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The article opens the thematic issue of Journal of Ichthyology, which presents the results of more than 30 years of research by the author on the taxonomy and distribution of fish of the family Melamphaidae. Information on the structure of the issue, a description of research methods, a list of vessels on which the studied material was collected, and the names of museums around the world where typical material is stored have been provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The paper describes a system for wind wave forecasting in the World Ocean, which has resulted from the development of the operational forecast technology functioning at the Hydrometcenter of Russia since 2014. The system is built on the linked "ocean–sea–coastal zone" scheme designed for making forecasts over the entire World Ocean and individual Russian seas. The developed model configurations make it possible to compute wave parameters with a horizontal resolution of 10–20 km in oceans and 1–5 km in Russian seas. To detail the forecasts in the coastal zone of the seas, unstructured triangulation grids with a horizontal resolution of 100–1000 m are used in relatively small water areas. The boundary conditions at the open boundaries of the coastal computational domain, which are necessary for calculations, are generated in the model of a corresponding sea. The verification results of the forecasts of the significant wave height over the World Ocean based on satellite altimetry observations show the values of traditional forecast skill scores comparable to those of leading forecast centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present-day climate (the recent 100–150 years) obviously constitutes the structure of a global intra-system rhythmic process with an individual rhythm of about 60 years. In turn, each of the rhythms is presented by the two climate phases of about 25–35 years characterized by qualitative differences: one phase is relatively continental, while the other is humid. Globality and quasi-synchronism of environmental changes are accompanied by planetary structures: the Global Atmospheric Oscillation (GAO) in the atmosphere and the Multidecadal Oscillation of the Heat content in the Ocean (MOHO) discovered relatively recently. Unexpected and rapid qualitative phase changes in the climate, which first focused attention in the mid-1970s of the last century, were titled "climate shifts". The revealed features of the present-day climate are of exceptional scientific and practical interest and deserve the development of methods for predicting the timing of the forthcoming climate shift. Arising unexpectedly and accompanied by rapid significant changes, these shifts identified the problem of understanding the nature and establishing the processes and mechanisms causing them. First of all, of interest are phase changes in the thermodynamic state of the climate system components: the ocean, atmosphere, and continents. As a result of the World Ocean (WO) thermohydrodynamics numerical modelling, it is shown that MOHO is localized in the layer of the main thermocline, where the most important elements of the WO circulation are located. The performed study based on observational data allows us to conclude that, during the phase of the WO thermal discharge (1975–1999), the two key systems of currents, the Kuroshio and the Gulf Stream, were under similar thermodynamic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal rules aimed at compensation for the harm caused by a particular state, individual, or legal entity (for example, oil pollution of the sea due to a tanker accident) are well studied and constantly used in scientific literature and international law practice. Meanwhile, every year, the number of cases of harm when the particular guilty party cannot be established grows; this is why it is almost impossible to compensate for the harm caused. Such cases include collisions of satellites causing space debris; the consequences of climate change for agriculture, forestry, and the health of citizens; and the pollution of the World Ocean with plastic debris, ballast water, and abandoned nets.

INTRODUCTION. The world ocean is the main component of the Earth's biosphere, a key element of the hydrosphere containing 95% of all water on the planet, the most important link in the ecological system, a source of mineral, biological and strategic resources. Nevertheless, the rapid growth of the population, the development of new territories, the rapid development of the economy and the increasingly intensive use of the spaces and resources of the World Ocean in this regard have led to serious and sometimes irreversible consequences that negatively affect its condition. The Russian Federation, being a leading maritime Power, takes an active position in taking urgent measures to ensure the protection and preservation of the waters and resources of the World Ocean. Realizing the impossibility of resolving the environmental problem that has arisen on the basis of exclusively universal or regional agreements, as well as by taking appropriate measures at the domestic level, recognizing that the need to ensure the protection and preservation of the oceans from pollution requires an exclusively holistic approach to the regulatory regulation of this issue, the Russian Federation expressed its desire to cooperate on the most important issues of ensuring global environmental problems, where the protection and preservation of the oceans from pollution is one of the priority areas of activity.MATERIALS AND METHODS. This study uses the works of both Russian and foreign experts in the field of international environmental and international maritime law. The research used general scientific methods of cognition – analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction. Special legal methods were also used in the work – formal legal, technical legal, the method of legal analogy, as well as the comparative legal method.THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY. The analysis of the current practice on the implementation of international legal norms in the field of protection and preservation of the world ocean from pollution in the legislation of the Russian Federation allowed us to conclude that the protection of the World Ocean from pollution is a system of legal relations requiring coordinated actions of international law and national legislation.DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS. Within the framework of the study, the author comes to the logical conclusion that the norms of international and national law should act in unity in order to comply with the natural processes of development of activities in the world Ocean and the interests of states. The protection and preservation of the World Ocean is a complex task that requires both a comprehensive regulatory and legal regulation at all levels, and the formation of a correct public consciousness about its integrity, unity and value of this unique, most important component of the Earth's hydrosphere, allowing the world community to unite in organizing cooperation on issues of ensuring global security of the entire civilization on a democratic basis.

