Oceanographic Research Articles

Stress levels of science teachers when delivering distance education instruction in a state college during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically reshaped education worldwide, compelling institutions to rapidly adopt distance education models. Among those most affected are science educators, who face unique challenges in transitioning traditional classroom instruction to virtual platforms. Understanding the stressors experienced by science teachers during this shift is crucial not only for their well-being but also for the effectiveness of educational delivery. This study aims to investigate the stress levels and sources of stress experienced by science teachers at Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology (ZSCMST) during the shift to distance education. The specific objectives were to determine the overall stress levels, identify the least stressful pre-identified causes of stress, compare the significance of different categories of stressors, and develop an intervention program based on the findings. A descriptive comparative research design with a quantitative approach was used, involving a purposive sample of 45 science teachers. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire, which included sections on demographic information, perceived stress levels, and specific stressors related to professional skills, technical skills, work-home conflict, and support systems. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA. The results indicated that science teachers experienced moderate to high levels of stress, with professional and technical skills being the most prominent stressors. Support systems, although somewhat helpful, still contributed to the overall stress levels. The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to alleviate these stressors, such as professional development programs, enhanced support systems, and policies addressing work-home conflict. In conclusion, this study underscores the importance of addressing the specific stressors identified to improve the well-being of science teachers and the effectiveness of distance education. Further research is recommended to develop and evaluate interventions aimed at reducing teacher stress, enhancing teaching effectiveness, and understanding the long-term impact of these interventions in digital environments.

Conducting marine genetic research for whom? Mapping knowledge flows from science to patents

Marine genetic resources hold great value for biotechnological innovation and sustainability-oriented research. However, studies indicate that intellectual property rights pertaining to these resources are concentrated in a handful of companies and countries, triggering contentious international debates. This paper highlights an overlooked dimension: the flow of scientific knowledge in the provision and use of marine genetic research. We identified 23,417 scientific studies that use marine genetic sequences, traced patent references to these studies, and revealed provider and user countries. We found that molecular biological research, oftentimes on bacterial species, attracted the most patenting interest. Some countries owned relatively more patents than they provided in science, with the U.S. benefiting the most from available research. Science by developing countries’ researchers saw limited uptake in patents. These findings aim to inform international biodiversity regimes, such as the UN Treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), on how to more equitably distribute marine genetic resources’ economic, socio-cultural, and ecological benefits.

Interannual and seasonal variability of the air–sea CO2 exchange at Utö in the coastal region of the Baltic Sea

Abstract. Oceans alleviate the accumulation of atmospheric CO2 by absorbing approximately a quarter of all anthropogenic emissions. In the deep oceans, carbon uptake is dominated by aquatic phase chemistry, whereas in biologically active coastal seas the marine ecosystem and biogeochemistry play an important role in the carbon uptake. Coastal seas are hotspots of organic and inorganic matter transport between the land and the oceans, and thus they are important for the marine carbon cycling. In this study, we investigate the net air–sea CO2 exchange at the Utö Atmospheric and Marine Research Station, located at the southern edge of the Archipelago Sea within the Baltic Sea, using the data collected during 2017–2021. The air–sea fluxes of CO2 were measured using the eddy covariance technique, supported by the flux parameterization based on the pCO2 and wind speed measurements. During the spring–summer months (April–August), the sea was gaining carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, with the highest monthly sink fluxes typically occurring in May, being −0.26 µmol m−2 s−1 on average. The sea was releasing the CO2 to the atmosphere in September–March, and the highest source fluxes were typically observed in September, being 0.42 µmol m−2 s−1 on average. On an annual basis, the study region was found to be a net source of atmospheric CO2, and on average, the annual net exchange was 27.1 gC m−1 yr−1, which is comparable to the exchange observed in the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea. The annual net air–sea CO2 exchanges varied between 18.2 (2018) and 39.1 gC m−1 yr−1 (2017). During the coldest year, 2017, the spring–summer sink fluxes remained low compared to the other years, as a result of relatively high seawater pCO2 in summer, which never fell below 220 µatm during that year. The spring–summer phytoplankton blooms of 2017 were weak, possibly due to the cloudy summer and deeply mixed surface layer, which restrained the photosynthetic fixation of dissolved inorganic carbon in the surface waters. The algal blooms in spring–summer 2018 and the consequent pCO2 drawdown were strong, fueled by high pre-spring nutrient concentrations. The systematic positive annual CO2 balances suggest that our coastal study site is affected by carbon flows originating from elsewhere, possibly as organic carbon, which is remineralized and released to the atmosphere as CO2. This coastal source of CO2 fueled by the organic matter originating probably from land ecosystems stresses the importance of understanding the carbon cycling in the land–sea continuum.

