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Environmental studies 2022 - 2023
Authors:
Alessandro Lambertini, Massimiliano Menghini, Jacopo
Cimini, Angelo Odetti, Gabriele Bruzzone, Marco Bibuli,
Emanuele Mandanici, Luca Vittuari, Paolo Castaldi,
Massimo Caccia, and Luca De Marchi.
Abstract:
The ability to observe the world has seen significant
developments in the last few decades,
alongside the techniques and methodologies to derive
accurate digital replicas of observed envi-
ronments. Underwater ecosystems present greater
challenges and remain largely unexplored, but
the need for reliable and up-to-date information
motivated the birth of the Interreg Italy–Croatia
SUSHI DROP Project (Sustainable fisheries wIth
DROnes data Processing). The aim of the project
is to map ecosystems for sustainable fishing and to
achieve this goal a prototype of an Unmanned
Underwater Vehicle (UUV), named Blucy, has been
designed and developed.
Authors:
Stephanie M. BilodeauI, Austin W. H. Schwartz,
Binfeng Xu, V. Pau´l Pauca, Miles R. Silman.
Abstract:
Understanding long-term trends in marine ecosystems
requires accurate and repeatable counts of fishes and
other aquatic organisms on spatial and temporal scales
that are difficult or impossible to achieve with diver-
based surveys. Long-term, spatially distributed cameras,
like those used in terrestrial camera trapping, have not
been successfully applied in marine systems due to
limitations of the aquatic environment. in this paper,
the authors develop a methodology for a system of
low-cost, long-term camera traps (Dispersed
Environment Aquatic Cameras), deployable over large
spatial scales in remote marine environments.
The Energy Transition Index (ETI) has benchmarked
the progress of countries’ energy transition for a
decade on the three dimensions of the energy triangle
– economic development and growth,
energy security and access, and environmental
sustainability – and on the enabling environment for
transition. In view of the current volatile
macroeconomic and geopolitical environment,
however, a trend analysis from historical energy data
can currently provide only limited insights.
Hence, instead of the annual country energy transition
benchmarking report, this special 2022 edition builds
on the ETI trends observed in recent years to provide a
perspective on the current challenges affecting the
transition, and highlights priorities to supercharge it.
.
Authors: Lakshman R. T. Pedamallu, Ramiro J. J. Neves,
Nelson E. V. Rodrigues, & J. V. Cruz.
Offshore Geothermal Energy can be considered as a
non-polluting source of renewable energy, in relation
to harmful emissions that are associated with burning
fossil fuels to generate electricity. The geothermal
brines of the mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal vents are
believed to be potential sources of offshore
geothermal energy. These fluids represent one of the
most abundant energy resources worldwide, due to
their enormous quantity, infinite recharge, and high
temperatures. However, all forms of electricity
generation impact the environment in some way. The
ecological and biological importance of the vents
restricts the number of areas that can be utilized to
produce electricity.
Authors: Gregory S. Schorr, M. Bradley Hanson, Erin A.
Falcone, Candice K. Emmons, Susan M. Jarvis,
Russel D. Andrews, and Eric M. Keen.
The Pacific Offshore killer whale population is currently
listed as data deficient on the IUCN Red List and
Threatened in Canada. The population is estimated at
300 individuals, extending from Southern California to
the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. To better understand
trends, habitat use, and diving behavior, The authors
deployed seven dart-attached satellite tags during two
encounters with Offshores off California and one
meeting off Washington State in 2013.
.
Authors: Rachel D. Moseley, Justyna J. Hampel, Rachel
L. Mugge and Leila J. Hamdan
The studies described in this document aimed to
investigate how historic wooden-hulled shipwrecks
impact the dispersal of wood-colonizing microbial
biofilms. They addressed how proximity to wooden
shipwrecks shapes diversity, richness, and community
composition in the surrounding environment. Study
sites included two historic shipwrecks in the northern
Gulf of Mexico identified as wooden-hulled sailing
vessels dating to the late 19th century.
.