Legal rules aimed at compensation for the harm caused by a particular state, individual, or legal entity (for example, oil pollution of the sea due to a tanker accident) are well studied and constantly used in scientific literature and international law practice. Meanwhile, every year, the number of cases of harm when the particular guilty party cannot be established grows; this is why it is almost impossible to compensate for the harm caused. Such cases include collisions of satellites causing space debris; the consequences of climate change for agriculture, forestry, and the health of citizens; and the pollution of the World Ocean with plastic debris, ballast water, and abandoned nets. There are more such cases at the national level. After studying acts of international environmental law, national legislation, and several examples from judicial practice, we show that compensation for the harm caused to life, health, or property in the absence of a particular harm-doer is difficult or impossible to prove. This is why actions that can prevent subjectless environmental harm are taken at the national level in certain countries by developing measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change, licensing space activities, and taking preventive measures against the formation of plastic debris and its pollution of the seas, etc. This trend should be continued, and the experience gained by certain states should be used in developing new acts of international environmental law. This will ensure the next step towards preventing environmental harm where it is impossible to establish the doer's name. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gramberg All-Russia Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean (FSBI VNIIOkeangeologia) carries out a wide range of research in the fields of geology, engineering geology, geophysics, and geochemistry. The specialists of the institute perform studies using most-up-to-date equipment in several directions, including the study of the geology and mineral resources of the Arctic, Antarctic and the World Ocean. The geological and tectonic maps and atlases of the Eurasian sector of the Arctic shelf and adjacent deepwater zones of the Arctic Ocean have been compiled. This allow one to recognize the rift-related basins on the East Arctic shelf of Russia, and the conjunction areas of the Lomonosov, Gakkel, and Mendeleev oceanic ridges with the Eurasian continental margin. A comprehensive interpretation of geological and geophysical data has revealed features of the tectonics of the Amerasian Basin, which indicate that the evolution of the basin structures took place under conditions of continental rifting. One of the main scientific conclusions drawn at the preparation of the Submission of the Russian Federation in respect of the continental shelf boundary in the Arctic Ocean is the proof of the continental nature of the structures of the Central Arctic Rise Complex: the Lomonosov Ridge, Podvodnikov Basin, Alpha–Mendeleev Rise, Chukchi Basin, and Chukchi Borderland. This conclusion is confirmed by the characteristics of the main layers of the Earth's crust in the above structures. A geodynamic model of the evolution of the Precambrian complexes of East Antarctica has been developed and the main tectonic provinces of Antarctica have been distinguished. A universal seismostratigraphic model of sedimentary basins has been developed for the marginal seas of East Antarctica. An important area of research in Antarctica was the study of the subglacial Lake Vostok. When studying the history of the formation of sulfide mineralization, it was found that the discharge of hydrothermal ore-bearing solutions most often occurs continuously, and only the intensity of the ore formation process changes with time. The possibility of formation of massive sulfide ore volumes additional to the main surface deposit due to metasomatic replacement of host igneous rocks has also been established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the role of the ocean in climate change. The effects associated with the accumulation of anthropogenic heat by the ocean, as well as the formation of the ocean's own changes on a scale of decades, are discussed. The flows of climatically active gases between the ocean and the atmosphere are considered. It is shown that, being the most conservative component of the climate system, the World Ocean absorbs ~92% of excess heat entering the system as a result of anthropogenic activity. This determines approximately 50–60% of the contribution to the rise in the level of the World Ocean due to the steric factor. It is also substantiated that the ocean is the only component of the climate system that has internal (intrinsic) variability modes with long (from a decade to several decades) time scales. These modes of variability (for example, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation) form responses in the atmosphere (during the processes of interaction at the ocean–atmosphere interface), whose superposition with global trends significantly reduces the accuracy of climate forecasts. Finally, it is shown that the oceans and seas are the most powerful net absorbers of climatically active gases, primarily CO2. With the warming of the climate (and the simultaneous warming of the ocean and seas), the role of the ocean as a CO2 sink is slowly weakening. Moreover, with an increase in storm activity in the oceans and seas, this role also weakens, since storm activity leads to an increase in emissions. Thus, global and regional balances of greenhouse gases cannot be reliably estimated without taking into account the role of the ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present-day climate (the recent 100–150 years) obviously constitutes the structure of a global intra-system rhythmic process with an individual rhythm of about 60 years. In turn, each of the rhythms is presented by the two climate phases of about 25–35 years characterized by qualitative differences: one phase is relatively continental, while the other is humid. Globality and quasi-synchronism of environmental changes are accompanied by planetary structures: the Global Atmospheric Oscillation (GAO) in the atmosphere and the Multidecadal Oscillation of the Heat content in the Ocean (MOHO) discovered relatively recently. Unexpected and rapid qualitative phase changes in the climate, which first focused attention in the mid-1970s of the last century, were titled “climate shifts”. The revealed features of the present-day climate are of exceptional scientific and practical interest and deserve the development of methods for predicting the timing of the forthcoming climate shift. Arising unexpectedly and accompanied by rapid significant changes, these shifts identified the problem of understanding the nature and establishing the processes and mechanisms causing them. First of all, of interest are phase changes in the thermodynamic state of the climate system components: the ocean, atmosphere, and continents. As a result of the World Ocean (WO) thermohydrodynamics numerical modelling, it is shown that MOHO is localized in the layer of the main thermocline, where the most important elements of the WO circulation are located. The performed study based on observational data allows us to conclude that, during the phase of the WO thermal discharge (1975–1999), the two key systems of currents, the Kuroshio and the Gulf Stream, were under similar thermodynamic conditions.

