the Elbe Palaeovalley played a decisive role in the repeated habitation of Lieth Moor. This area, rich in fresh water and fish, along with the dune chain situated to the west, serving as both a vantage point and windbreak, presented an ideal location for awaiting animals migrating along the river Elbe and/or as a resting place within the settlement system of mobile hunter–fisher–gatherer groups.

ANALISIS KEBUTUHAN FASILITAS PERAIRAN PADA PELABUHAN KUSAMBA, DESA PESINGGAHAN KABUPATEN KLUNGKUNG

Klungkung Regency has a growing tourism attraction because it has a very exotic archipelago, namely Nusa Penida, Lembongan and Ceningan Islands. So that it requires adequate crossing facilities, the Regional Government of Klungkung Regency plans to build this Kusamba Port. With this function, port development must be accountable both economically and technically. The purpose of this study was to determine the area of the construction of water facilities and to determine the needs of water facilities at the Kusamba port in Pesinggahan Village, Klungkung Regency.This research uses a quantitative descriptive method that is aligned with research variables that focus on actual problems and phenomena that are happening in the form of research results in the form of numbers that have meaning. In this study data analysis uses wind data, tidal data, ship visits, ship data, wave data, shipping channel data, berth areas, ship loading areas, rotary pool areas, ship mooring areas, ship mooring areas, emergency place. Based on the data analysis carried out, the priority needs of Kusamba Port water facilities are, wharves, shipping lanes, areas where ships berth, rotary pool areas, areas where ships moor, areas for moving ships and areas for emergency needs. The results of calculating the need for water facilities at the Kumba port in Pesinggahan Village are a 140.00 m rotating pool, 1.126 km2 shipping channel, 5.170 km2 berth area, 2645.163 m2 ship berth area, 39677.445 m2 ship mooring area, 39677.445 m2 area where the ship is needed emergency 5,170,617.695 m2. So that the area of each water facility is obtained.

Berthing Capacity Evaluation of Fishing Port Prone to Typhoons: A Case Study of Shengsi Fishing Port

Typhoons and other extreme weather events frequently strike offshore fishing ports. Therefore, an objective and realistic assessment of the berthing capacity of fishing ports are critical to offshore production safety and the safe management of fishing ports to minimize typhoon effects. We integrated the MIKE 21 spectral wave (SW) and Holland wind models to recreate typhoon wave characteristics during the transit of Typhoon In-Fa and further analyzed the berthing capacity of the Shengsi fishing port (SFP) under different recurrence periods and route impacts. We planned the mooring area realistically and upgraded the marine fisheries production safety and security system. The model’s major wave heights and water levels are consistent with the actual observations, and the d-trend model evaluation demonstrates that our model performs well. The berthing capacity of the SFP was accurately calculated based on the significant wave height and stable mooring conditions for fishing vessels. The effective berthing area within SFP reached 5.88 km2 during the typhoon transit, accounting for 89.3% of the harbor area. A total of 5,154 fishing vessels, comprising 492 large-sized fishing vessels, 2,334 medium-sized fishing vessels, and 1,328 small-sized fishing vessels, could be moored. The berthing capacity under the impact of typhoons with varying recurrence periods is boosted by 10% compared with that of a 100a typhoon. When under the influence of typhoons with distinct trajectories, the wider the sheltered area of SFP is due to the topography sheltering effect, the more southerly the typhoon path is. This article examines the impact of alternative typhoon routes and return periods on fishing port sheltering capacity. The MIKE 21 SW wave and the Holland typhoon models are adopted to simulate the wave characteristics of the waters surrounding the fishing ports during the occurrence of the typhoon to analyze the fishing ports’ berthing capability. This report can be a reference for disaster reduction and offshore fishing port berthing management.