Authors:
Michael G. Bertram, Jake M. Martin, Erin S. McCallum ,
Lesley A. Alton, Jack A. Brand, Bryan W. Brooks, Daniel
Cerveny, Jerker Fick, Alex T. Ford, Gustav Hellström,
Marcus Michelangeli, Shinichi Nakagawa, Giovanni
Polverino, Minna Saaristo, Andrew Sih, Hung Tan,
Charles R. Tyler, Bob B.M. Wong, and Tomas Brodin
The aim of this review is to guide the rapidly
developing field of behavioural ecotoxicology towards
increased environmental realism, ecological
complexity, and mechanistic understanding.
.
Authors:
Roman Ekhlakov, Ekaterina Romanova, Elena Dogadin,
Sergey Korchagin, Sergey Gataullin, Józef Mosiej, Timur
Gataullin, and Petr Nikitin
A significant group of industrial facilities can be
classified as chemically hazardous facilities (CHFs). To
predict the spread of harmful impurities in the
programs being developed, Gaussian and Lagrangian
probabilistic models are actively used, on the basis of
which the complexes used both in the EMERCOM of
Russia and in research organizations are being
implemented.
.
Authors:
Marissa B. Kosnik, Michael Zwicky Hauschild, and Peter
Fantke
This paper proposes an absolute environmental
sustainability framework for chemical pollution where
the chemical pressure on ecosystems is quantified, the
ability of ecosystems to withstand chemical pressure is
determined, and the “ safe space is derived, wherein
chemical pressure is within the carrying capacity and
hence does not lead to irreversible adverse ecological
effects.
.
Authors:
Adrian Lee, Benny Jiang, Ingrid Zeng, Michal Aibin
This paper explores the possibility of using computer
vision and underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles
(ROVs) to detect medical waste, such as masks and
gloves in oceans. The authors use a single-stage
detector to train the machine learning approach and
then validate the results using the video feed from the
tethered ROV.
.
Authors:
Namsrai Jargal, Md Mamun, Chang-Yun Choi, and
Kwang-Guk An
Clarifying how functional traits of aquatic organisms
depend on ecological conditions can facilitate aquatic
conservation and management, but determining the
importance of these traits to ecological river health
requires further investigation. As fish play a vital role in
the assessment of environmental conditions, the
authors examined the relevance of the functional
diversity of lotic fish to the river health assessment
using multi-metric models of water pollution and fish-
based biological integrity.
.
Authors: Ticiana Fettermann, Lorenzo Fiori, Len
Gillman, Karen A. Stockin, and Barbara Bollard
Generating accurate estimates of group sizes or
behaviours of cetaceans from boat-based surveys can
be challenging because much of their activity occurs
below the water surface and observations are
distorted by horizontal perspectives. Automated
observation using drones is an emerging research tool
for animal behavioural investigations. However, drone-
based and boat-based survey methods have not been
quantitatively compared for small, highly mobile
cetaceans, such as Delphinidae.
The authors conducted paired concurrent boat-based
and drone-based surveys, measuring the number of
individuals in 21 groups and the behaviour within 13
groups of bottlenose dolphin.
.
Authors: Aleksandra Koroza, and Peter G. H. Evans
Levels of boat traffic in coastal seas have been steadily
increasing in many parts of the world, introducing
pressures on marine wildlife through disturbance. The
appropriate management of human activities is
important not only to preserve wildlife, but also for the
local communities that depend on ecotourism for
employment and their economy. This study presents
further insight into bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops
truncatus) responses to boats in New Quay Bay (West
Wales) within the Cardigan Bay Special Area of
Conservation.
.
Authors:
Israa Ibrahim Lazim, Samar Jasim Mohammed, Neran
Adran al Naqeeb, and Mohamed I A Fayed.
This study illustrates the importance of some aquatic
plants as bio-indicators of contamination with
hydrocarbons and heavy elements. Aquatic plants
have many applications in treating contamination with
hydrocarbons and heavy components due to their
much lower cost and higher efficiency.
Aquatic plants have been proved in numerous studies
to be sinks for heavy metals and hydrocarbons in
aquatic ecosystems, and it is also used in the treatment
process and to reduce or limit contamination.
.
Authors: Mihaela Marilena Stancu
The present study aimed to evaluate the potential of a
Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain to tolerate and
degrade aliphatic petroleum hydrocarbons.