INTRODUCTION. In the second half of the 20th century, the expert was faced with a number of urgent tasks, in particular: ensuring access of states to living and nonliving resources of the World Ocean, protecting marine ecology, expanding the jurisdiction of states-states and delimiting maritime spaces. These problems became the official reason for convening the III Conference on the Law of the Sea. Also on the agenda of this conference is the issue of the transfer of marine technology. In the course of lengthy negotiations on the elaborated part XIV "Development and transfer of marine technologies" of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is used by the international legal regime for the transfer of marine technology. The author examines various international legal aspects of the problem of transfer of marine technologies, the importance of this institution for the international community. The purpose of the presented study is a comprehensive analysis of the international legal regime for the development and transfer of marine technologies based on the study of the relevant international legal acts and documents, identification of international legal problems. The main tasks are: identification of the prerequisites for the need for international legal regulation of the development and transfer of marine technologies, analysis of the provisions of the relevant international legal acts, consideration of the mechanism for the transfer of marine technologies developed by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The basis of this study is the provisions of international legal acts in the field of maritime law, documents of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in the field of transfer of marine technologies, as well as the works of domestic and foreign experts in the field of maritime law. Comparative legal analysis, formal legal, formal logical and systemic methods, methods of analysis and generalization were used as the main research methodology.RESEARCH RESULTS. As a result of the presented study, the prerequisites for the international legal regulation of the development and transfer of marine technologies were identified, the delineation of the areas of regulation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Agreement on the Implementation of Part XI of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the UNESCO IOC Criteria and Guidelines for the Transfer of Marine Technologies. A detailed analysis of the modern international legal regime for the development and transfer of marine technologies and the transfer mechanism developed by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission was carried out. A number of problems in the international legal regulation of this area have been identified, and ways to improve the efficiency of such regulation have been proposed.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. In the course of the study, the author concludes that the mechanism of international legal regulation of the development and transfer of marine technologies needs further improvement, and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines for the Transfer of Marine Technologies require appropriate amendments and additions. The author not only identifies specific problems of the international legal regime for the development and transfer of marine technologies, but also suggests ways to solve them.