Bibliometric Computational Mapping Analysis of Publications of Marine and Fisheries Education using VOSviewer

This study investigates the research development in marine and fisheries engineering education employing a bibliometric approach with VOSviewer analysis. The article data was obtained from the Google Scholar database using the Publish or Perish Reference Manager application. The search method is guided by the title and abstract of the publication, which refer to the terms "Mechanical Marine and Fisheries in Education". A total of 800 relevant papers, indexed by Google Scholar, were discovered throughout a 10-year period from 2012 to 2022. The results show that marine and fishery engineering research in the field of education is categorized into eight clusters. The first cluster, focused on marine engineering education, has a total link strength of 748 terms. The second cluster, centred around management marine fishing, has a total link strength of 872 terms. The third cluster, related to mechanical damage, has a total link strength of 81 terms. The fourth cluster, concerning mechanical properties, has a total link strength of 275 terms. The fifth cluster, dedicated to marine ecosystems, has a total link strength of 711 terms. The sixth cluster, focused on fishing grounds, has a total link strength of 444 terms. The seventh cluster, centred around national marine fisheries, has a total link strength of 195 terms. Lastly, the eighth cluster, related to fishing resources, has a total link strength of 200 terms. The number of publications from 2012 to 2016 exhibited an upward trend, with the values being 46, 55, 58, 75, and 77, respectively. In 2017 the number of publications decreased to 66. From 2018 to 2021, it increased again (67, 87, 97, 100). By mid-2022, there were 59 publications. We conducted an extensive analysis of numerous published articles on marine and fisheries engineering in education, focusing specifically on issue areas, using VOSviewer. This research serves as a foundation for future investigations.

EDGARDO D. GOMEZ: Vignettes of an Eminent Marine Scientist and Institution Builder

Dr. Edgardo D. Gomez is recognized for his significant pioneering contributions to invertebrate biology and ecology, giant clam culture and restoration, coral reef assessment and conservation, and in the strengthening of marine science education and research. He established the Marine Science Institute and developed it from a small university center to a world-recognized institution in marine sciences. Dr. Gomez is also known for his advocacy of indigenous trees.

Derivation of weakly interacting lumps for the (2+1)-dimensional Yu–Toda–Sasa–Fukuyama equation via degeneracy of lump chains

This paper introduces two distinct pathways for degenerating normally interacting lump chains into weakly interacting lump waves for Yu–Toda–Sasa–Fukuyama equation, which will enrich the correlation between lump chains and weakly interacting lump waves. The first pathway involves letting the periods of M similarly-velocity lump chains approach infinity directly. The second pathway first transforms M normally interacting lump chains into weakly interacting lump chains with similar dynamic behaviors. Then, by allowing their periods to approach infinity, MM+12 weakly interacting lump waves are produced. Distance between weakly interacting lump chains in this equation is proportional to ln|t|, while between weakly interacting lump waves is proportional to |t|3. These findings will contribute valuable theoretical insights to the study of wave theory, ocean science and related disciplines.

IRDNet: An image-defogging algorithm based on dark channel prior

Abstract Image-defogging, as an important part of computer vision, has been widely used in intelligent driving, target recognition, satellite detection, underwater exploration and so on. Improving the performance of the defogging algorithm based on deep learning has practical significance for the completion of high-level vision tasks. This paper proposes an IRDNet algorithm by improving the image deep learning algorithm based on the RefineDNet framework and designing a new deep learning network structure. The proposed algorithm combines dark channel prior knowledge and atmospheric degradation model to decompose the input fogged images into dark channel images and degraded images, and then carries out feature extraction and detail enhancement for the two images by convolutional neural network. IRDNet introduces a fully connected convolutional structure, attention mechanism, and a pyramid structure to improve the performance of the overall defogging network. By testing on OTS datasets, we compare the IRDNet algorithm with traditional defogging methods, end-to-end deep learning defogging methods, and prior knowledge-guided deep learning defogging methods. Test results show that the performance of IRDNet is better than other methods, and the defogging network shows richer details of texture and more realistic colors.