Publisher: US Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management, Office of
Renewable Energy Programs
The potential effects of wind energy development on
marine fisheries resources have gained attention due
to the ecological and economic importance of the
fisheries and the repercussions to fishing communities.
Fisheries are exposed to impact from offshore wind
energy development due to port location, the overlap
of fishing grounds and wind energy areas, and the
nature of the gear and vessels used. The impact of
excluding fishing and survey efforts from wind energy
areas was examined using a modeling tool.
.
Authors: Ismail, Grema, M. A. Allamin, Bukar, Adamu,
and Fardami.
Petroleum hydrocarbons are among the major driving
forces of advancement in the last Century. However,
some hydrocarbons are leading to adverse health and
ecosystem stability effects. Environmental pollution
with petroleum and petrochemical products has been
recognized as a significant and severe problem. Most
oil components are toxic to humans and wildlife, as
they are easily incorporated into the food chain. This
fact has increased scientific interest in examining the
distribution, fate, and behaviour of oil and its
derivatives in the environment.
.
Authors:
W. Corredor-Santamaría, I.C. Calderón-Delgado, Z.
Arbeli, J.M. Navas, Y.M. Velasco-Santamaría Petro.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are present in all
environmental matrices. Polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbon-rich wastewater from the oil industry is
discharged into natural water bodies. Detritivorous fish
show the effects of pollutants in water. Biomarkers of
effect make it possible to demonstrate exposure to
xenobiotics such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
The present study aimed to evaluate the hepatic and
erythrocyte response in Aequidens metae, an
etritivorous fish exposed to polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons in terms of morphological, biochemical,
and genotoxic changes.
.
Authors: Wan Nor Roslam Wan Isahak, Lina
Mohammed Shaker, and Ahmed Al-Amiery
Once fundamental difficulties such as active sites and
selectivity are fully resolved, metal-free catalysts such as
3D graphene or carbon nanotubes (CNT) are very
cost-effective substitutes for the expensive noble metals
used for catalyzing CO2. A viable method for
converting environmental wastes into useful energy
storage or industrial wealth, and one which also
addresses the environmental and energy problems
brought on by emissions of CO2, is CO2
hydrogenation into hydrocarbon compounds.
.
Authors: Martyna A. Rzetala, Robert Machowski,
Maksymilian Solarski, Daniel Bakota, Arkadiusz
Płominski, and Mariusz Rzetala
The bottom sediments were studied within the basins
of water bodies used for recreational purposes (e.g.,
bathing, fishing, and diving) in the Silesian Upland and
its periphery in southern Poland. It was found that
bottom sediments were contaminated to varying
degrees with toxic metals, metalloids, and non-metals,
as evidenced by the values of geoecological indicators.
It was concluded that the presence of harmful
elements (e.g., lead, zinc, cadmium, chromium,
strontium, and arsenic) in bottom sediments should be
considered when classifying water bodies as suitable
for recreational use.
.
Authors: Michail Ragkousis, Maria Sini, Nikoletta
Koukourouvli, Argyro Zenetos,and Stelios
Katsanevaki.
The Greek Seas are extensively exposed to the
proliferation of marine alien species. At least 242 alien
species have been reported while their introduction
rate is increasing. Some species severely impact native
ecosystems. The spatio-temporal proliferation of these
species outside their natural boundaries depends on
several parameters, including their biological
characteristics, native distribution range, introduction
pathway, and time of initial introduction. Knowing the
current and potential alien species distribution is
essential for implementing effective management
actions.
.
Authors:
Cecilia Paula Alonso, Mariano Rodríguez, Cintia
Fraysse, Gustavo Lovrich, and Gregorio Bigatti
Underwater sampling must balance time-efficient and
standardized data to compare areas and times. The
roving diver survey involves divers meandering and
actively searching for species and has been useful for
producing fish species lists but has seldom been
implemented for benthic taxa. In this study, the authors
used this non-destructive technique to register species
associated with kelp forests at the sub-Antarctic
Bécasses Island (Beagle Channel, Argentina), detecting
numerous species while providing the first multi-taxa
inventory for the area.
.