Sustainable Development of Coastal Areas: Port Expansion with Small Impacts on Estuarine Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport Pattern

With the expansion of global trade and the growing traffic of increasingly larger ships to meet this demand, the need to expand port infrastructure appears as the main alternative. In this way, dredging operations for the maintenance and deepening of navigation channels, as well as the expansion of evolution basins and berthing wharf areas become fundamental, generating large amounts of material removed from the bottom. Aiming at port expansion based on a sustainable development and minimization of the environmental impacts generated by these operations, it is necessary to seek alternatives for the destination of large volumes of dredged material. A sustainable alternative is to dispose these volumes on land in order to expand coastal areas (such as fattening beaches) and mooring pier areas. The present work presents a numerical modeling case study using the TELEMAC-3D model coupled to the suspended sediment module SEDI-3D. As an alternative, an existing island (Ilha do Terrapleno) will receive material dredged from the access channel to the Port of Rio Grande (southern Brazil) and will have its mooring area expanded. The study evaluated the impact that this change in the island’s configuration would generate on the hydrodynamics and on the deposition patterns of fine suspended sediments in its surroundings and in the adjacent navigation channel. Results indicated that in the navigation channel adjacent to Ilha do Terrapleno, the new configuration promoted changes in the hydrodynamics with a decrease in the mean current velocity around the island and throughout the water column, mainly in the north and central portions of the channel. This difference decreased towards the southern portion of the channel. This change in local hydrodynamics promoted small changes in the suspended sediment deposition patterns and in the bottom evolution. Thus, the sustainable expansion of the Port of Rio Grande operational capacity considering the creation of 3600 m of berthing wharf areas and minimum environmental impact proved viable when considering the Ilha do Terrapleno proposed configuration. Furthermore, this idea offers the possibility to dispose in land 722,910 m3 of dredged material, a sustainable alternative to the Port of Rio Grande development, and an inspiration for the sustainable development of other ports worldwide.

Research on Intelligent Detection Algorithm of the Single Anchored Mooring Area for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships

Mooring area detection represents one of the key technological problems that must be solved in the development of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). In view of the lack of research on the current detection methods for ship mooring area, a new intelligent detection algorithm of the single anchored mooring area for MASS was proposed in this study, aiming at improving the detection ability and accuracy of the MASS mooring area. Firstly, the laws of short period swinging motion, long period circumferential motion and reciprocating motion in the radial direction of an anchoring ship were summarized. Secondly, an anchorage circle radius model and safety distance model between the anchor positions were established and various constrains were considered including ship type, ship particulars, draft, safety impact caused by other ships passing through the anchoring ship. Thirdly, the Monte-Carlo stochastic simulation method was used to measure the mooring area, which can detect the anchor position intelligently. Finally, a case study on MATLAB demonstrated that the proposed intelligent detection algorithm for MASS is effective under various marine scenarios. The results enrich the theory of MASS mooring area detection; therefore, the algorithm has great potential to be equipped on MASS in the future.

Transport Processes of Seafloor Sediment From the Chukchi Shelf to the Western Arctic Basin

AbstractThe processes of seafloor sediment transport from the Chukchi shelf to the western Arctic basin were investigated using a pan‐Arctic sea ice‐ocean model and sediment‐trap measurements at four mooring stations: North of Barrow Canyon, North of Hanna Canyon, Northwind Abyssal Plain, and Chukchi Abyssal Plain. The available sediment‐trap data verified that the sinking flux of lithogenic material (LM) originally resuspended from the seafloor for 2010–2020 was simulated reasonably well in the four mooring areas. The model results were analyzed to quantify the spatiotemporal variability of LM and to reveal its background mechanisms. Analysis indicated that the Barrow Canyon throughflow, Chukchi Slope Current (CSC), and mesoscale eddies played important roles in LM redistribution. The CSC controlled the westward transport of LM from the mouth of Barrow Canyon to the Chukchi Borderland. The mesoscale eddies generated north of Barrow Canyon efficiently transported shelf‐origin LM toward the southern Canada Basin. The sinking flux of particulate organic carbon (POC) averaged from September 2010 to August 2020, which was estimated statistically from the simulated LM flux, was 0.13–0.30 gC m−2 yr−1 at 200‐m depth in the southern Canada Basin. This finding reveals that lateral transport of sediment from the Chukchi shelf bottom has a considerable effect on the sinking flux of POC in the western Arctic basin, and suggests that the western Arctic marine biogeochemical cycle is strongly influenced by shelf‐basin exchange that depends on the relative strength of the CSC and mesoscale eddy activity.