Analysis of the fluid–structure coupling dynamic characteristics of flexible webbed wings under passive deformation

A wave glider with webbed wings (WGWWs) is a new type of unmanned surface robot that combines wave energy and solar energy as its energy supply, driven by flexible webbed wings (FWWs). Wave gliders with webbed wings are already playing an important role in marine science research. Flexible webbed wings are significant components of wave gliders with webbed wings that achieve the absorption and conversion of wave energy through bidirectional fluid–structure coupling with water flow. To address the issues of large deformations and nonconvergence under the strong coupling action of flexible webbed wings, a dynamic model of flexible webbed wings is first established on the basis of an analysis of the motion principle of a wave glider with webbed wings. The Mooney–Rivlin model was subsequently applied to describe the stress–strain relationship of a rubber hyperelastic material for flexible webbed wings. By adopting the overset method and dynamic mesh technology, employing the system coupling interface based on the data interaction platform of the ANSYS Workbench, as well as mechanical and fluid solvers, the transient dynamic characteristics of fluid–structure coupling of flexible webbed wings under different working conditions are obtained. Finally, by setting different sea conditions, the influences of wave height and period on the dynamic characteristics of flexible webbed wings are analyzed. The results indicate that the greater the wave height and the smaller the wave period are, the greater the power output of the flexible webbed wings is. Additionally, the influence of the wave height ratio period on the dynamic characteristics of flexible webbed wings is more pronounced.

Transnational Intersectionality at Sea: Gender, Appearance, Ethnicity, Age and Marine Knowledge Production

<p>Knowledge production is inherently social, as humans interpret their environment. Scientific knowledge production differs from non-scientific ones in their systematic data collection for validation, yet both involve a social element shaping our understanding of the world. The article investigates social contestation processes as part of knowledge producing processes on a German research vessel and in German and Brazilian marine science institutes with a particular focus on the social identity markers of gender, ethnicity, and age and how they affect team-based sense-making processes. Methodologically, our research draws on participant observation of following marine scientists and associated non-scientists in their daily working routines, as well as semi-structured interviews on a research vessel in 2021 and in marine science institutes from 2022 to 2024. Conceptually, the research follows approaches of the Sociology of Knowledge (Keller et al., 2018) and intersectional approaches (Grabe & Else-Quest, 2012; Patil, 2013) that integrate transnational experiences across national borders and other (physical) boundaries. Based on the empirical research, we assess transnational intersectional sense-making practices at sea. Our findings show that 1) (sexual) harassment in marine knowledge production processes occurs independent of localities, 2) intersectional discrimination at sea leads either to emancipation processes or to withdrawal, 3) tensions especially arise between scientists and non-scientists, which broadens the gap between these social groups and knowledge systems. We conclude by providing recommendations for increased intersectional and female workforce at sea and in marine sciences, so that the doing of research and work at sea can be more inclusive, equal, and safe.</p>

Analysis on Coral Bleaching (Soft/Hard Coral) and Coral Ecosystem Restoration Strategies—Linkage to Sustainable Industries and Economic Valuation†

Among marine ecosystems, coral reefs play crucial roles in terms of ecological functions such as biodiversity protection and coastal protection and have significant economic value, estimated at approximately 2.7 trillion USD per year. However, the current state of coral reefs is alarming, with more than 93% of coral ecosystems being damaged primarily by human activity and climate change. In line with UN Sustainable Development Goals 13 and 14, this research aims to analyze coral bleaching in soft corals in Korea and coral reefs in Malaysia through field surveys and interviews to assess their current conditions. This study also explores strategies for the restoration of coral ecosystems, utilizing economic valuation methods such as the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-Based Assessment (TESSA). Despite the limitations of applying a landscape-focused methodology to the marine environment and the lack of available data, this study emphasizes the importance of sustainable tourism and collaborative educational curricula involving governmental research institutes, universities, NGOs, and divers. These efforts are inspired by interactions with the Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI) at Sabah University and the Reef Check Center in Malaysia.

