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The International Sirius Mathematics Center, located on the Black Sea coast, was founded in 2019 by the Talent and Success Foundation for organizing mathematical conferences and other events promoting the development of mathematics in Russia. In 2024, the Center has acquired its own Russian-language journal for publication of original research papers by participants of conferences held at the Center. The authors are invited to submit papers to the journal at https://ef.msp.org/submit/sirius [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this reply to the discussion of our paper (Kumar et al. in Nat Hazards 116:2437–2455, 2023), we attempt to rebut the claims made regarding the use of the maximum sustained wind speed of a cyclone event irrespective of its location, inappropriate implementation of fitting methods, and inconsistent use of future projected sea surface temperature to historical records. While the discussion highlights certain observations about our results, the application of such techniques for evaluating PMTC parameters (adhering to AERB criteria) requires further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mangroves are ecosystems that grow in the intertidal areas of coastal zones, playing crucial ecological roles and possessing unique economic and social values. They have garnered significant attention and research interest. Semantic segmentation of mangroves is a fundamental step for further investigations. However, mangrove remote sensing images often have large dimensions, with a substantial portion of the image containing mangrove features. Deep learning convolutional kernels may lead to inadequate receptive fields for accurate mangrove recognition. In mangrove remote sensing images, various challenges arise, including the presence of small and intricate details aside from the mangrove regions, which intensify the segmentation complexity. To address these issues, this paper primarily focuses on two key aspects: first, the exploration of methods to achieve a large receptive field, and second, the fusion of multi-scale information. To this end, we propose the Multi-Scale Fusion Attention Network (MSFANet), which incorporates a multi-scale network structure with a large receptive field for feature fusion. We emphasize preserving spatial information by integrating spatial data across different scales, employing separable convolutions to reduce computational complexity. Additionally, we introduce an Attention Fusion Module (AFM). This module helps mitigate the influence of irrelevant information and enhances segmentation quality. To retain more semantic information, this paper introduces a dual channel approach for information extraction through the deep structure of ResNet. We fuse features using the Feature Fusion Module (FFM) to combine both semantic and spatial information for the final output, further enhancing segmentation accuracy. In this study, a total of 230 images with dimensions of 768 pixels in width and height were selected for this experiment, with 184 images used for training and 46 images for validation. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method achieves excellent segmentation results on a small sample dataset of remote-sensing images, with significant practical value. This paper primarily focuses on three key aspects: the generation of mangrove datasets, the preprocessing of mangrove data, and the design and training of models. The primary contribution of this paper lies in the development of an effective approach for multi-scale information fusion and advanced feature preservation, providing a novel solution for mangrove remote sensing image segmentation tasks. The best Mean Intersection over Union (MIoU) achieved on the mangrove dataset is 86%, surpassing other existing models by a significant margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable sea-level observations in coastal regions are needed to assess the impact of sea level on coastal communities and ecosystems. This paper evaluates the ability of in-situ and remote sensing instruments to monitor and help explain the mass component of sea level along the coast of Norway. The general agreement between three different GRACE/GRACE-FO mascon solutions and a combination of satellite altimetry and hydrography gives us confidence to explore the mass component of sea level in coastal areas on intra-annual timescales. At first, the estimates reveal a large spatial-scale coherence of the sea-level mass component on the shelf, which agrees with Ekman theory. Then, they suggest a link between the mass component of sea level and the along-slope wind stress integrated along the eastern boundary of the North Atlantic, which agrees with the theory of poleward propagating coastal trapped waves. These results highlight the potential of the sea-level mass component from GRACE and GRACE-FO, satellite altimetry and the hydrographic stations over the Norwegian shelf. Moreover, they indicate that GRACE and GRACE-FO can be used to monitor and understand the intra-annual variability of the mass component of sea level in the coastal ocean, especially where in-situ measurements are sparse or absent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the occurrence of the genus Umbilicaria in the Argentine Islands–Kyiv Peninsula region of the Graham Coast in the maritime Antarctic. The presence of seven Umbilicaria species (U. africana, U. antarctica, U. aprina, U. decussata, U. kappenii, U. nylanderiana and U. umbilicarioides) in the ice-free areas of the Argentine Islands–Kyiv Peninsula region were confirmed. The species of U. africana and U. aprina are documented from the studied region for the first time. This study moves the southern distribution limit of U. africana about 300 km to the south: to the Argentine Islands–Kyiv Peninsula region. The distribution maps of Umbilicaria species for the studied region and maritime Antarctica are prepared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aimed to assess the sediment distribution pattern, mode of transport, and its interaction with hydrodynamic and topographic conditions at different depths and regions along the east coast of India. About 900 surficial sediment samples were collected and analysed on a monthly basis for the Chennai coastal region at 32 stations from 2013 to 2015. The study region is classified into four types, such as beach, inlet, 5 m, and 10 m depth. Sediment textural and grain size trend analyses were conducted to achieve the objectives. Sediment characteristics for the region were recorded as sandy, equally dominated by unimodal and bimodal at the beach, while unimodal at shallow depths (5 and 15 m). The sediments were medium sand to coarse sand at the beach, mostly fine followed by medium at 5 and 15 m depths. The sediment sorting is dominated by moderately well-sorted sediments; the skewness of beach sediments was negative, while nearshore sediments were found positive; average kurtosis values of sediments were noticed to be mesokurtic. The CM plot depicts that the sediments were mostly derived by tractive current, and the modes of transport are "bottom suspension and rolling" and "graded suspension no rolling" at beach locations and shallow water depths, respectively. The GSTA analysis reveals the annual average sediment transport pattern is northerly. The numerical hydrodynamic study confirms the GSTA and CM plot analysis. The study reveals a stable sedimentary environment south of the Chennai port and instability in the northern part. The study includes large spatiotemporal nearshore sediment data with hydrodynamic conditions, immensely helpful to coastal stakeholders and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the living conditions of campo residents requires access to drinking water. The surface and subsurface factors of a region influence the groundwater potential zones. The main objectives of this paper are to identify suitable groundwater zones for productive drilling and to assess groundwater mineralization in the coastal aquifers of the study area. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) were used in the methodology to generate the groundwater potential map. Lithology, geomorphology, specific capacity, hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, rainfall, infiltration rate, lineament density, drawdown, static water level, soil thickness, drainage density, slope, and land use/land cover were taken into account to characterize the groundwater potential zones. Weights were assigned to the various parameters and their characteristics according to their impact on groundwater recharge. The groundwater potential map of Campo was classified into four zones namely: very low 783.5 km2 (28.9%), low 835.2 km2 (31.9%), moderate 858.4 km2 (31.7%) and high 199.9 km2 (7.3%). Multivariate statistical analysis was used to understand groundwater mineralization. Two phenomena are responsible for the mineralization of water: a process of interaction between water and rock; and a process of salinization resulting from natural phenomena or anthropic activities. The present study could guide hydrogeological investigations and groundwater resource management planning in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study of basic population parameters of the black scorpionfish caught in the waters of the coasts of the Crimean Peninsula, its grown rate, and its nutritional spectrum. The modern food supply of scorpionfish from the southeastern part differs from that in 1940–1950: in the Sevastopol region, scorpionfish mainly consume fish, and in the waters of Feodosia they consume crustaceans. The main changes in food items, depending on the fish age, are associated with the components—decapods and fish. In the southeastern part of Crimea, small fish species predominate in the diet of scorpionfish, which affected the higher growth rate of the object studied. Black scorpionfish at the age of 6 years and older in these waters consume mainly decapods. In Sevastopol waters, the diet does not change significantly depending on age, so the fish component in the stomach of black scorpionfish of older age groups cause it to grow faster. However, no significant differences in the growth rate of fish from the two areas were obtained. The data presented in the paper on the physical and chemical parameters of water, as well as the distribution of bottom aquatic vegetation in the two main study areas, demonstrate small differences in the quality of the environment and are satisfactory for the bottom predator studied. The average age of the scorpionfish from Karadag was 5.9 years old, the most numerous age group was 4 years; the average age of individuals from the water area was 3.72, and the most numerous age group was 3 years. In the Sevastopol region, scorpionfish up to 5 years of age are larger than in the Feodosia region, and from 6 years of age it is the other way around. Despite this, the condition factor of fish from the waters of southeastern Crimea was higher in most cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design flood for a coastal basin based on model simulations can be impacted by various conditions other than design storm, such as tide level. However, the design storm and tide level are usually investigated separately, and the relation between them has not been sufficiently studied, which may have unexpected impacts on model simulations. This paper presents a bivariate assessment framework that aims to evaluate the coordination between design storm and tide level using a copula-based joint distribution to derive the conditional probability of coincidences between design storm and tide level intervals. We apply this framework to the Tai Lake Basin (TLB) in the eastern coast of China and investigate what tide level along its coastline is appropriate for guiding flood control planning. Our findings reveal that the currently-used tide level along the southern coast of TLB is too low and should be raised by approximately 0.35 m and 0.12 m under maximum 1-day and 3-day storms, respectively. Meanwhile, the tide levels for the north and east coasts are appropriate. This paper provides a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between design storm and tide level in a large coastal basin, offering insights into the design of flood protection systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventionally, volcanic margins have been considered devoid of hydrocarbon, but many discoveries and research in recent past have proved the presence of hydrocarbon prospects within them. However, hydrocarbon exploration within volcanic margin is constrained by seismic imaging. Further, identification of continent to oceanic boundary (COB) is critical to hydrocarbon search as hydrocarbon is found mostly over continental crust. Seaward dipping reflectors, associated with volcano-sedimentary sequences, located along rifted continental margins and represented by highly dipping strong amplitude seismic reflectors, play an important role to study volcanic margins. Keeping in view the problems of hydrocarbon exploration within volcanics, seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) in Indian context have been studied in detail in this paper. It facilitates mapping of continent-oceanic boundary (COB). It has impact on hydrocarbon prospectivity in volcanic margins as it can provide formidable seal and secondary induced maturity. In India, several discoveries have been made in volcanic margins along west coast, from weathered, fractured basalt and sub-basalt sediments. In the present work, long offset regional seismic data (18 dip lines and 1 cross line), along east coast, have been interpreted. SDRs help in hydrocarbon prospectivity assessment for both discrimination of interbedded sediments and preferential accumulation of hydrocarbon. Mapping of linear features not only helped to demarcate COB but also their presence at 6–10 km depth. For the first time, such comprehensive study on SDRs has been done along Indian peninsular region with indications for hydrocarbon prospectivity at deeper levels along Indian peninsular region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents experimental data on concentrations of a wide range of pollutants, including persistent organic pollutants (organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, toxaphenes), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals, in soil and adjacent environments in the impact area of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM) and neighboring areas (including the city of Baikal'sk). The features of toxicants levels formation depending on a type and properties of soil, potential sources of inflow, and location of sampling points are analyzed. The data are of practical interest for assessing the levels of the natural environment pollution prior to starting measures for the disposal of waste from the BPPM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly uses the super-efficiency EBM model to measure the environmental efficiency of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2019, utilizes the Theil index to analyze the degree of differentiation, and investigate the stochastic convergence of environmental efficiency in different regions. At the same time, it focuses on exploring the direction, intensity, and changing trend of the internal driving factors of environmental efficiency including fiscal decentralization and tax competition, so as to measure and show the overall situation of circular economy development. The research results show that (1) from a national perspective, environmental efficiency shows a pattern of gradual convergence from east to west and from coast to inland. There is a significant stepped regional imbalance in the development level of circular economy in the eastern coastal areas and the central, western inland areas. (2) The differences in environmental efficiency among the four major economic regions were apparently significant while the differences inside each region itself were relatively minor, although in a trend of being gradually widened. There are differences in the development level of circular economy in different regions or within the same region. (3) The inter-provincial efficiency in the eastern, western and northeastern zones maintained relatively stable, while the inter-provincial differences in the central region were expanding. The environmental deficit problem caused by economic development has been alleviated and the basic development model of circular economy has been initially established. (4) Economic development has played a positive role in improving the environmental efficiency of the region. But the resident consumption level inhibited the improvement of the environmental efficiency level of the surrounding areas. The conclusion of this paper can provide a macroscopic reference for the government in finding effective countermeasures to improve environmental efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coastline can be used as the demarcation line between the ocean and the continent, which plays a crucial role in the development of marine economy. The purpose of this paper is to achieve stitching of coastline images from different areas automatically and create panoramic coast images. To be specific, we proposed a multi-resolution image fusion method which is based on the optimal seam-line method to solve the huge shadow and unnatural image connection problems which caused by the process of the fused region of coastline splicing. In this paper, we adopted the multi-resolution wavelet fusion method by using multi-resolution wavelet fusion method in searching the optimal seam-line. At the same time, it is found in the contrast experiment that the image fused by the proposed algorithm has no obvious shadow situation and can be better fused in vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical analysis of regional disparities from 2000 to 2012 based on a time series of data involving 74 cities within three mega-urban regions along Yangtze River in China. Differing from previous researches on inter-provincial and coastal/interior data, this paper provides a new perspective of mega-urban regions and their cities in China. By Coefficient of Variation and Analysis of Variance the selection of three mega-urban regions