Laufkäfer (Coleoptera: Carabidae) auf einer jungen Waldweide: eine Fallstudie aus Südwest- Deutschland

Historical experience shows that wood-pastures provide high habitat diversity and thus also a high degree of species diversity, and as such they have been under discussion for some years as a conservation measure. However, the development of vegetation and various groups of animals on newly grazed wood-pastures is only poorly understood. Comparative approaches, such as the exclosure of certain areas, are required for an evaluation of these developments from a nature conservation perspective. By fencing off a wood-pasture which had been used by heck cattle for six years we were able to analyse the direct effects of grazing on habitat structure and the occurrence of ground beetles. We compared catches from pitfall traps placed in paired 10 x 10 m plots. We recorded a total of 1520 ground beetle individuals from the grazed and the non-grazed plots and found a 52 % greater activity density on the grazed plots, in particular of Carabus nemoralis and the most frequently found species, Nebria brevicollis. Grazing did not have an effect on species richness: it did, however, result in higher light intensity and a higher proportion of grass and had direct effects on the structure of the ground beetle community. Typical colonisers of open vegetation structures or of semi-open woodland, such as Carabus monilis and Carabus arvensis were only found in grazed areas. Further species were hand caught in the grassland and lowland moor areas of the wood-pasture, with a total of 31 ground beetle species now recorded. The increasingly heterogeneous nature of the relatively young wood-pasture clearly promotes species richness. Year-round grazing leads to more open areas of woodland, providing long-term benefits for thermophilous forest species.

Caution Is Needed When Using Niche Models to Infer Changes in Species Abundance: The Case of Two Sympatric Raptor Populations.

Simple SummaryThis study focuses on sympatric populations of hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) and Montagu’s harrier (Circus pygargus) breeding in mountain heathlands in the NW Iberian Peninsula. These populations have been affected by habitat loss caused by land-use change. Despite the mounting evidence supporting positive relationships between species abundance and habitat suitability, the capacity of ecological niche models to capture variations in population abundance remains largely unexplored. This study shows that habitat suitability predicted from niche models was significantly correlated with the relative abundance for hen harrier and, to a lesser extent, for Montagu’s harrier. However, the temporal variation in local population abundance was not significantly explained by habitat suitability changes predicted by the niche models. These findings call for caution in the use of niche models to infer changes in population abundance. The positive relationship between species abundance and habitat suitability supports the use of niche models to estimate abundance but does not guarantee the ability of these models to predict temporal variations in species abundance. These findings highlight (1) the need to include other possible biotic or abiotic factors involved in population abundance dynamics into niche models and (2) the need to establish specific monitoring protocols for tracking population dynamics.Despite the mounting evidence supporting positive relationships between species abundance and habitat suitability, the capacity of ecological niche models (ENMs) to capture variations in population abundance remains largely unexplored. This study focuses on sympatric populations of hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) and Montagu’s harrier (Circus pygargus), surveyed in 1997 and 2017 in an upland moor area in northwestern Spain. The ENMs performed very well for both species (with area under the ROC curve and true skill statistic values of up to 0.9 and 0.75). The presence of both species was mainly correlated with heathlands, although the normalized difference water index derived from Landsat images was the most important for hen harrier, indicating a greater preference of this species for wet heaths and peat bogs. The findings showed that ENM-derived habitat suitability was significantly correlated with the species abundance, thus reinforcing the use of ENMs as a proxy for species abundance. However, the temporal variation in species abundance was not significantly explained by changes in habitat suitability predicted by the ENMs, indicating the need for caution when using these types of models to infer changes in population abundance.