Risks of competing discourses of scientific responsibility in global ocean futures

Accelerated innovation in climate-impacted oceans is outpacing standards of scientific responsibility. Standards of responsibility are critical because they shape research agendas, funding flows, scientific practice, and how innovations are regulated. Here, we examine responsibility debates among 243 marine scientists and end-users proposing, trialling and/or implementing 76 innovations for climate-impacted oceans. We identify three distinct discourses: ‘science outside society’, ‘science for society’ and ‘science with society’. Competition within and across these discourses reveals heightened tensions between the need to protect scientific autonomy and freedom, and moral duty to ensure socially just and desirable ocean futures. Without thorough debate and oversight, the wide-reaching power of such unresolved tensions could propel marine science and ocean futures into volatile ethical and moral territory. Better connection and articulation of standards of responsibility with scientific motivations, practices, and funding are key to ensuring the transparency and accountability required to progress equitable and sustainable oceans.

Application of Fisheries Acoustics: A Review of the Current State in Mexico and Future Perspectives

In Mexico, marine acoustics research still faces technical and scientific challenges. For the past decade, the country has made a sustained effort to implement acoustic techniques to generate time series of standardized information; however, these data have been underutilized. Marine acoustics research has been used mainly for small pelagic species and has contributed to improving fishery management and to advising stakeholders. The Mexican scientific community has perceived marine acoustic techniques as expensive tools that are only used for industrial fishing purposes. Marine acoustics can provide information on the variability and interactions between species, their physical environment, and other communities of species, but this approach has not yet been integrated into interdisciplinary research programs or ecosystem models. Additionally, acoustic data provide estimates of biomass and indices of relative abundance, and they have suitable statistical properties for use in integrated catch-at-age models. In summary, to consolidate marine acoustic techniques in Mexico, it is necessary, at a minimum, to maintain the current infrastructure for acoustic studies, to increase the budget for the development of monitoring programs that collect ecosystem indicator data, to promote the training of human resources, and to encourage peer review of the information generated and reported in gray literature.

Research on the Impact Mechanism of Green Innovation in Marine Science and Technology Enabling Dual Economic Circulations

Research on the Impact Mechanism of Green Innovation in Marine Science and Technology Enabling Dual Economic Circulations

Cross-cultural approach to biobanking of living coral cells on Woppaburra sea Country in the southern inshore Great Barrier Reef

ABSTRACT Biobanking of cryopreserved, living cells is a conservation tool being increasingly integrated into management and recovery efforts for at-risk wildlife. Together with reproductive technologies like in-vitro fertilisation, biobanking can secure biodiversity for decades and beyond to support species’ health and ability to survive and recover in a changing world. An inaugural on-Country coral biobanking project occurred in 2022 on Konomie (North Keppel Island) involving partners from Taronga Conservation Society, the Australian Institute of Marine Science and Woppaburra Traditional Custodians. Biobanking activities were undertaken with free prior and informed consent for the collection, cryopreservation and transfer of living coral material for secure and specialised storage at Taronga’s CryoDiversity Banks on Cammeraygal and Wiradjuri Countries. During this project and a subsequent Biobanking Cultural Safety event in September 2023, we discussed cultural matters related to biobanking and measures that could be taken to ensure that the enduring link to Country of these samples is maintained in perpetuity. These outcomes will form the basis of a best-practice approach to biobanking activities in other regions of the Great Barrier Reef, in partnership with the Traditional Custodians of those sea Countries.