Ocean maps are rarely in the scope of current studies on minimum-distortion map projections. This study aims to create an uninterrupted map projection to display planet Earth as the Blue Planet: the aspect of the projection is rotated into the middle of the water surface; favourable map distortions are optimized numerically across the World Ocean. The paper starts with a short overview of existing similar projections. In the next pages, the reader may find the detailed description on the development of the new mapping. The paper concludes with maps and distortion analysis in the proposed projection and thoughts about its potential usefulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in accuracy and resolution of modern global models of the Earth's gravity field, more opportunities have appeared to use them in solving the regional gravimetric problems. At the same time, the estimates of existing models depending on the region and geomorphology, as well as methods for predicting the reliability of data in models, taking into account the scale and nature of the problem being solved, become more important. The article is devoted to new estimates of modern models of the gravity field in various regions of the World Ocean and over various geomorphological structures. The estimates were obtained by comparing the data of the most relevant models of the gravity field with the data of high–precision marine areal and route surveys carried out in all major areas of the World Ocean. Based on the results, the model field is promising and it is possible to estimate the spatial distribution of model field errors in the World Ocean. A method for efficient preliminary zoning of a model field in the ocean is proposed. The features of the development of the Earth's gravity field models are considered, taking into account their actual accuracy and resolution, as well as the issue of general reliability of modern model data in the high-latitude Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Specific feature of the present-day climate dynamics consists in its multidecadal oscillations with a period of about 20–60 years, and intradecadal disturbances with time scales of 2–8 years. The period of 1940–1999 was distinctive due to the two–phase structure in which the initial phase (1940–1974) was substantially dry, and the final one (1975–1999) was relatively humid. The transition of the climate from the dry to the humid phase in the mid-1970s was recognized as a climatic shift. The certain globality and quasisynchronism of multidecadal climate changes occur involving planetary thermodynamic structures in the two most important components of the climate system, namely, the ocean and the atmosphere. The search for the origin of the observed present-day climate variability revealed the World Ocean (WO) active upper layer (AUL) heat content to demonstrate sequential multidecadal phases of heat accumulation and discharge consistent with multidecadal phases of climate disturbances. Thus, the WO AUL heat accumulation phase corresponds to a dry climate, and its thermal discharge corresponds to a relatively humid one. The mechanism of the observed multidecadal phase variability in the present-day climate consists of the planetary intrasystemic redistribution of heat between WO and continental air masses, where the general circulation of the atmosphere plays the role of an intermediary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of data available in the literature on the taxonomic diversity, occurrence, abundance, and distribution of microscopic fungi in deep-sea pelagic and benthic habitats of the World Ocean is provided in this review. The homology of deep-sea species and those described from the terrestrial environment is of particular note. The adaptations that allow fungi to exist in extreme conditions of bottom sediments of the World Ocean are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to topical issues of solid minerals of the World Ocean, which are of interest for more than 45—50 years and are actively studied by a lot of countries. To date, two main types of ores have been identified: ferromanganese and hydrothermal sulfide. Both are closely spatially and genetically connected with the history of formation of the World Ocean, the post-Middle Jurassic Thalasogeny system. Ferromanganese (Fe—Mn) ore formation is considered to be a concomitant, genetically related element of the ocean evolution. Certain sedimentary-chemogenic (thalasochemical) processes are developed here, where ferromanganese nodules and cobalt-manganese crusts are formed. Hydrothermal sulfide-forming ore formation is spatially related to the energy-active structures of the ocean: mid-ocean ridges and transition zones from ocean to continents. Its connection with heat flow and seismic active, deep-lying (from 10 to 30 km) centers testifies to deep (mantle) laying of initial sources of hydrothermal process, long latent maturing and manifestation at late stages of ocean structures development in the last 200—250 thousand years. Comparison of the resource potential of the ocean and continents shows that for a relatively short period of geological time in 170—175 million years, the volumes of Ni and Co have been formed in it by many times higher than similar indicators of these metals, accumulated for 3,5—4,0 billion years in terrestrial deposits; for Mn — equal, for Mo — comparable. The world thalasogene system — the World Ocean, as a whole, is a unique cobalt-bearing province, by an order of magnitude superior to the ground resource potential of the continents. In the real foreseeable future, in 10—15 years, their full-scale industrial development can begin, significantly changing the conjuncture and value indicators of the world market of strategically important minerals.

According to the literature data, the development of gas seeps in the World Ocean is analyzed. They were found and studied in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, in the Arctic seas and on the Baikal. The characteristics of cold sips and their genesis are given, sources and ways of substance inflow are indicat/ ed. All of them are mainly methane, and in the Sea of Okhotsk and near California contain barium. Cold syrups give rise to peculiar communities of organisms — bacteria, molluscs, tube worms. As a result of methane assimilation by bacteria, carbonate neoplasms are created, framing the outflows of gases.

The World Ocean and, in particular, its resource potential have always had a dramatic effect on the progress and spatial organisation of humanity. Recently, the effect of the sea factor on the economy and the settlement system has increased amid globalisation, geoeconomic changes, increasing geopolitical turbulence, and the growing competition for resources. In this article, I attempt to assess the influence of the sea factor on the socioeconomic geography of the Russian Federation. A country with an extensive coastline and a vast inland area, Russia has territories that are very different in geographical terms. I pay special attention to the post-Soviet changes in the major components of the country’s maritime economy: seaports, fishing industry, offshore production, recreation, etc. Another focus is the assessment of these industries’ impact on the development of the coastal areas. I demonstrate the growing dependence between the maritime economy and the economic development of Russia’s inland regions. I identify the key natural geographic, foreign economy, settlement-related, and geopolitical factors of the coastalisation of the economy, infrastructure, and population, observed in Russia today. This process is taking place in the Baltic, Black, and Caspian Sea areas, as well as in the Arctic and Pacific regions of the country. I conclude that Russia’s integration into the system of multi-dimensional Eurasian partnerships (including the Belt and Road initiative) and the ‘turn to the East’ contribute to both the further ‘marinisation’ of Russian space and the differentiation of coastal zones by the level and rates of socio-economic development.