Перспективы развития безэкипажных судов в Российской Федерации

The article considers the actuality of crewless shipping. The development of technical means in the marine shipbuilding industry has been pointed out. The statistical data on accidents at sea are given; as a result of the data analysis, there have been identified the main causes 
 of the accidents: non-compliance with generally accepted methods of controlling a vessel, ignoring the specific hydrometeorological parameters of the navigation and mooring areas, non-compliance with safety and technical operation rules, navigation errors, etc. The human factor has been stated to remain the main and most frequent cause of accidents at sea. The types of accidents at sea are considered in detail (damage to ship devices and mechanisms, ship's hull, loss of life, bulk, explosion, fire, loss of a towed object, winding on a screw, grounding, serious bodily harm, collision, loss of stability, buoyancy, collision with a submerged object). The advantages of using a crewless vessel are substantiated, as well as the prospects associated with the introduction of such vessels: reduction in accident rate due to the exclusion of the human factor, lower negative and harmful effects on the environment, increased reliability of transportation due to changes in the structure 
 of vessels, increased economic efficiency due to the uselessness of crew support, etc. There has been given an example of creating a project for the e-Navigation test area executed by Kronstadt in 2016. The test water area includes all e-Navigation coverage areas, combines 13 ports, training centers, over 300 sea vessels, several ship traffic control systems into a single electronic space. Within the framework of the project, developers introduce and test new equipment, conduct training for the crews. The conclusions have been made about possibility for the Russian Federation of accelerating the introduction of new technologies in the global market of shipping companies, increasing competitiveness and reducing dependence on foreign technologies

Experimental Research on the Impact of Anchor-Cable Tensions in Mooring Ship at Vung Tau Anchorage Area

According to the detailed planning of Southeast seaport group up with an orientation to 2030, Ba Ria - Vung Tau seaport is an international gateway (type IA), acting as an international transshipment port where commercial, industrial services are developed and facilitated in goods import and export activities. However, one of the significant obstacles to the development of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau port service industry is the lack of synchronous infrastructure of the entire port system. The leading causes of these obstacles are due to inappropriate design and investment in anchoring and lack of in-depth studies on the specific characteristics of the flow through the anchorage area. This is a big problem, because the tankers often have low freeboard, mainly affecting the flow in the mooring area. Therefore, the focus on studying the impact of the flow in the anchored area of Vung Tau on oil tankers will contribute to the maritime practice of the anchoring areas in general and in Vung Tau in particular. In this paper, the authors will focus on empirical research on an experimental model that is constructed by the uniform method to determine the anchor-cable tension of ship anchorages with different loading modes at the assumed flow rate in the anchoring areas in Vung Tau. The results obtained from experimental research and simulation by numerical methods are compared and evaluated to develop an empirical and reliable formula for anchor-cable tension with oil tankers in Vung Tau anchoring area.

APPLICATION OF CFD FOR CALCULATION AND SIMULATION OF ANCHOR-CABLE TENSIONS IN MOORING SHIP

Computational Fluid Dynamics was applied to early hydrodynamics research, and the name CFD originated here. CFD has been developed, applied, and highly effective in the fields of fluid mechanics and deformation and elastic environments. CFDs are widely applied in advanced sciences and high technology as well as maritime sciences. In recent years, many scientists have effectively exploited and applied CFD and numerical methods for calculating and simulating the hydrodynamics of ocean current on ships. Simulating studies on the effect of ocean current on the tension of anchor-cable by CFD are becoming more and more popular. In this paper, from the theoretical basis related to the tension problem of mooring cables, the authors have proposed a simulation model that applies CFD to research and develop simulation model and calculate tension of cables in mooring ship. The goal of this study is to build a simulation model that is closest to reality so that we can study assumptions of different situations. Also, the achieved results will be the basis for proposing warnings to minimize marine accidents at the mooring area at the ports in Vung Tau, especially for tanker fleets. The authors have developed general implementation procedures, and specific calculations for several different input cases on a ship hull based on data of wind and flow characteristics at Vung Tau anchorage area, namely the oil tanker M/T AULAC JUPITER of Au Lac Joint Stock Company.