along Yangtze River reveals how the mega-urban regional disparities evolve among the east, middle and west up to date in China. In terms of general trend the mega-urban regional inequalities have been decreasing ever since the year around 2005. By traditional regression modeling this paper relates the mega-urban regional inequality and the alleviation to the urbanization and its focus on mega-urban regional development. The regression shows that the evolution of intra mega-urban regions disparities is negatively influenced by the urbanization with meaningful statistical significance from 2000 to 2012. The multilevel regression is further applied based on the nested hierarchical data structure. The results indicate a complicated relationship of the urban population density of the city level, the urbanization ratio of the mega-urban region level and the urban disparities in 2012. Finally limitations and further research advice are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With economic and societal development, the ecological environment of the Yellow River Delta-Laizhou Bay coastal zone has been seriously damaged. Exploring the changes in land use and ecosystem service value (ESV) is essential to ecological construction of the region. The random forest classification method was used for land cover interpretation of the four periods of remote sensing images in the study area from 1990 to 2020. Newly calculated regional difference coefficients and social development coefficients were used to construct a dynamic ESV assessment model and to study its changes from overall and sea‒land gradient perspectives. The results showed that construction land, salt pans, aquaculture ponds, and inland water masses expanded rapidly, while cropland, tidal flats, and shallow waters shrank sharply over the past 30 years. The ESV in the study area has continued to decrease from 34.47 billion yuan in 1990 to 25.23 billion yuan in 2020, a total decrease of 9.23 billion yuan. This is mostly due to the encroachment of construction land, salt pans, and aquaculture ponds, and the flow of ecosystem services from high-value land cover types (tidal flats, herbaceous wetlands, and cropland) to medium- and low-value land cover types. Moreover, the land cover transfer and ESVs exhibited a decreasing trend from sea to land, with significant sea–land gradient differences. Land conversion is most common in the 0–15 km coastal zone, mainly from natural wetlands to artificial wetlands, where the ESV also decreases rapidly. Considering the regional differences and social development in this paper, the ESV of small-scale areas can be reasonably evaluated to explore the characteristics and causes of changes in land use and ESVs, which can provide an important reference for ecological protection and land use management in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For millennia, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been a culturally dynamic zone, bounded by maritime societies dependent on the sea for communication, trade and livelihoods. The archaeological evidence of these past societies represents an extraordinary physical legacy of human endeavour and presence across this region, contributing to senses of place, identity and belonging amongst contemporary coastal communities. However, the coastal landscapes and marine environment of the MENA region are undergoing a period of profound change, associated with large-scale human development and climate change. In order to assess this change and the level of impact on the resource, the Maritime Endangered Archaeology project (MarEA) was established in 2019 to document cultural heritage sites and landscapes across the coastal and near-shore zones of the survey region. This paper introduces the work of the project and outlines a series of case studies presented in this volume that are representative of the variety and depth of work being undertaken within the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of alkali-resistant fungi has been carried out for the first time on the coast of saline lakes in the south of the Trans-Baikal region on the territory of the Daursky Biosphere Reserve (lakes Zun-Torey and Khangei). The changes in the structure of the community of alkali-resistant ascomycetes depend on local conditions. The coast of Khangei is devoid of halophites, but has a high content of Artemia eggs and is characterized by the absolute dominance of the alkaliphilic ascomycete Sodiomyces alkalinus (100% occurrence) and Emericellopsis alkalina (80%), with a minimum diversity of other fungi. S. alkalinus predominates (100%) on the coast of Lake Zun-Torey in damp places without plants. Dark-colored fungi from Dothideomycetes (Alternaria, Neocamarosporium, etc.) predominate in the alkaline soil samples of this lake not far from the halophites; the occurrence of E. alkalina is 60% and S. alkalinus is not found here, but high occurrence is shown for the other species of Plectosphaerellaceae (Chordomyces and Gibellulopsis). The distribution, substrate preferences, and functional roles of alkaliphilic and alkalitolerant fungi in extreme natural habitats with soda salinity are discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a contribution to a special issue of "Interdisciplinarity and governance in water landscapes" with a critical reflection on the "Marta-Bolsena-Tarquinia" River, Lake, and Coast Contract research experience in the Lazio Region. This Contract is the only one in Italy that covers three different water landscapes, from lake to coast (Lake Bolsena, the river Marta and the Tarquinia coastline), all in the same water basin. However, despite the ambitious premises, research shows how this Contract has partially failed. Indeed, the in-depth study offers a commentary not only to better understand what did not work in this River, Lake, and Coast Contract process, but also to suggest how to move on from a formal coalition, towards much more cooperative practices by reforming the redistribution of responsibilities, power, and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, there is an urgent need for widespread restoration of coastal wetlands like mangroves and saltmarsh. This restoration has been slow to progress in Australia for a number of reasons, including legal issues surrounding land tenure, ownership and use. This paper uses the responses to a survey of coastal zone experts to identify and articulate these legal issues, before considering and analysing in-depth recommendations, solutions and levers to facilitate restoration, and areas where further research or possible policy and/or law reform is needed. It calls for legislative reform to clarify tidal boundaries generally and under sea-level rise, greater use of incentive schemes to encourage the uptake of restoration projects, and utilisation of contracts and land-based covenants to secure projects and carbon flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Moroccan coasts are occasionally inundated by storm surges and tsunamis. Local historical archives recorded some of these events, such as the storm surge of 1913 CE and the tsunami of 1755 CE. The latter remains the most destructive event the country has ever faced, with major human and economic losses recorded mainly between the two cities of Tangier and Safi. The privileged way to prevent any hazard related to these events is to study their past occurrences and impacts. However, historical evidences about these natural hazards are often very scarce to determine their return periods and evaluate their intensities. The scientific community increasingly uses sedimentary archives from coastal environments, since they offer a viable complement to historical archives. Several studies using this approach have been conducted on the Moroccan coast in recent years; however, until now, there has been no review dealing with these studies, which is the main objective of this paper. Twenty sites with traces of coastal inundation deposits have been inventoried during this work, and most of them are located along the Atlantic coast. The Mediterranean side remains poorly studied despite the presence of tsunami and storm surge risks. The review draws attention also to the absence of chronological data for most of the coastal inundation deposits recognized up to now along the Moroccan coasts, which is a major issue that prevents the determination of the return period of these events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along the tropical coast, there is cyclic variation in wind, wave currents, water and sediment influx, and the coasts experience a monsoonal storm surge that reaches nearly 2–3 times higher than the rest of the year, and foreshores undergo a complex evolution during an annual cycle. Hence, knowledge of foreshore evolution is critical in shoreline management. In this paper, study results on meso-scale foreshore evolution in a low-energy headland bay beach, situated in the Central West Coast of India near Manki, are discussed based on their seasonal and decadal changes in sandy shoreline configuration, wave refraction, sediment movement and depositional process. Decadal changes in the shoreline