Natural waters usually demonstrate the disturbance of radioactive equilibrium between parent 238U and and daughter 234U (usually, 234U/238U ≈ 0.8–3 in activities). The ratio of 234U/238U > 10 found in groundwaters can be explained by climatic variations, and it is result of 234U accumulation in permafrost rocks during cold periods and its more rapid loss compared to 238U during thawing. We tested this hypothesis for data on uranium isotope composition in water, and also chemo- and biogenic formations of the World Ocean. Most significant enrichment in 234U is discovered in the northern and internal seas during climatic warmings, which is consistent with an inferred influence of the permafrost formation and degradation on the anomalous increase of 234U/238U in groundwaters. Sampling of the Barents Sea shows that the uranium-234 enrichment in oceanic water increases with increase (a) of isolation from oceanic circulation system, (b) of the relative length of the coastal line, (c) and the contribution of continental waters to the chemical balance of the basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract—One of the modern global trends is the accelerated formation of a "blue economy" based on transport and logistics, resource and raw materials, and other opportunities of the seas and oceans, which occupy more than 70% of the Earth's surface. The article substantiates the growth in the importance of maritime economic activity for the Russian Federation and emphasizes the peculiarities of realizing its interests in the World Ocean, taking into account foreign policy, marketing and economic, technical and technological, financial and investment, infrastructural, and institutional opportunities and limitations. Attention is focused on the factors and features of the dynamics and spatial localization of such important industries for Russia as seaports and logistics, hydrocarbon production on sea shelves, production and processing of marine biological resources, shipbuilding, and coastal industry. It is shown that, on the one hand, Russia's sphere of potential (declared) interests is the waters of the entire World Ocean and, on the other, the country's maritime activity has a predominantly Circumeurasian (delimiting the mainland confined to its marginal seas) character, consistently shifting (under the influence of climatic, market, and geopolitical factors) into the Arctic, as well as the coastal zones and water areas of the Far East. The maritime interests of the leading Russian companies (Gazprom, Rosneft, Lukoil, NOVATEK, Rosatom and Rosatomflot, Sovkomflot, Norilsk Nickel, etc.) are emphasized, an inventory of limiting factors and the risks of further maritime orientation of the Russian economy has been compiled, and the most important areas of Russia's presence in regions of the World Ocean in conditions of growing geopolitical turbulence and geoeconomic competition are identified. As specific results, we should single out the well-substantiated priority directions of Russia's presence in the World Ocean, as well as the main priorities and directions for building up an effective Russian presence there. The identified limiting factors and limitations of maritime activity in modern Russia are of particular interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Specific feature of the present-day climate dynamics consists in its multidecadal oscillations with a period of about 20–60 years, and intradecadal disturbances with time scales of 2–8 years. The period of 1940–1999 was distinctive due to the two–phase structure in which the initial phase (1940–1974) was substantially dry, and the final one (1975–1999) was relatively humid. The transition of the climate from the dry to the humid phase in the mid-1970s was recognized as a climatic shift. The certain globality and quasisynchronism of multidecadal climate changes occur involving planetary thermodynamic structures in the two most important components of the climate system, namely, the ocean and the atmosphere. The search for the origin of the observed present-day climate variability revealed the World Ocean (WO) active upper layer (AUL) heat content to demonstrate sequential multidecadal phases of heat accumulation and discharge consistent with multidecadal phases of climate disturbances. Thus, the WO AUL heat accumulation phase corresponds to a dry climate, and its thermal discharge corresponds to a relatively humid one. The mechanism of the observed multidecadal phase variability in the present-day climate consists of the planetary intrasystemic redistribution of heat between WO and continental air masses, where the general circulation of the atmosphere plays the role of an intermediary.

This study used an ocean general circulation model to simulate the marine iron cycle in an investigation of how simulated distributions of weak iron-binding ligands would be expected to control dissolved iron concentrations in the ocean, with a particular focus on deep ocean waters. The distribution of apparent oxygen utilization was used as a proxy for humic substances that have recently been hypothesized to account for the bulk of weak iron-binding ligands in seawater. Compared to simulations using a conventional approach with homogeneous ligand distributions, the simulations that incorporated spatially variable ligand concentrations exhibited substantial improvement in the simulation of global dissolved iron distributions as revealed by comparisons with available field data. The improved skill of the simulations resulted largely because the spatially variable ligand distributions led to a more reasonable basin-scale variation of the residence time of iron when present at high concentrations. The model results, in conjunction with evidence from recent field studies, suggest that humic substances play an important role in the iron cycle in the ocean.