Microbial metabolic rates in the Ross Sea: the ABIOCLEAR Project

The Ross Sea is one of the most productive areas of the Southern Ocean and includes several functionally different marine ecosystems. With the aim of identifying signs and patterns of microbial response to current climate change, seawater microbial populations were sampled at different depths, from surface to the bottom, at two Ross Sea mooring areas southeast of Victoria Land in Antarctica. This oceanographic experiment, the XX Italian Antarctic Expedition, 2004-05, was carried out in the framework of the ABIOCLEAR project as part of LTER-Italy. Here, microbial biogeochemical rates of respiration, carbon dioxide production, total community heterotrophic energy production, prokaryotic heterotrophic activity, production (by3H-leucine uptake) and prokaryotic biomass (by image analysis) were determined throughout the water column. As ancillary parameters, chlorophylla, adenosine-triphosphate concentrations, temperature and salinity were measured and reported. Microbial metabolism was highly variable amongst stations and depths. In epi- and mesopelagic zones, respiratory rates varied between 52.4–437.0 and 6.3–271.5 nanol O2l-1h-1; prokaryotic heterotrophic production varied between 0.46–29.5 and 0.3–6.11 nanog C l-1h-1; and prokaryotic biomass varied between 0.8–24.5 and 1.1–9.0 µg C l-1, respectively. The average heterotrophic energy production ranged between 570 and 103 mJ l-1h-1in upper and deeper layers, respectively. In the epipelagic layer, the Prokaryotic Carbon Demand and Prokaryotic Growth Efficiency averaged 9 times higher and 2 times lower, respectively, than in the mesopelagic one. The distribution of plankton metabolism and organic matter degradation was mainly related to the different hydrological and trophic conditions. In comparison with previous research, the Ross Sea results, here, evidenced a relatively impoverished oligotrophic microbial community, throughout the water column.

Optimal re-allocation of mooring areas for yachts

Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose a mathematical optimization model to solve the yacht mooring area re-allocation problem (YMARP). The objective of the problem is to allow the maximum number of yachts to be moored at their ideal mooring areas. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the YMARP is introduced, formally defined and discussed. The authors develop a 0-1 integer programing optimization model for the problem, which can be solved efficiently using off-shelf solvers. The performance of the model is tested on extensive numerical experiments. Findings The results of the numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed model can solve the YMARP very efficiently using off-shelf solvers like CPLEX. In particular, problems with up to 30,000 yachts and 400 mooring areas can be solved to optimum within 30 s. Originality/value This study is one of the preliminary studies to consider problems arising in yacht management in a quantitative manner. The proposed model has three main merits. First, it enables the government to better manage yachts and mooring areas. Second, with more yacht owners assigned with ideal mooring areas, the model helps reduce the traveling time of the yacht owners to yacht mooring areas. Third, by reducing the traveling time of the yacht owners, the model contributes to lessening the traffic burden in cities.

Analysis Of Land Use In The Southern Part Of Bali Using Fusion Techniques

The southern part of Bali is a central region of tourism, especially in the Sub District of North Kuta, Kuta and South Kuta. The rapid development of tourism is with increasing infrastructure development. Monitor and analyze need to the land use. In this study a fusion technique with HSV method as the combination with ALOS AVNIR-2 2008 and ALOS PRISM in 2008, to estimate of the level of accuracy of image fusion with ALOS AVNIR-2 and subsequent for the analysis of land use in southern part of Bali. Results of the accuracy test with Google Earth showed land use result fusion has high accuracy with overall accuracy of 83. 5%. Analyze of land use showed that significant decrease of moor area in Jimbaran hill, due to rapid development of infrastructure of tourism is very rapid and then extensive residential areas have increased particularly in Sub district of the North Kuta.