configuration indicated headland-side erosion and bay growth whereas the southern end grown seawards between the period 1979 and 2001–2002, while the beaches adjacent to the creek present in the area showed accretion and farther south of the creek showed minor erosion, and the trend continued through 2015. Wave refraction patterns for the waves approaching from northwest (NW), west and southwest (SW) for the wave periods 6, 8, 10 and 12 s indicated (a) wave convergence at the central part of the Manki beach; for the waves approaching from NW for wave periods 6 s; (b) wave divergence for the waves approaching from west with wave periods 6, 8, 10 and 12 s and (c) wave convergence at the bay side for the SW as well as NW approach of waves for wave period 10 s. Seasonal beach modification, in general, indicated post-monsoonal to pre-monsoonal (September to April) accretion and May to September erosion. Foreshore is gentle and dissipative (<6°). Sediments in all the seasons are bimodal (at 2ϕ and 2.752ϕ) in nature, and show dominantly saltation to suspension mode of transport. A parabolic shoreline prediction model indicated negative sediment budget in the central and northern parts of the beach (near the headland) and positive sediment budget at the southern end of the beach. Integration of the foreshore profile, sediment movement pattern, results of parabolic shoreline prediction model and decadal changes in shoreline configuration indicated that sediment budget is a critical issue in headland-bounded beaches, and utmost care is needed in the management of such shore line. Research highlights: This paper uses seasonal variations in the foreshore morphology, beach volume, sediment characteristics and wave refraction pattern to understand the sediment movement within the beach. Based on Hsu et al.'s (2004) model shoreline position is predicted. For a finite sediment input beach, shoreline management strategy is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Scotland, residents have fought open-net salmon farms and their toll on human and nonhuman bodies for decades. This paper recollects seven years of work in Skye and Raasay, two islands off the northwest coast of the country, developing strategies to divest away from salmon aquaculture. Addressing the contemporary wave of underwater clearances created by UK's top food export industry, it unpacks the implementation of a transition into alternative horizons by embracing the legacies of toxicity inherited from salmon extractivist industries. CLIMAVORE, a framework developed as a research-led artistic practice by the authors, investigates how to eat in the new seasons of the climate crisis. In a season of marine dead zones, it facilitates new approaches to aquaecology and coastal care that cultivate coastal livelihoods. CLIMAVORE began with a new public forum, shaped as a multispecies intertidal table, established in Skye in 2017 to envision environmentally regenerative and socially reparative forms of food production based on metabolic interactions between humans and depleted landscapes that benefit a plethora of species. CLIMAVORE's site responsive methodology relies on a socially-engaged art practice, consisting of fieldwork, interviews, working groups, oral histories, performative meals, cooking and building apprenticeships, tidal gardening, material testing and public art installations. Ongoing collaboration with residents, scientists, and policymakers critically explores ways of living not only on but with the coast. This new holistic approach to coastal nourishment provides methodologies for ecological praxis as well as a platform for researchers and the general public to imagine an alternative ecological future: the tidal commons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost-effective coastal flood adaptation requires a realistic valuation of losses, costs and benefits considering the uncertainty of future flood projections and limited resources for adaptation. Here we present an approach to quantify the flood protection benefits of beaches accounting for the dynamic interaction of storm erosion, long-term shoreline evolution and flooding. We apply the method in Narrabeen-Collaroy (Australia) considering uncertainty in different shared socioeconomic pathways, sea-level rise projections, and beach conditions. By 2100, results show that failing to consider erosion can underestimate flood damage by a factor of 2 and maintaining present-day beach width can avoid 785 million AUD worth assets from flood damage. By 2050, the flood protection and recreational benefits of holding the current mean shoreline could be more than 150 times the cost of nourishment. Our results give insight on the benefits of beaches for adaptation and can help accelerate financial instruments for restoration. This paper presents a method for quantifying the benefits of beaches in reducing storm and long-term coastal flood risk. This method can contribute to cost-effective decision-making on climate change adaptation in many of the world's coasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, fishers (both men and women) have engaged in different activities ranging from preparing fishing equipment (traps, nets, fishing vessels), weather forecasting, and sailing to fishing grounds and they continue to do so today. While sailing, fishers paddle collaboratively when the wind is low and when the boat is leaking, some crew will bail the vessel. Once they arrive at the fishing grounds, fishers cast anchor, mend the fishnets, and fix the boat foresheets. If successful, the fishers collect their catch, weigh the anchor, return to shore, and prepare to sell their fish. These fishing activities have always been accompanied by maritime customs, traditions, rituals, stories, and gestures. For instance, singing is one key tradition that has continued to accompany the fishing process from the start to the end. This paper documents and present the songs that have always been part of the fishing process in Kilwa Kisiwani, along the southern coast of Tanzania. The fishing songs are presented in the context of intangible cultural heritage of the east African Swahili coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coastal cliffs of the Jurassico–Cretaceous formation, outcropping along the coastal area of Safi (Morocco), are particularly vulnerable. A wide variety of instabilities and slope failure, impacts such slopes, inducing serious structural and human security risks and accelerating the retreat. This paper presents results of research conducted on shoreline change assessment and forecast and inspecting causes that produce and/or accelerate coastline change to propose optimal management and protection solutions. Net Shoreline Movement, Linear Regression Rate, and End Point Rate analysis were computed to examine shoreline change rate (2002–2020) using Landsat 7 ETM + and LOI data and Digital Shoreline Analysis System. The Kalman filter model is used to predict shoreline change (2030 and 2040). The estimated erosion and accretion rates between − 7.87 and 2.23 m/year highlight the main erosional trend, and reveal the feedbacks between the proportional advance (set-forwards or accretion) and the active landslides, high accretion rates are recorded in the landsliding segment. An attempt was made to identify the relationships between causal factors; to this end, a methodological development through field investigation and laboratory tests of the brown clay involved in all slope failures. Results of physicochemical and mineralogical tests showed that all clay samples had medium to high plasticity, and similar mineral compositions, mainly illite, vermiculite, mixed-layer illite-vermiculite of expandable phases, and permit to point out the strong relationship existing between landslide occurrence, cliff dynamic, and geotechnical and mineralogical properties of Brown clay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how the populations of French Guiana have, since the colonization period until today, inhabited the coast, in particular the cheniers close to the coast, whereas these spaces are subject to intense changes—colonization and destruction of the mangrove ecosystem, erosion, modification of the estuaries—which have significant consequences for living conditions and access to natural resources. The interdisciplinary approach brought together historians, geographers, geomorphologists, ecologists and anthropologists. Three contrasted areas were studied: Awala-Yalimapo, a Kali'na Amerindian village located at the Maroni estuary, the savannas region, between Sinnamary and Iracoubo where the Creole peasantry flourished, and finally, the particular case of the city of Kourou, built from the 1960s by the sea to house the engineers and technicians of the Guiana Space Center. This paper aims to propose a reflection on mobility and adaptability of the traditional habitat of the Amerindian and Creole populations, based on the collective appropriation of the land, and what could be described as a light approach to development. On the contrary, Kourou was built with a relationship to the sea largely imported from metropolitan France at a time when private property