Authors: Central mediterranean Sea - Threatened by
Anthropogenic Impacts (Michela Angiolillo,
Michela Giusti, Lorenzo Rossi, and Leonardo
Tunesi
This study reports the first attempt to quantitatively
describe a Dendrophyllia ramea population on the
Apollo bank (Ionian Sea), revealed in summer 2021
through a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey.
The habitat description, bathymetric distribution,
population density, and structure of the species were
assessed by image analysis.
.
Authors:
M. Riedel, M. Scherwath, M. Römer, C. K. Paull, E. M.
Lundsten, D. Caress, P. G. Brewer, J. W. Pohlman, L. L.
Lapham, N. R. Chapman, M. J. Whiticar, G. D. Spence,
R. J. Enkin, and K. Douglas
Barkley Canyon is off the west coast off Vancouver
Island, British Columbia, Canada. The authors
combined repeat remotely operated vehicle (ROV) sea
floor video observations, mapping with an
autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), ship-, ROV-,
and AUV- based identification of gas flares, as well as
seismic and Chirp data to investigate the distribution of
fluid migration pathways.
.
Authors: O. V. Soloveva, E. A. Tikhonova, K. I. Gurov, E.
A. Kotelyanets
The present environmental problems of Balaklava Bay
(Black Sea), which has an increased anthropogenic
load for a long time, are of growing interest.
It is known that high concentrations of hydrocarbons
(HCs) negatively affect the life processes of
hydrobionts. The purpose of this work is to determine
the content and spatial distribution of HCs as well as to
assess the possible sources of their input in the bottom
sediments of Balaklava Bay.
.
Authors: Rod M. Connolly, Kristin I. Jinks, Cesar Herrera,
and Sebastian Lopez-Marcano
Mobile underwater cameras, diver-operated or on
underwater vehicles, have become popular for
monitoring fisheries. Replacing divers with cameras
has clear advantages, such as creating permanent
records and accessing waters unavailable to divers.
The use of cameras, however, typically produces large
quantities of video that are time-consuming to process
manually. Automated analysis of underwater videos
from stationary cameras using deep learning
techniques has advanced considerably in recent years,
but the use of mobile cameras potentially raises new
challenges for existing methods.
.
Authors: Maria Bollinger, Keir J. Macartney, Erin E.
Easton, and David W. Hicks
On the continental shelf off the coast of South Texas lie
a series of natural hard-bottom structures (rocky
outcrops and relic coral-algal reefs) known as the
South Texas Banks (STB), which provide critical habitat
for benthic organisms and pelagic fish. The depth of
the banks, a persistent nepheloid layer, and strong
currents have resulted in few studies that provide
quantitative biodiversity data on the STB. Using a
remotely operated vehicle (ROV), video surveys were
conducted to quantitatively describe the mesophotic
coral communities and assess habitat suitability of
fiveve STB
.
Authors:
Mackenzie E. Gerringer, Yumna Ismail, Kayla A.
Cannon, Arline Camilo Hernandez, Franchesca
Gonzales Peralta, Ryan Bohen, Joseph C. Cartwright,
Austin Feasley, Lydia Fregosi, Hannah Lehman, Hailey
Niles, Jillian Quay, Nima Sherpa, Brett H. Woodworth,
and Kasey Cantwell
Access to deep-sea systems has been expanded by
programs such as the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's Ocean Exploration
(NOAA Ocean Exploration), which uses telepresence
to bring deep-sea exploration to a global audience.
The authors of this paper present an example of how
remotely operated vehicles can engage students in
original research.
.
Authors:
Tadamichi Morisaka, Tomo Furuichi, Kazunobu Kogi,
Motoi Yoshioka
The authors propose a group definition for
underwater observations after comparing 234 group
transitions from 44 surveys of simultaneous boat-based
and underwater observations targeting the resident
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins around Mikura Island,
Japan.
.
Authors:
Daniel Ierodiaconou, Dianne McLean, Matthew Jon
Birt, Todd Bond, Sam Wines, Ollie Glade-Wright, Joe
Morris, Doug Higgs, and Sasha K. Whitmarsh
This study uses a decade of industry remotely operated
vehicle (ROV) imagery to describe fish, invertebrate,
and benthic communities on gas field infrastructure.