Research–Teaching Nexus in Electronic Instrumentation, a Tool to Improve Learning and Knowledge of Marine Sciences and Technologies

Research–Teaching Nexus in Electronic Instrumentation, a Tool to Improve Learning and Knowledge of Marine Sciences and Technologies

Visualization Method for Mesoscale Eddies Characteristics in Ocean Flow Fields Based on Variable Particle Systems

Visualization of ocean flow fields is a major area of interest in marine science. Existing visualization methods based on randomly generated particles tend to exhibit a uniform distribution. While this approach effectively represents ocean flow fields, it inadequately conveys the characteristic structures within the flow in an intuitive manner. Ocean eddies, as crucial components of ocean dynamics (Patrizio & Thompson, 2021), are key features in visualizing ocean flow fields. Mesoscale eddies, which contain 90% of the ocean's kinetic energy, play a vital role in transporting this energy. These eddies significantly influence local marine environments and are instrumental in understanding the kinetic energy of ocean flow fields, providing valuable insights for fields such as oceanography, meteorology, and climate research. The aim of this study is to establish a method based on variable particle systems. Initially, a feature set for mesoscale eddies and a parameter set for variable particles are defined. By mapping the feature set to the parameter set, we express the characteristic structure of mesoscale eddies dynamically. Using ocean flow field data, we demonstrate the method's ability to effectively highlight the characteristic structures of mesoscale eddies within the flow field through qualitative and quantitative evaluation metrics. By analyzing and visualizing ocean flow fields, we can gain a deeper understanding of their spatiotemporal evolution, thereby uncovering the patterns and regularities of their movement. This research approach not only facilitates the effective development, utilization, and sustainable management of marine resources but also aligns with the demands of digital ocean technology for visualizing marine spatial information.

Assessment of high-resolution regional ocean reanalysis K-ORA22 for the Northwest Pacific

The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology developed the Korea Operational Oceanographic System-Ocean Predictability Experiment for Marine Environment (KOOS-OPEM), a high-resolution (1/24°, 51 vertical levels) ocean prediction model for the Northwest Pacific Ocean that incorporates ensemble optimal interpolation. In this study, we present KOOS-OPEM ReAnalysis version 2022 (K-ORA22), which covers the period from 2011 to 2022. We conducted a comparative analysis between K-ORA22 and other high-resolution (1/10°–1/12°) global reanalyses, including the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model, Global Ocean Reanalysis and Simulation (GLORYS), and Bluelink ReAnalysis (BRAN), to demonstrate the reproducibility and reliability of regional characteristics. Statistical comparisons revealed that while K-ORA22 exhibited some warm biases, its sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly correlation after removing the seasonal cycle was approximately 0.87, comparable to other reanalyses. Additionally, K-ORA22 effectively reproduced coastal upwelling, which is characterized by a sharp decrease in SST, as observed by marine meteorological buoys in the Southwest of the East/Japan Sea. K-ORA22 exhibits a warm bias of approximately 0.50 °C around 200 m, slightly higher than those of GLORYS and BRAN, while maintaining a low salinity bias in the subsurface. Notably, K-ORA22 outperformed the other reanalyses in accurately reproducing the unique characteristics of North Pacific and East Sea intermediate waters, characterized by a salinity minimum layer. In addition, K-ORA22 stands out in its ability to accurately reproduce the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass with a low-temperature root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.76 °C in the Yellow Sea (YS) region. However, it exhibited the highest RMSE for salinity in the YS region and Korea/Tsushima Strait, indicating a potential overestimation of river discharge from Korea and China. While the sea surface height (SSH) anomaly correlation of K-ORA22 did not surpass 0.80 in the entire region because of limitations in the background error covariance used, its ability to reproduce the Kuroshio path was comparable to those of other reanalysis datasets. In conclusion, K-ORA22 excels in reproducing the unique characteristics of Korean marginal seas. Still, it exhibits weaknesses, such as the overestimation of river discharge and a somewhat limited ability to simulate SSH variability, compared with other global reanalyses. We plan to enhance K-ORA22 by updating background error covariance, addressing biases related to river discharge and assimilating the best available in situ observations and satellite data.