The global ocean has taken up a large fraction of the CO2 released by human activities since the industrial revolution. Quantifying the oceanic anthropogenic carbon (Cant) inventory and its variability is important for predicting the future global carbon cycle. The detailed comparison of data-based and model-based estimates is essential for the validation and continued improvement of our prediction capabilities. So far, three global estimates of oceanic Cant inventory that are "data-based" and independent of global ocean circulation models have been produced: one based on the Δ C* method, and two that are based on constraining surface-to-interior transport of tracers, the TTD method and a maximum entropy inversion method (GF). The GF method, in particular, is capable of reconstructing the history of Cant inventory through the industrial era. In the present study we use forward model simulations of the Community Climate System Model (CCSM3.1) to estimate the Cant inventory and compare the results with the data-based estimates. We also use the simulations to test several assumptions of the GF method, including the assumption of constant climate and circulation, which is common to all the data-based estimates. Though the integrated estimates of global Cant inventories are consistent with each other, the regional estimates show discrepancies up to 50 %. The CCSM3 model underestimates the total Cant inventory, in part due to weak mixing and ventilation in the North Atlantic and Southern Ocean. Analyses of different simulation results suggest that key assumptions about ocean circulation and air-sea disequilibrium in the GF method are generally valid on the global scale, but may introduce errors in Cant estimates on regional scales. The GF method should also be used with caution when predicting future oceanic anthropogenic carbon uptake.

A data-constrained ocean circulation model is used to characterize the distribution of water masses and their ages in the global ocean. The model is constrained by the time-averaged temperature, salinity, and radiocarbon distributions in the ocean, as well as independent estimates of the mean sea surface height and sea surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The data-constrained model suggests that the interior ocean is ventilated primarily by water masses forming in the Southern Ocean. Southern Ocean waters, including those waters forming in the Antarctic and subantarctic regions, make up about 55% of the interior ocean volume and an even larger percentage of the deep-ocean volume. In the deep North Pacific, the ratio of Southern Ocean to North Atlantic waters is almost 3:1. Approximately 65% of interior ocean waters make first contact with the atmosphere in the Southern Ocean, further emphasizing the central role played by the Southern Ocean in the regulation of the earth’s climate. Results of the age analysis suggest that the mean ventilation age of deep waters is greater than 1000 yr throughout most of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, reaching a maximum of about 1400–1500 yr in the middepth North Pacific. The mean time for deep waters to be reexposed at the surface also reaches a maximum of about 1400–1500 yr in the deep North Pacific. Together these findings suggest that the deep North Pacific can be characterized as a “holding pen” of stagnant and recirculating waters.

Mechanisms controlling the dissolved iron distribution in the North Pacific are investigated using the Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling (BEC) model with a resolution of approximately 1° in latitude and longitude and 60 vertical levels. The model is able to reproduce the general distribution of iron as revealed in available field data: surface concentrations are generally below 0.2 nM; concentrations increase with depth; and values in the lower pycnocline are especially high in the northwestern Pacific and off the coast of California. Sensitivity experiments changing scavenging regimes and external iron sources indicate that lateral transport of sedimentary iron from continental margins into the open ocean causes the high concentrations in these regions. This offshore penetration only appears under a scavenging regime where iron has a relatively long residence time at high concentrations, namely, the order of years. Sedimentary iron is intensively supplied around continental margins, resulting in locally high concentrations; the residence time with respect to scavenging determines the horizontal scale of elevated iron concentrations. Budget analysis for iron reveals the processes by which sedimentary iron is transported to the open ocean. Horizontal mixing transports sedimentary iron from the boundary into alongshore currents, which then carry high iron concentrations into the open ocean in regions where the alongshore currents separate from the coast, most prominently in the northwestern Pacific and off of California.

The primary nutrients that limit marine phytoplankton growth rates include nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), and silicon (Si). Atmospheric transport and deposition provides a source for each of these nutrients to the oceans. We utilize an ocean biogeochemical model to examine the relative importance of these atmospheric inputs for ocean biogeochemistry and export production. In the current era, simulations with the biogeochemical elemental cycling ocean model suggest that globally, atmospheric Fe inputs could support roughly 50% of the Fe exported from the euphotic zone by sinking organic and inorganic particles. Variations in atmospheric iron inputs strongly impact spatial patterns of phytoplankton growth limitation and the areal extent of the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll regions. Atmospheric inputs of N, Si, and P have smaller impacts, potentially accounting for 5.1%, 0.21%, and 0.12% of the biogenic export of these elements from the euphotic zone, respectively. Soluble Fe input from the atmosphere is sufficient to support most of the export production in many ocean regions, whether we use a spatially variable aerosol Fe solubility, or a globally constant 2% solubility. Regionally atmospheric N inputs can have significant impacts on marine biogeochemistry, potentially supporting >25% of the export production, an impact that is increasing due to human activities. Atmospheric Si and P inputs have only minimal impacts on marine ecosystem productivity and biogeochemistry, as these inputs are typically quite small relative to the flux of these nutrients from below the euphotic zone.