became the norm in French Guiana. The city is now facing serious erosion problems. As we question how to inhabit the coastline at a time when global change is likely to bring rapid transformations, knowing this history can be a valuable source of reflection for future coastal management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-occurrence of multiple flood drivers resulting in compound flooding has received increased attention during the past decade subsequent to several catastrophic flood events in coastal areas around the world. However, most coastal flood risk assessments generally account for one of either oceanic or inland flood sources even in situations where the joint probability of occurrence of more than one flood driver is high. Accordingly, this paper examines the compound flooding potential due to tropical cyclone-induced storm surges, waves and precipitation for a major river basin in a low-lying coastal city of Sri Lanka. The physical processes associated with compound flooding in the coastal lowlands of the river basin, i.e. hydrodynamics of the storm surge including wave effects, river hydraulics as well as precipitation-induced direct surface run-off, have been numerically simulated by employing an array of loosely integrated models to compute space- and time-varying flood distributions for 14 scenarios of cyclonic storms and riverine floods covering a range of return periods. The selected scenarios cover a range of combinations of relative strengths of oceanic and inland flood drivers. The model simulations have been performed for three cases: storm surge (S) only, river flow (R) only and compound flooding (C) with S and R combined. The precipitation has been added in the cases of river flow and compound flooding events. The analysis of model simulations provides further insight into the temporal and spatial variation of the nonlinear interaction of storm surge and riverine flow that occurs in a transition zone between the respective fully dominant regions. The analysis of time-varying flood levels indicates a lesser interaction between storm surge-induced and riverine flood waves when one component is more dominant than the other whilst nearly equal magnitudes resulting in a greater interaction and rise in instantaneous compound flood level compared to flood levels if either component were to act separately. The effect of the phase shift of storm surge and riverine flood waves on the peak flood levels and extents as well as on the degree of nonlinear interaction of the component flows in the compound region are also examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of the population and tourism industry, especially near the coast, is altering land use and deteriorating coastal resources. This contributes significantly in increasing the susceptibility of a coastal area to flooding and sea-level rise. Therefore, identifying vulnerable coastal areas through an integrated approach for comprehensive coastal development and realistic management policies is pivotal. This paper presents a method for assessing coastal vulnerability by employing selected physical and human indices. It was applied to the Mandarmani–Dadanpatrabar coastal sector of West Bengal, where the issue of rapid tourism growth at the expense of coastal resources is a major concern. For the assessment of coastal vulnerability, the entire length of the study area was divided into 64 equal segments. A set of six physical variables (shoreline change, beach width, coastal slope, dune discontinuity, vegetation, and coastal geomorphology) and three human variables (land use land cover, coastal protection, and distance of road) were measured using fieldwork and remote sensing and geographical information system. Subsequently, the physical and human vulnerability was calculated and then combined to create an integrated coastal vulnerability index (ICVI). While the majority of the coast is low-to-moderately vulnerable, it was observed that high vulnerability was present in areas where physical resources were rapidly exploited for the growth of tourism. This study emphasizes the need of implementing existing coastal regulation zone guidelines in a more realistic way to prevent loss of assets and promote integrated development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of a comprehensive analysis of bottom sediment samples taken in 2020 during the Roshydromet marine scientific research in Stepovoi and Litke bays of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and in the coastal zone of the Kara Sea near Amderma village. All sediment samples were analyzed for the concentration of radionuclides 137Cs, 90Sr, 238Pu, 239 + 240Pu, and some samples were analyzed for the content of toxic chemicals: heavy metals, persistent organochlorine compounds, and aliphatic hydrocarbons. The analysis of the results showed that the levels of radionuclides and toxic chemicals in bottom sediments of Stepovoi Bay are generally consistent with the data of similar surveys in previous years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Periphery of the Red Sea (WPRS) is an important region for paleoanthropological discussions about the history of hominin dispersal out of Africa. This paper examines the existing Paleolithic evidence in the region and some key aspects of its environmental setting, with the goal of assessing its role in hominin survival and dispersals. The paper's chronological focus is the span 1.8–0.05 million years ago (Ma). Although the majority of the Paleolithic (Stone Age) sites so far documented in the region lack precise chronological control, the available evidence comprises Acheulean, Middle and Later Stone Age technocomplexes that can be broadly linked to distinct hominin settlement episodes. Most of the documented sites appear to be related to terrestrial niche exploitation around channelized alluvial plains between the coastal zone and the eastern slopes of the Red Sea Hills, although wave erosion may have destroyed sites associated with coastal resource use. As an extension of the East African Rift system, the WPRS mirrors the landscape features of the fossil-rich Rift Valley region, with the addition of a coastal niche. Thus, it may have posed little survival risk for hominins coming from the inland habitats, and some of the inhabitant populations may have easily dispersed toward Eurasia from there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The active Campi Flegrei caldera in southern Italy has a remarkably long history of coexistence between volcanism and human settlements, and it is famous for its peculiar slow ground movement called bradyseism, i.e. episodes of inflation and deflation of the caldera floor due to magmatic and/or hydrothermal processes. This natural phenomenon has interacted with the civilization that inhabited this strategic and fertile area, especially in Roman times, when the sinking of the coast hindered the flourishment of Puteoli and Baiae coastal towns. The drowning of a large part of Republic-early Imperial Roman coastal buildings, west of the modern Pozzuoli town, is classically used to illustrate the bradyseism activity. In this paper, we investigate the spatial variability and the role of this phenomenon, demonstrating that the caldera deflation alone cannot account for the submersion of Roman facilities in the western sector where the harbour structures of Portus Iulius and luxury villas of the Baianus Lacus presently lie beneath sea level. On the contrary, the sinking of this area is mainly the result of the activity of volcano-tectonic faults. We restored the topography to 100 BCE using archaeological and high-resolution topographic data. Results show that the several metres of vertical displacement recorded in the Baia area in the last 2100 yr were mainly produced by the activity of normal faults and secondarily by caldera deflation, the former including the long-lived Baia Fault and the younger normal faults associated with the Monte Nuovo eruption at 1538 CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Organic carbon (OC) plays an important role in the multimedium transport of pollutants and the carbon cycle. However, the distribution and fate of OC in coastal areas with multiple sedimentary environments, especially in underdeveloped coastal areas, have been underappreciated and lacked sufficient understanding. Materials and methods: In this paper, the characteristics and fate of OC in four sedimentary environments (mangrove, sandy coast, bay, and estuary) in a coastal area in Guangdong, China, were compared. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and suspended sediment (SPS) concentrations in water phases as well as total organic carbon (TOC) content and grain size distribution in sediments were determined. Results and discussion: The DOC concentrations and TOC contents were 0.006–13.66 mg L−1 and 0.04–9.51%, respectively, indicating a large spatial heterogeneity. The DOC levels showed an increasing trend into the bays and a decreasing trend along the estuaries, relating to hydrodynamic conditions for OC transport. The SPS concentrations were positively correlated with the TOC/DOC ratios in estuaries, confirming the carrier role of SPS in water–sediment systems. No significant differences in DOC concentrations were found under different water column depths, inferring that water–sediment ratios were not a limiting factor for DOC levels. The actual OC storage of the whole mangrove sedimentary environment was underestimated by 18.2% when calculated using the OC levels of the largest mangrove. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the OC storage estimation in multiple sedimentary environments could be underestimated. This study provides new insight for management and protection of coastline eco-environments and the estimation of carbon stock in the hopes of adapting to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainfall in the Moist Tropical Caribbean Region (MTCR) in Costa Rica occurs practically throughout the year, with the quarters June–August (JJA) and December–February (DJF) concentrating over 70% of annual rainfall. Contrarily, in March–April and September–October, it rains below 100 mm per month. This seasonal rainfall behavior makes the region ideal for producing bananas (Musa spp.) and pineapple (Ananas comosus) for export (10% and 8% of total exports in 2021, respectively). A national-scale study determined that agriculture in the MTCR is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate changes. However, the climate in this region has been poorly studied so far. This research analyzed the spatial and temporal variability of annual, monthly, and seasonal (DJF, JJA, SO) rainfall in the MTCR and how they change in the study period based on quality-checked series of daily rainfall from 28 weather stations in two periods: 1985–2009 and 1997–2019. The results show that rainfall regimes in the region are variable in space and throughout the year, with peaks occurring close to the mountain range and minimum values close to the coast. Trends were statistically significant in the period 1985–2009 with a predominance of significant positive trends in DJF and significant negative trends in SO. No significant trends (positive or negative) were observed in the period 1997–2019. JJA rainfall has uneven regional distribution and presents a positive and significant trend in the mountain region. This paper contributes to filling the knowledge gap in rainfall seasonality, variability, and trends in a region where banana and pineapple commercial plantations are fundamental to the country's economy thus providing information to decision-making in the agri-food sector to reduce the negative impacts of changing rainfall regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, the mass mortality of endemic sponges has been observed in the coastal zone of Lake Baikal. This paper presents the results of observations of the Baikal sponge fauna within the transects established throughout Baikal in 2015. The types of damage of Baikal sponges have been characterized based on visual descriptions. Between 2015 and 2020, a downward trend has been revealed for the average projective cover of healthy sponges of various body forms on the Baikal bottom. For encrusting, branched, and globular forms, the decrease in this index is 3.6, 2, and 4 times, respectively. The total area occupied by healthy and damaged sponges of various forms have reduced more than twice (from 238 to 110 m2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lake Erie coast of Pennsylvania on the North American Great Lakes is dominated by unconsolidated, erosional, Quaternary-age bluffs. This paper describes generation of a non-regulatory, process-geometric Bluff Erosion Potential (BEP) visualization of physical erosion hazards. Four relative lakefront hazard zones were mapped at sub-watershed scales, landward of which the erosion hazard is insignificant over property lifetimes. The Very High Erosion Potential (VHEP) zone is the present-day active hazard zone, located between the bluff toe and crest and experiences ongoing and episodic bluff failure. The High Erosion Potential (HEP) zone extends inland from the landward edge of the VHEP zone, with its landward edge lying on average ~ 12 m from the bluff crest and locally as much as 72 m. The Moderate Erosion Potential (MEP) zone extends inland from the HEP zone, with its landward limit on average ~ 28 m from the bluff crest and locally as much as 144 m. Inland from the MEP zone, the landward limit of the Low Erosion Potential (LEP) zone is on average ~ 60 m from the bluff crest and locally as much as 272 m. Landward of the LEP zone, erosion hazards are expected to be non-existent for at least a century. The BEP hazard map builds upon recent bluff best-management practices by including geometric stable-slope criteria along with process-driven bluff retreat rates to map erosion hazard. It can help coastal stakeholders better understand hazards over century-plus building lifetimes and is an initial step toward a future comprehensive physical/socioeconomic vulnerability assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings on the links between coastal/marine resources endowment and climate change resilience to coastal communities in Mchungu and Kivinja' A' village on the coastal zone of Rufiji District in Tanzania. The study focused on exploring the existing coastal resources and their support to communities' livelihood, climatic threats that are experienced, and the role of coastal resources in enhancing communities' resilience. It further sought to establish other enabling factors for climate change adaptation (e.g., gender, education, governance, by-laws, and membership in social networks). The study used focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and household surveys in data collection. Findings show that Mchungu village is endowed with fish, mangrove, natural canal, and floodplains as their major coastal resources, while Kivinja' A' is rich in salt and coconut production. Communities in both villages exploit these coastal resources for their livelihood activities such as fishing, agriculture, and business. The study further found that coastal communities are already experiencing the effects of climate change through temperature rise, flooding, drought, sea-level rise, and storm surges. These affect household food security in terms of fish catch and crop production. The study revealed that coastal and marine resources were important for increasing community resilience (P ≤ 0.05) to climate change impacts in the studied villages. However, household resilience to climate change impacts was also influenced by gender, by-laws, education, and membership in social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seawater intrusion is one of the causes of groundwater quality degradation in coastal zones. This phenomenon is intensified by overexploitation of coastal aquifers. In this paper, optimal management strategies have been determined to prevent the advance of seawater using a parallel simulation–optimization decision model. This model has been applied to a real case study of Ajabshir aquifer located in Urmia Lake basin, Iran, for a 20-year planning horizon (2015–2034). Four categorizes of new sustainability indices (indices of protection, reliability, vulnerability, and aquifer area with a groundwater problem) as the objective functions have been examined for the first time. The developed management problems based on these four categories have been solved under two different conditions of groundwater elevation and salinity concentration. The results of 20-year period simulations indicate that by changing the extraction pattern in different regions of the aquifer (as the decision variables) based on the solution of management problems, the largest decrease in net recharge (0.065 million cubic meters) occurs in the second half of the hydrologic year (October to March) compared to the continued condition in which all factors are similar to 2014. The contribution of using indices in this study can help the local water managers to identify the high-risk areas for better planning and other coastal settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal lakes and estuaries are considered economic drivers for coastal communities by delivering invaluable economic and ecosystem services. The coastal ecosystems are facing recurrent hypoxia events (dissolved oxygen; DO < 2.0 mg L−1) and are emerging as a major threat to ecosystem structure and functioning. The Ashtamudi Lake, (area = 56 km2), is one of the Ramsar sites in the State of Kerala and located on the SW coast of India. The waterways are extensively used for backwater tourism and for fishery activities. This paper discusses the spatio-temporal variation of water quality attributes with emphasis on hypoxia during non-monsoon and monsoon seasons. The extent of hypoxia on fishery diversity was discussed. The Southern Zone, adjacent to the urban area, shows the hypoxic condition with higher concentration of BOD, NO3-N, and NH4-N. The hypoxic condition is largely limited to the Southern Zone in both seasons. The occurrence of low DO in the lake is highly related to salinity and organic load in the lake system. The tracking of pollution sources in the lake system was also done through identification of pollution potential zones and found that catchments adjacent to Southern and Western Zones (urban regions) are the major source of pollution. The study suggests that hypoxia is chiefly attributed to anthropogenic interventions in the form of discharge of wastes into the lake causing overloading of nutrients and organic effluents, decrease in the freshwater supply, the absence of proper freshwater mixing or dilution, and effluent discharge from nearby urban centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amount of human-origin litter in sea surface water, sediment, and beaches has been increasing for decades. Initially described in marine coastal systems in the 1960s, marine litter (ML) is nowadays commonly observed in all marine systems. There is even a gigantic island consisting of garbage in the gyre area of the Atlantic Ocean. In relation to this significant problem, ML was collected from seven stations on beaches along the Dardanelles for the first time in the period May 2017–May 2018 and was seasonally and regionally analyzed in terms of densities and weights. ML was categorized by material type (plastic, rubber, paper, etc.) and field of use (mixed packaging wastes, personal use products, fishing wastes, etc.). Total numbers and weights of ML during the study were 5751 items and 115.7 kg in an area of 15,980 m2, respectively. Density and weight of ML ranged from 0.050 to 1.182 items/m2 and from 0.446 to 78.46 g/m2, respectively. The main ML component was plastic items in terms of both density (90.95%) and weight (53.76%) according to material type. Additionally, mixed packaging wastes (MPW) were the most common ML items in terms of density (82.14%) and weight (49.38%) according to usage. According to the clean-coast index, while Kilya (St.2) and Kepez (St.5) beaches were dirty, Seddulbahir (St.1) beach was clean. The beaches in other stations were neither dirty nor clean (medium) according to the index. At the end of the study, suggestions for a regional strategy were made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pollution of floodplain, deltaic and adjacent coastal soils in large fluvial systems, considered an urgent environmental problem, as well as potentially toxic elements in such environments, can negatively affect aquatic ecosystems, as well as pose significant risks to human health. This paper is devoted to the geochemistry of potentially toxic elements in soils of the Lower Don basin, which is one of the largest and most anthropogenically transformed water bodies in Southern Russia, as well as the adjacent areas of the Taganrog Bay coast. The median element concentrations in the soils of the study area were consistent with the world soil average and the contents of elements in background soils. Comparative assessment of the spatial distributions as well as the results of Pearson's correlations, cluster analysis and principal component analysis showed that Cr, Ni, Cu and Zn are predominantly of natural origin; Mn and As are of mixed sources; and Cd and Pb are predominantly of anthropogenic origin. The geochemical anomalies of elements were associated with the impact of local anthropogenic sources. Geochemical background values for Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb in the soils of the Lower Don and the Taganrog Bay coast determined using the 'median + 2 median absolute deviations' approach are presented. The highest values of the integrated pollution indices were observed in floodplain soils of small rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of current uncertainties about the processes of climate change and its consequences, the search for possible response strategies is urgently needed. One of the most serious repercussions of climate change, which threatens many coastal areas globally, is the sea-level rise. To deepen understanding of this phenomenon and its related impacts, several models have recently been developed to satisfy the unique needs of coastal zone management. These models are very useful because of their visualization and prediction capabilities as they aid in decision-making regarding the adaptation of current protected area investments. This review, therefore, provides evidence of the potential and effectiveness of recent mapping models for managing the effects of sea-level rise. This study examined current models for mapping flood risk areas as a result of sea-level rise. It also provides guidelines to help coastal zone managers and policymakers decide the applicability of various models at local, regional, and global scales. There is no universally accepted model, and each of the models reviewed in this paper has its strengths and weaknesses. However, the models provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are commonly used by organizations and others. These models are more accessible and comprehensible for scientists and individuals with limited scientific background knowledge on sea-level rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is currently confronting one of its biggest environmental challenges: combating climate change. Coastal zones are one of the areas thought to be most sensitive to current and future climate change threats. The paper integrates Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques, and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to detect vulnerable areas from climate change impacts in coastal zones in order to recommend adaptation systems in new coastal zones that can withstand various climatic changes. The proposed decision-making framework was developed in three phases: 1) climate data collection and processing; 2) Coastal Climate Impact Assessment (CCIA) model development; and 3) implementation and adaptation system selection. The climate data collection and processing phase involves determining the most significant climate change parameters and their indicators that affect coastal zone stability, extracting climatic data indicators from different climate database sources, and prioritizing the selected indicators. The indicators' weights were estimated using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) through a questionnaire survey shared with experts in climate change impacts. A CCIA model development phase involves the formulation of the proposed model using GIS technique to discover the vulnerable areas according to the most dominant impact. The implementation and adaptation system selection phase involves the application of the framework to Al-Alamein New City in Egypt. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to measure the behavior of several climate change parameters to identify the most critical parameter for climate change in Al-Alamein New City. The results showed that the geology of the region is the most crucial component influenced by climate change. It is capable of producing a very sensitive area in the coastal zone while also taking other factors into account. When creating new urban neighborhoods, the erosion of the shoreline is the least important factor to consider. This is because coastal deterioration is caused by both the influence of metrological data on the region and the impact of human activity. Shoreline deterioration will be reduced if climate conditions are maintained while limiting the impact of human activities. To adapt to the long-term effects of climate change on coastal zones, a combination of soft and hard protection systems should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper shows that the lower reaches of the Varzuga River (Terskii coast of the White Sea) are subject to a strong effect of sea tides, which can be seen in level variations and the periodic occurrence of reverse (tidal) currents and saltwater intrusions. The data was obtained during the expedition carried out in winter 2020 at the estuary of the Varzuga River along with data collected by the authors at the estuaries of other rivers in the White Sea basin (the Mezen, Onega, Umba, Kyanda, Tamitsa, and Kuzreka rivers) in 2017−2019. In this context, characteristics of the processes mentioned above are given and the factors that affect them (channel relief, river flow, tides, and ice) are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of development of industrial enterprises is related to a country's or region's overall competitiveness. It is critical to assess the green innovation efficiency of regional industrial enterprises scientifically and effectively in order to improve a country's overall green innovation capability. The green innovation system is divided into three sub-stages in this paper: technology development, economic transformation, and environmental protection. Based on the theory of innovation value chain, a three-stage super-efficiency DEA model of the cooperative game including shared inputs and undesirable outputs is constructed to calculate the overall efficiency, three sub-stages efficiency, and dynamic evolution of green innovation of industrial enterprises in China's provincial administrative regions and eight economic zones from 2015 to 2019 (divided by the time of ultimate output). The results indicate that (1) in terms of overall efficiency, the efficiency of green