Sampling was conducted over 22 km of flowline, three
wells and one manifold in the temperate waters of
Bass Strait, south east Australia in depths of 155 to 263
m.
.
Authors:
Kirsten F. Thompson, Kathryn A. Miller, Jake Wacker,
Solène Derville, Christopher Laing, David Santillo, and
Paul Johnston
Deep seabed mining operations, if permitted, could
present significant risks to ocean ecosystems.
Disturbance on any scale is likely to be long lasting and
irreversible. Scant research to date has examined the
impact that deep sea minerals extraction would have
on cetaceans.
.
Authors:
Leigh W. Tait, Jeremy Bulleid, Lily Pryor Rodgers,
Kimberley Seaward, Louis Olsen, Chris Woods, Henry
Lane, and Graeme J. Inglis
The authors assessed the sensitivity and efficiency of
ROVs and divers for detecting marine non-indigenous
species (NIS), including the potential for automated
detection algorithms to reduce post-processing costs
of ROV methods.
.
Authors:
Delphine Lobelle, Li Shen, Bas van Huet, Tim van
Emmerik, Mikael Kaandorp, Giulia Iattoni, Cornelius
Peter Baldé, Kara Lavender Law, and Erik van Sebille
Plastic entering the environment is a growing threat
for ecosystems. the authors estimate the annual mass
of known Dutch plastic waste generated and littered
and where it ends up. The author used two methods:
a material flow analysis of plastic waste separately
collected from 13 economic sectors, and estimate the
amount sent to processing plants or exported and a
mismanagement model from observations of litter plus
estimates of inadequately managed exported plastic
scraps entering the environment abroad.
.
Authors:
Maximilian P. Born,* Catrina Brull, and Holger
Schuttrumpf
Studies investigating different effects on the
fragmentation of plastics have mostly disregarded a
sufficient mechanical component for fragmentation,
focusing on degradation by UV radiation. Therefore,
this study investigated the impact of the mechanical
fragmentation drivers, wave impact, and sediment
abrasion on the fragmentation of expanded
polystyrene (EPS), high-density polyethylene (PE-HD),
and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) particles
.
.
Author: Safia Akli-Bidi
Eucyclops are small crustaceans that are important
members of aquatic food webs. Examination of
Eucyclops populations coming from Algerian water
bodies and identified as Eucyclops cf. serrulatus
showed three morphotypes 1, 2 and 3, based on
the morphometric characters and the
microcharacters. The morphotype 1 was the most
abundant, collected in the East and the West of
Algeria. The morphotype 2 was sampled in the south
of the country, characterized by posterolaterally
elongated thoracic segments and the fourth thoracic
segment has cilia on its lateral angles. The morphotype
3 was found in a small temporary pond in the north
and was the smallest one.
Author: So Gu Kim
Most underwater explosions show characteristics of a
bubble pulse and reverberation effects. To specifically
identify the cause of an underwater explosion, it is
most important to find a bubble pulse and
reverberation effects using spectral and cepstral
analyses. For a very shallow underwater explosion,
spectral analysis is preferable to cepstral analysis. Time-
domain analyses show bubble pulses as well as
positive polarities of the first P-wave arrivals on the
vertical component, and frequency-domain spectral
analyses also clearly reveal the bubble pulse and
reverberation effects. This study includes comparative
studies including a Russian underwater nuclear
explosion and US Navy shock trials.
.
Authors:
Luca Andolfi, Mirko Antonini, Stefano Binda, Paolo
Braca, Luciano Bozzi, Sandro Carniel, Nicola Forti,
Giorgio Ioannou, Elizabeth Laier English, Margherita
Lenoci, Leonardo M. Millefiori, Alfredo Renga, Aniello
Russo, Giuseppe Tomasicchio
Although satellites are very accurate in monitoring the
melting glaciers, they provide scarce or no information
about under-ice water characteristics. However,
mobile platforms would represent a substantial
integration of the Ice Tethered Profilers, which move
slowly with the sea ice without possibility to select the
specific area where the data are collected. This paper
givies an overview on how capabilities provided by
underwater Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT)
technologies can support Climate Change Monitoring.