A two-stage method for 137Cs concentrating from seawater has been developed and adopted using composite ferrocyanide sorbents CFS Ni-K and CFS Zn-K(F). The suggested approach showed high efficiency that gives the opportunity to assess 137Cs content in the seawater without using low-background detectors. The data on 137Cs content has been obtained for the Japan, Okhotsk, and Bering seas using the suggested strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of assigning geographical names to undersea features on the bottom of the World Ocean and standardization of terms and names at the national and international levels are discussed. The development of underwater research technology, an increase in the number of sea expeditions, and the implementation of international projects—all this contributes to new discoveries. As for the Russian discoverers, their priority is enshrined in the names of more than 300 mountains, ridges, faults, and other undersea features of the World Ocean, included in the State Register of Geographical Names of the Russian Federation and the International Dictionary of Geographic Names (Gazetteer) of the General Bathymetric Ocean Chart (GEBCO). In the opinion of the authors of this article, it is necessary to intensify the work on collecting and approving names, many of which are recorded so far only in expedition reports and articles; to create national dictionaries, including regional ones; and to make wider use of Russian names in international publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the analysis of the current distribution, the results of the molecular genetic study into the diversity of the mtDNA region (the first subunit of the cytochrome c oxidase I gene (COI)) in the samples of the blue hake Antimora rostrata and the Pacific flatnose A. microlepis, and the generalization of literature data on fossil records of morids (Moridae), a scheme for hypothetical spreading of these species in the oceans is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important issue for the interpretation of data from deep-sea cores is the time for tracers to be transported from the sea surface to the deep ocean. Global ocean circulation models can help shed light on the timescales over which a tracer comes to equilibrium in different regions of the ocean. In this note, we discuss how the most slowly decaying eigenmode of a model can be used to obtain a relevant timescale for a tracer that enters through the sea surface to become well mixed in the ocean interior. We show how this timescale depends critically on the choice between a Neumann surface boundary condition in which the flux of tracer is prescribed, a Robin surface boundary condition in which a combination of the flux and tracer concentration is prescribed or a Dirichlet surface boundary condition in which the concentration is prescribed. Explicit calculations with a 3-box model and a three-dimensional ocean circulation model show that the Dirichlet boundary condition when applied to only part of the surface ocean greatly overestimate the time needed to reach equilibrium. As a result regional-"injection" calculations which prescribe the surface concentration instead of the surface flux are not relevant for interpreting the regional disequilibrium between the Atlantic and Pacific found in paleo-tracer records from deep-sea cores. For tracers that enter the ocean through air-sea gas exchange a prescribed concentration boundary condition can be used to infer relevant timescales if the air-sea gas exchange rate is sufficiently fast, but the boundary condition must be applied over the entire ocean surface and not only to a patch of limited area. For tracers with a slow air-sea exchange rate such as 14C a Robin-type boundary condition is more relevant and for tracers such as δ18O that enter the ocean from melt water, a Neumann boundary condition is presumably more relevant. Our three-dimensional model results based on a steady-state modern circulation suggest that the relative disequilibrium between the deep Atlantic and Pacific is on the order of "only" 1200 years or less for a Neumann boundary condition and does not depend on the size and location of the patch where the tracer is injected.

Estimates of sources/sinks of carbon dioxide (CO2) at the Earth's surface are commonly made using atmospheric CO2 inverse modeling, terrestrial and oceanic biogeochemical modeling, and inventory-based studies. In this study, we compare sea-air CO2 fluxes from the Time-Dependent Inverse (TDI) atmosphere model and the marine Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling (BEC) model to study the processes involved in ocean carbon cycling at subbasin scales. A dust generation and transport model, based on analyzed meteorology and terrestrial vegetation cover, is also used to estimate the interannual variability in dust and iron deposition to different ocean basins. Overall, a fairly good agreement is established between the TDI and BEC model results for the net annual patterns and seasonal cycle of sea-air CO2 exchange. Sensitivity studies with the ocean biogeochemical model using increased or reduced atmospheric iron inputs indicate the relative sensitivity of air-sea CO2 exchange. The simulated responses to changes in iron inputs are not instantaneous (peak response after ∼2−3 years). The TDI model derived seasonal cycles for the Southern Ocean (South Atlantic) are better matched by the BEC model by increasing (decreasing) iron inputs through atmospheric aerosols. Our results suggest that some of the interannual variability in TDI model air-sea CO2 fluxes during the past decade may be explainable by dust variability that relaxes/increases iron limitation in high-nitrate, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) ocean regions.

