ABSTRACT
The oceans play a crucial role in the global environment and the sustainability of human populations, because of their involvement in climate regulation and provision of living and non-living resources to humans. Maintenance of healthy oceans in an era of increasing human pressure requires a high-level understanding of the processes occurring in the marine environment and the impacts of anthropogenic activities. Effective protection and sustainable resource management must be based, in part, on knowledge derived from successful research. Current marine research activities are being limited by a need for high-quality researchers capable of addressing critical issues in broad multidisciplinary research activities. This is particularly true for developing countries which will require the building of capacity for marine scientific research. This paper reviews the current activities aimed at increasing marine research capacity in developing and emerging countries and analyses the challenges faced, including: appropriate alignment of the research goals and societal and policy-relevant needs; training in multidisciplinary research; increasing capacity for overall synthesis of scientific data; building the capacity of technical staff; keeping highly qualified personnel in marine scientific research roles; cross-cultural issues in training; minimising duplication in training activities; improving linkages among human capital, project resources and infrastructure. Potential solutions to these challenges are provided, along with some priorities for action aimed at improving the overall research effort.
Subject(s)
Community Participation , Conservation of Natural Resources/methods , Developing Countries , Environment , Humans , Oceans and Seas , ResearchABSTRACT
The distribution of partial pressure of carbon dioxide and the concentrations of nitrous oxide and methane were investigated in a cold water filament near the coastal upwelling region off Oman at the beginning of the southwest monsoon in 1997. The results suggest that such filaments are regions of intense biogeochemical activity which may affect the marine cycling of climatically relevant trace gases.http://link.springer. de/link/service/journals/00114/bibs/9086010/90860489.htm
ABSTRACT
Abstract The modification of nitrogen isotopic signals during particle sedimentation in the sea is of great interest for the use of sedimentary δ(15)N-values as a paleoceanographic tool. The effect of organic matter degradation on such modification was studied by analyzing nitrogen, hydrolyzable amino acids (THAA) and δ(15)N-values in a suit of marine settling particles collected from the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, by using time-series sediment traps, and in underlying sediments. The flux of settling particles showed temporal variations which are related to the monsoons, the major climatic feature of this marine region. During high flux periods settling particles are enriched in nitrogenous material that is less degraded and exhibit higher δ(15)N-values than particles showing characteristics of degradation. At the sediment surface more than 95% of the settling particulate nitrogen is lost and the δ(15)N-values of the residual sedimentary nitrogen are higher than those of settling particles. The observed increase is interpreted to be due to fractionation during degradation of organic matter.
ABSTRACT
The Chernobyl nuclear power station accident released large quantities of vaporized radionuclides, and, to a lesser extent, mechanically released small (less than 1-10 micron) aerosol particles. The total release of radioactivity is estimated to be out of the order of 1-2 x 10(18) Bq (3-5 x 10(7) Ci) not allowing for releases of the xenon and krypton gases. The 137Cs releases of 3.8 x 10(16) Bq from Chernobyl can be compared to 1.3 x 10(18) Bq 137Cs released due to atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. Chernobyl-derived radionuclides can be used as transient tracers to study physical and biogeochemical processes. Initial measurements of fallout Chernobyl radionuclides from a time-series sediment trap at 1,071 m during June-September 1986 in the southern Black Sea are presented. The specific activities of 137Cs, 144Ce and 106Ru in the trap samples (0.5-2, 4-12 and 6-13 Bq g-1) are independent of the particle flux while their relative activities reflect their rates of scavenging in the order Ce greater than Ru greater than Cs.