innovation is not high, and there are clear regional differences, as evidenced by the following states: the middle reaches of the Yangtze River economic zone > the eastern coastal economic zone > the southern coastal economic zone > the northern coastal economic zone > the northeastern economic zone > the northwestern economic zone > the middle reaches of the Yellow River economic zone, and the overall efficiency of the southwestern economic zone fluctuates around the average level of China; (2) from the standpoint of various stages, economic transformation stage efficiency > overall efficiency > technology development stage efficiency > environmental protection stage efficiency. The improvement of overall efficiency is largely dependent on the high efficiency of the economic transformation stage, but low efficiency in the environmental protection stage results in overall low efficiency; (3) from the perspective of the dynamic evolution trend, the overall efficiency and three sub-stages have been improved to varying degrees. However, due to the low efficiency of the environmental protection stage, there is still a long way to go to achieve the goal of innovation-driven development; (4) based on the classification analysis, it was determined that the green innovation efficiency of industrial enterprises in only a few regions belongs to the "three high innovation type," which must take targeted measures to improve the inefficient innovation process links. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper further develops a coastal vulnerability index formulation (CVI) previously proposed by the authors by integrating a new variable and redefining three variables to improve the suitability of the index for low-lying coasts. Eleven variables are divided into three typological groups: geological, hydro-physical process and vegetation. The geological variables are: geomorphology, shoreline erosion/accretion rates, coastal slope, emerged beach width, and dune. The hydro-physical process group includes: river discharge, sea-level change, mean significant wave height and mean tide range. The vegetation variables are: vegetation behind the back-beach and coverage of Posidonia oceanica. The index was applied to a stretch of the Ionian coast in the province of Crotone in the Calabria region (Southern Italy), and a vulnerability map was produced. A geography information system (GIS) platform was used to better process the data. For the case study area, the most influential variables are shoreline erosion/accretion rates, coastal slope, emerged beach width, dune, vegetation behind the back-beach, and coverage of Posidonia oceanica. The most vulnerable transects are those near urban areas characterized by the absence of dunes and vegetation. Statistical and sensitivity analyses were performed, and the proposed CVI was compared with the previous formulation proposed by the authors and with two other CVI methods present in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four rare discoveries from the coast of Antalya provide evidence that divers were active in the area during the Hellenistic-Roman Periods as has been indicated in many different sites of the Mediterranean basin in the same period. The first discovery was a stone tool found off the ancient Cilicia Region on Alanya-Antalya coastline of Southern Turkey in 2011. The second find was discovered in 2019, off the coast of ancient Lycia region, alongside the shores of the Three-Islands of Kemer-Antalya. This second artifact is a more familiar ring-shaped object made of lead. It is similar to objects found off the coast of Israel and identified as "salvage rings." These two objects were found as lone objects, neither associated with a shipwreck nor within a specific context. These were followed by two other ring-shaped objects found in 2021, again off the ancient Lycia region, one in Kaş and the other one on the Kekova coastline. Both of these objects are marble weights and akin to the one which had been found on the coast of Caesarea, Israel and named as a "salvaging ring" in the literature. These two marble rings have been found near shipwrecks. One surmises they were possibly used by divers to retrieve some sunken cargo. All four finds could be examples of diver weights that were used by ancient divers for reaching the desired depths faster for salvage operations or other diving activities such as harvesting sponges and oysters. Artifacts of these sorts found on the seabed are extremely rare. Along the entire 640 km Antalya coastline, over a time span of two decades, these are the only four recovered objects. In searching for the history of these artifacts and their originally intended purposes, a study is conducted with similar objects from different sites of the Mediterranean. This paper concludes with a recent experiment to test whether the artifacts could have been diver weights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical oil spill trajectory modelling aims at predicting and forecasting the movement of the oil spill. This paper discusses trajectory oil spill modelling for the hypothetical oil spills in the Bay of Bengal, off the Odisha coast. The models have been simulated in different locations of Odisha offshore for various weather conditions. The result showed that the northeast monsoon drives the slick faster than the southwest monsoon. A spill from 85 to 110 km away from the beach reached the coastline with higher speed in the cyclonic period. At the same time, the spill location at 70 km away from the coast could not reach the coast; this implies direction and speed of the wind and current play a critical role in spill movement. The fate budget of spill oil shows about 36% of evaporation happened in each case which shows that the period of spill and distance are not impacting the fate of oil. The direction of oil slick movement and speed are essential to understand the beaching of the oil pollutant at the shore. The study concluded that wind and ocean currents significantly influence oil spill movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we construct a mathematical model for estimating the mass of water flooding the coastline of a basin. The models of the relief of the bottom of the basin and the relief of the flooding part of the coastline are constructed by stochastic methods. The simulation is based on empirical data of measurements of depths of the basin and the study of level lines on maps of the coastal zone. The equations of the surface relief of the coastal zone are constructed by using empirical data from maps with level lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subaerial zone of the beach is a highly dynamic area that supports recreation and different habitats; as such, it has been the focus of many past studies. Accordingly, this paper reports a study of the assessment of the erosion and accretion over subaerial beach profiles and their relationship to the upper beach width. To this end, the erosion and accretion balanced approach (EABA) which was initially developed for beach profiles in the offshore direction is employed and tested over 934 subaerial beach profiles from the southwestern Maine coastline in New England region of the USA. The results indicated that the calculated average profile over 14 years does represent the equilibrium profile and the model can be used for subaerial beach profiles with high accuracy. Moreover, the results verified the application of the erosion and accretion balanced approach even in natural phenomena such as strong storms and abrupt sea level rises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst climate change has been regarded as a growing concern in recent years due the disruptive and detrimental effects experienced across the globe, one of its most compelling and threatening evidence is Sea Level Rise (SLR). This phenomenon is more prominent in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and such islands are already facing escalating associated environmental threats, causing social and economic disruptions as well as insecurities. Amongst the SIDS, the coastal areas of Mauritius are considered among the most vulnerable to SLR, where statistics showed that between the years 1987 and 2007, an annual increase of 2.1 mm in the sea level has been observed around Mauritius. Although SLR has various associated impacts, limited work has been undertaken to assess the coastal vulnerability of the impacts of SLR for Mauritius and to compute the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) of the island. Taking cognizance of this limitation, the purpose of this paper is to quantify, prioritize and critically assess the vulnerability of key impacts of sea level rise on the coastal areas of Mauritius following computation of a CVI. In this process, five key research questions are answered towards calculating the CVI of the island to eventually conceptualize a framework with the aim to reduce the adverse impacts of SLR on coastal zones of Mauritius. Findings of this study aim at the advancement of resilience and increased sustainability of coastal areas to the impacts of SLR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]