Recreational boating in the Portofino Marine Protected Area (MPA), Italy: Characterization and analysis in the last decade (2006–2016) and some considerations on management

Recreational boating is a significant nature-based activity, which is especially popular in the Mediterranean region. This study analyses this activity in the last decade in the Portofino MPA, a popular recreational boating area in the Ligurian Region (northwest of the Italian peninsula) in order to evaluate the maximum turnout and to provide management considerations to better achieve conservation and environmental management of a MPA. Monitoring activities were carried out during the summer from 2006 to 2016 and allowed locating the most critical sectors of MPA in consideration of different factors and kinds of boats. From the results of this long-term monitoring, the first conducted in Italy, it is evident that only some anchoring sectors of the Portofino MPA may suffer impacts from recreational boating and that the boats have different spatial and temporal distribution depending on the different summer months, on the public holidays and on weather conditions which mainly affect the boats units < 10 m (73% of the monitored boats). Due to direct impact of the anchorage on the seafloor, which hosts peculiar natural habitats, and the fairly constant presence of the recreational boaters over the years, different solutions for better protect the seabed without excessively prejudicing the enjoyment of recreational boating are discussed. Since the San Fruttuoso seagrass-friendly mooring area is one of the most visited sectors in the MPA, an increase in the number of seagrass-friendly moorings combined with a higher delimitation of the areas with special habitats may represent an optimal strategy.

Development of Underwater Shuttle Glider for Virtual Mooring

A prototype of a 3000m-class underwater glider for virtual mooring is being developed by JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology) with RIAM (Research Institute for Applied Mechanics) of Kyushu University. The vehicle houses observation equipment and glides back and forth between the sea surface and the seabed collecting ocean data in a specific area (virtual mooring area). The motions of the vehicle are controlled by moving its center of gravity using mounted weight-shifters.

Comparison between the marine soundscape of recreational boat mooring areas with that of a pristine area in the Mediterranean: Evidence that such acoustic hot-spots are detrimental to ecologically sensitive habitats

We investigated the potential to use passive acoustics to access the impact of recreational boat mooring areas on ecologically sensitive habitats in the Western Mediterranean. One important consequence of the tourist industry in the region is that it targets the most pristine and ecologically sensitive habitats. Underwater sounds were recorded in mooring areas in Ibiza, Formentera and Tabarca harbors during high use and low use seasons and compared to recordings in the Tabarca Marine Protected area. At each location, we recorded sounds during 20 min at three different sites, for three random sampling times during the day. The percent of time occupied by selected biological (drums and croaks) and anthropogenic sounds (boat and mooring chain noises), and call rates of selected fish sounds were measured and compared among sites and seasons. Biological sounds contributed significantly less to the soundscape in mooring areas during the tourist season, and to the reserve in both seasons. Our study demonstrates ...

DIVERSITY OF INSECT THAT INTERACT WITH BALI CATTLE (Bos sondaicus) IN THE MOOR AREA AND OUTSKIRT OF FOREST

This study aimed to determine the types of insects that interact with bali cattle in the moor area in Kepuhvillage, District of Mendoyo, Jembrana and in the outskirts of the forest at Keladian village, Rendang, Karangasem.Samples of flying insects was taken using modified insect nets, whereas insects that patch on the surface of bodycattle were collected manualy. Collected insects were identified at the Laboratory of Ecology, Department of Biology,Udayana University. The data collected were analyzed descriptively. The results showed that the more species ofinsects (7 species) were associated with bali cattle in the outskirt of forest compared to in moor area (3 species).The temperature at the outskirt of forest was lower (average 27.6° during the day) with the average of 86.0%,compared to the average temperature of 36.0° and 65.3% of humidity during the day.