AKMA3 Cruise Report

The AKMA3 oceanographic expedition (29th April–10th May) is part of the Advancing Knowledge of Methane in the Arctic, a project funded by the Norwegian Research Council (287869). The main aim of AKMA is to develop a long-term, multidisciplinary education, and research collaboration focused on Arctic methane sources, processes, ecosystems, and geological history to provide exceptional training for the next generation of experts in Arctic marine sciences and greenhouse gas phenomena. The AKMA3 oceanographic expedition focuses on three objectives: SCIENCE: Focus on the interplay between changing ocean conditions and the physical, biological, and chemical response of extreme environments (methane and oil seepage sites) through a multidisciplinary study of sites in the Barents Sea. Research activities: study sediment-sea-air greenhouse gas exchange; conducting water-column profiling of CH4; gas source analyses; biological and sediment sampling. EDUCATION: This high-level science on this cruise also includes sea-going training for students to develop their knowledge in collecting, curating, and processing samples and data, providing opportunities to fully engage in marine science. OUTREACH: To generate enthusiasm and interest in research expeditions with students and to promote a deeper understanding of science and its applications.

Recommendation-Based Trust Evaluation Model for the Internet of Underwater Things

The Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) represents an emerging and innovative field with the potential to revolutionize underwater exploration and monitoring. Despite its promise, IoUT faces significant challenges related to reliability and security, which hinder its development and deployment. A particularly critical issue is the establishment of trustworthy communication networks, necessitating the adaptation and enhancement of existing models from terrestrial and marine systems to address the specific requirements of IoUT. This work explores the problem of dishonest recommendations within trust modelling systems, a critical issue that undermines the integrity of trust modelling in IoUT networks. The unique environmental and operational constraints of IoUT exacerbate the severity of this issue, making current detection methods insufficient. To address this issue, a recommendation evaluation method that leverages both filtering and weighting strategies is proposed to enhance the detection of dishonest recommendations. The model introduces a filtering technique that combines outlier detection with deviation analysis to make initial decisions based on both majority outcomes and personal experiences. Additionally, a belief function is developed to weight received recommendations based on multiple criteria, including freshness, similarity, trustworthiness, and the decay of trust over time. This multifaceted weighting strategy ensures that recommendations are evaluated from different perspectives to capture deceptive acts that exploit the complex nature of IoUT to the advantage of dishonest recommenders. To validate the proposed model, extensive comparative analyses with existing trust evaluation methods are conducted. Through a series of simulations, the efficacy of the model in capturing dishonest recommendation attacks and improving the accuracy rate of detecting more sophisticated attack scenarios is demonstrated. These results highlight the potential of the model to significantly enhance the trustworthiness of IoUT establishments.

Longline and mesocosm cultivation of serrated wrack Fucus serratus (Phaeophyceae)

ABSTRACT Seaweed aquaculture is becoming increasingly important as the global seaweed market is set to exceed £20 billion by 2030, leaving natural populations at risk of overexploitation. Fucoids, such as Fucus serratus, are intertidal seaweeds hand-harvested for their use in agricultural, pharmaceutical, and biomedical industries. Despite many aspects of the biology of fucoids being well researched, there have been very few studies on their aquaculture. In this study, we grew F. serratus biomass from gamete life stages in the Queen’s University Marine Laboratory for 8 months and monitored their growth, amino acid and phenolic contents in a subtidal field trial. Gametes of F. serratus were successfully fertilized in vitro and attached to substrata: Tiles (mesocosm) and Dyneema Twine (subtidal). The growth of F. serratus on each substrate was monitored for 6 months in the laboratory facility with juveniles reaching 2–4 mm in length. The juveniles on twine were then deployed at the Strangford Lough test site and growth was compared against the juveniles on tiles after an additional two months. Prior to field deployment, individuals grown on tiles were significantly longer (~17%) than those on twine growing to ~3 cm, however, after the two-month deployment, the twine thalli grew significantly longer than those on the tiles (~33%) reaching ~6 cm in length. Subtidal F. serratus grown on twine had significantly higher amino acid content, whereas the phenolic content was significantly lower (~62 mg PGE g−1) than seaweed grown on the tiles (~128 mgPGE g−1). Growing F. serratus successfully in subtidal areas is highly important for providing sustainably sourced biomass to reduce reliance on wild harvesting. Further, cultivating in the subtidal zone will help to avoid competition for space from other aquaculture industries operating in the intertidal zone.