Space methods for remote sensing of the Earth began to develop almost immediately after the first launches of artificial Earth satellites. As early as in 1962, the first Soviet satellites of the Kosmos series were developed, which played an important role in the study of physical processes in the Earth's atmosphere and the World Ocean, as well as in the treatment of many scientific, economic, and defense problems. In subsequent years, these studies were continued on satellites of the Okean, Meteor–Priroda, and Interkosmos series, as well as on the Salyut-6 and Salyut-7 space stations and the Priroda module of the Mir station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various natural patterns—such as terrestrial sand dune ripples, lamellae in vertebrate bones, growth increments in fish scales and corals, aortas and lamellar corpuscles in humans and animals—comprise layers of different thicknesses and lengths. Microstructures in manmade materials—such as alloys, perlite steels, polymers, ceramics, and ripples induced by laser on the surface of graphen—also exhibit layered structures. These layered patterns form a record of internal and external factors regulating pattern formation in their various systems, making it potentially possible to recognize and identify in their incremental sequences trends, periodicities, and events in the formation history of these systems. The morphology of layered systems plays a vital role in developing new materials and in biomimetic research. The structures and sizes of these two-dimensional (2D) patterns are characteristically anisotropic: That is, the number of layers and their absolute thicknesses vary significantly in different directions. The present work develops a method to quantify the morphological characteristics of 2D layered patterns that accounts for anisotropy in the object of study. To reach this goal, we use Boolean functions and an N-partite graph to formalize layer structure and thickness across a 2D plane and to construct charts of (1) “layer thickness vs. layer number” and (2) “layer area vs. layer number.” We present a parameter disorder of layer structure (DStr) to describe the deviation of a study object’s anisotropic structure from an isotropic analog and illustrate that charts and DStr could be used as local and global morphological characteristics describing various layered systems such as images of, for example, geological, atmospheric, medical, materials, forensic, plants, and animals. Suggested future experiments could lead to new insights into layered pattern formation.

Cases of "freak waves" that occurred in the period from 2011 to 2018 and information on which is currently available are analyzed. In total, 210 cases of abnormally large waves that caused destruction, loss of human life, and injury are identified. A map of events is compiled, the sea depth for each case (deep/shallow waters, the coast) is determined, and the characteristics of freak waves are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistical analysis of heat flow distribution along nine geotraverses crossing mid-oceanic ridges in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans is carried out. Significant asymmetry of heat flow distribution is established: its mean values differ on opposite sides of ridge axes. In geotraverses of the Southern Hemisphere, their western flanks have a higher average heat flow, and on geotraverses of the Northern Hemisphere, the same is true of the eastern flank. Various tectonic factors leading to such a distribution are taken into account, but it is suggested that the universal cause of this regularity is the Coriolis effect, which, as the planet rotates, redistributes the amount of magmatic material in the asthenospheric reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the history of seafloor spreading of the Eurasian Basin. The sharp decline in the spreading rate in the Eocene about 46 Ma was revealed, which is recorded in the distribution of linear magnetic anomalies. This jump in velocity is explained by a geodynamic model, but not by the northward movement of Greenland. The geodynamic processes of the Pacific subduction zone generate the upper mantle convection cell with return flow that drags the continental lithosphere of the Arctic toward this zone. The geodynamic mechanism is confirmed by seismic tomographic mantle sections of the northeastern margin of Asia and by a numerical model of upper mantle convection in the active continental margin. The plate tectonics and kinematics of the Eurasian Basin are namely influenced by the activity of the upper mantle convection return cell, which is controlled by the flow volume and ultimately by the velocity and directions of the subduction vectors of lithospheric material of the Kula and Pacific plates in the subduction zone. In the Middle Cretaceous–Middle Eocene, the return cell was active for about 73 Ma, since the Kula and Pacific plates are moving north and subducting orthogonally under the Central Arctic. After geodynamic reorganization in the Middle Eocene about 47.5 Ma, the oceanic plates in the Pacific began to move northwest. As a result, supply of Pacific Ocean lithospheric material to the Arctic convective return cell virtually ceased. Shortly after the reorganization, seafloor, spreading of the Eurasian Basin decelerated about 46 Ma to an ultraslow regime. The main tectonic and geodynamic consequences of applying the proposed geodynamic model for the Arctic in the Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various natural patterns—such as terrestrial sand dune ripples, lamellae in vertebrate bones, growth increments in fish scales and corals, aortas and lamellar corpuscles in humans and animals—comprise layers of different thicknesses and lengths. Microstructures in manmade materials—such as alloys, perlite steels, polymers, ceramics, and ripples induced by laser on the surface of graphen—also exhibit layered structures. These layered patterns form a record of internal and external factors regulating pattern formation in their various systems, making it potentially possible to recognize and identify in their incremental sequences trends, periodicities, and events in the formation history of these systems. The morphology of layered systems plays a vital role in developing new materials and in biomimetic research. The structures and sizes of these two-dimensional (2D) patterns are characteristically anisotropic: That is, the number of layers and their absolute thicknesses vary significantly in different directions. The present work develops a method to quantify the morphological characteristics of 2D layered patterns that accounts for anisotropy in the object of study. To reach this goal, we use Boolean functions and an N-partite graph to formalize layer structure and thickness across a 2D plane and to construct charts of (1) “layer thickness vs. layer number” and (2) “layer area vs. layer number.” We present a parameter disorder of layer structure (DStr) to describe the deviation of a study object’s anisotropic structure from an isotropic analog and illustrate that charts and DStr could be used as local and global morphological characteristics describing various layered systems such as images of, for example, geological, atmospheric, medical, materials, forensic, plants, and animals. