• Energy Research
• 14. Life underwater close

Tsunamis pose a significant threat to the construction of Nuclear Power Plants. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a comprehensive study regarding the potential threat of tsunamis and mitigation measures using detailed data at prospective locations. This assessment is a prerequisite for effective environmental impact planning and analysis. To determine the suitability of a prospective location, careful consideration of natural factors, including earthquakes as triggers for tsunamis, is essential. The main objective of this tsunami research is to assess the level of safety of potential locations against tsunami hazards and develop appropriate mitigation strategies. This research uses the Cornell Multigrid Coupled Tsunami (COMCOT) tsunami modeling technique. This modeling approach utilizes topographic and bathymetric data obtained through extensive field surveys. In addition, this research aims to determine the maximum tsunami height in the inundation area and identify potential tsunami hazards arising from various scenarios related to the active tectonic potential of the Philippine Manila Trench. The Bengkayang Gosong Beach area and West Kalimantan are among the candidate locations that may be affected with the estimated tsunami height being between 0.48 meters and 0.62 meters. The tsunami arrival time was between 9 hours 10 minutes to 9 hours 24 minutes. These findings play an important role in conducting comprehensive risk assessments for nuclear power plant development, ensuring that necessary steps are taken to reduce potential hazards associated with tsunamis.

This paper addresses some questions that climate change raises for international law. It focuses in particular on the request for an advisory opinion submitted by the United Nations General Assembly to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 29 March 2023. This request is analysed as a further manifestation of the international community’s concern to clarify the international responsibility of states to prevent, mitigate and remedy the damage caused by climate change. The study argues that the ICJ could clarify obligations under existing treaties. There may also be a particular opportunity for the Court to expand its jurisprudence on other sources of international law. In particular, it asks whether the ICJ could confirm the emergence of a specific customary rule on the issue.

The paper presents a morphodynamic model which can be coupled with any wave model capable of producing time/spectral averaged wave quantities. This model based on a wave energy minimization principle highlights the morphodynamic phenomenology, such as the sandbar creation. Such a model can be used in solving engineering optimization problems. It is also developed to illustrate the idea that beach sand transport can be thought as a non-local phenomenon. We used wave calculations from SWAN and XBeach in our model, and we compared the morphodynamic results to LIP and SANDS hydro-morphodynamic benchmark as well as open-sea simulations. Using supplementary mathematical development, we improved the minimization method using the Hadamard derivative.

With the continuous prosperity and development of the shipping industry, it is necessary and meaningful to plan a safe, green, and efficient route for ships sailing far away. In this study, a hybrid multicriteria ship route planning method based on improved particle swarm optimization–genetic algorithm is presented, which aims to optimize the meteorological risk, fuel consumption, and navigation time associated with a ship. The proposed algorithm not only has the fast convergence of the particle swarm algorithm but also improves the diversity of solutions by applying the crossover operation, selection operation, and multigroup elite selection operation of the genetic algorithm and improving the Pareto optimal frontier distribution. Based on the Pareto optimal solution set obtained by the algorithm, the minimum-navigation-time route, the minimum-fuel-consumption route, the minimum-navigation-risk route, and the recommended route can be obtained. Herein, a simulation experiment is conducted with respect to a container ship, and the optimization route is compared and analyzed. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can plan a series of feasible ship routes to ensure safety, greenness, and economy and that it provides route selection references for captains and shipping companies.

Background The main goal of this contribution was to define the ecological niche of the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), to describe potential distributional changes, and to assess the relative importance of niche conservatism and divergence processes between the two lineages described for the species (L.g. cacsilensis and L.g. guanicoe). Methods We used maximum entropy to model lineage’s climate niche from 3,321 locations throughout continental Chile, and developed future niche models under climate change for two extreme greenhouse gas emission scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5). We evaluated changes of the environmental niche and future distribution of the largest mammal in the Southern Cone of South America. Evaluation of niche conservatism and divergence were based on identity and background similarity tests. Results We show that: (a) the current geographic distribution of lineages is associated with different climatic requirements that are related to the geographic areas where these lineages are located; (b) future distribution models predict a decrease in the distribution surface under both scenarios; (c) a 3% decrease of areal protection is expected if the current distribution of protected areas is maintained, and this is expected to occur at the expense of a large reduction of high quality habitats under the best scenario; (d) current and future distribution ranges of guanaco mostly adhere to phylogenetic niche divergence hypotheses between lineages. Discussion Associating environmental variables with species ecological niche seems to be an important aspect of unveiling the particularities of, both evolutionary patterns and ecological features that species face in a changing environment. We report specific descriptions of how these patterns may play out under the most extreme climate change predictions and provide a grim outlook of the future potential distribution of guanaco in Chile. From an ecological perspective, while a slightly smaller distribution area is expected, this may come with an important reduction of available quality habitats. From the evolutionary perspective, we describe the limitations of this taxon as it experiences forces imposed by climate change dynamics.

Flood risk increase due to climate change is one of the world's most pressing issues. Different countries and regions may take or have taken different approaches to deal with it. Therefore, information sharing and learning from each other are essential for achieving flood risk reduction on a global scale, especially in times of climate change. This paper provides a diagnosis of challenges in flood risk management in Japan in response to climate change. It highlights change in hazard and exposure and increase in vulnerability. Further, it placed its attention on new strategies taken by the Japanese government to counteract climate change impacts with a particular focus on the latest legal development to better support flood risk management. Although there are large amounts of research concerning climate action in the existing literature, the majority of them focus on technical and social aspects. The present study enriches literature on flood risk management and sheds new light on how to advance integrated river basin management.

The paper describes formation and spreading of dense shelf waters in the Adriatic Sea (North Adriatic Dense Water, NAdDW) during the winter of 2012 as a consequence of an intense and long cold air outbreak of northeasterly Bora winds. As a result, during February 2012 northern Adriatic Sea water temperature dropped to about 6 degrees C and density exceeded 1030 kg/m(3), most likely the maximum value since 1929. NAdDW dynamics has been investigated by means of a 3-D ocean-wave coupled model running on a high resolution and eddy-permitting grid. The numerical experiments have relied on the Coupled-Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment-Transport (COAWST) system forced one-way with atmospheric forcings provided by the model COSMO-17. A suite of observational data has been used to characterize the Bora event and evaluate numerical model performance. At sub-basin scales, the newly formed waters flowing southerly have produced a water renewal of the northern Adriatic, as more than 50% of water volumes have left the basin. Dense waters volume transports, evaluated through different Adriatic cross-sections, have been modulated by tides (damped for the densest water masses) and reached about 1 Sv. The contribution of wave-induced forcings has been quantified and examined, indicating that these represent a major driving mechanism during NAdDW production and spreading phases. This work provides evidence that NAdDW is spread accordingly with two different mechanisms: at early stages of its formation, the wind-driven ocean circulation pushes newly formed waters to leave the northern basin with relatively high speeds (about 0.30 m/s). Later on, remaining NAdDW leaks slowly out (0.09 m/s as average) from the production site. Residence times of dense waters in the north, middle, and south Adriatic Sea are also documented. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

<abstract> <p>Fish is a key component of Nigeria's protein supply, making up about 40% of the nation's protein intake and considerably aiding in the achievement of the second Sustainable Development Goal of feeding the expanding population. Despite its importance, Nigeria's fish production and supply cannot keep up with demand. While total fish output has increased from 1,073,059 tonnes in 2014 to 1,169,000 tonnes in 2018 and is expected to reach 1,275,000 tonnes by 2030, there is a great supply gap. Fish production not only affects food security but also the national economy and employment. Notwithstanding, the fisheries sub-sector suffers several difficulties, such as poor management, a deficient fisheries policy, overfishing, diminishing catch, and a lack of technical know-how among fish growers and fishermen. Thus, exploring untapped aquaculture potential and managing small-scale fisheries effectively are necessary to close the gap between the demand for and supply of fish. The fish output situation can be improved by enforcing fisheries policy and regulations, increasing investments in ethical fisheries and aquaculture, and providing sufficient training for fish farmers and fisherfolk. To reduce waste associated with the limited number of fish now produced, post-harvest losses must also be addressed. By solving these issues and putting in place the necessary actions, Nigeria can increase its fish production, strengthen its food security, and accomplish the sustainable development goals in its evolving blue economy.</p> </abstract>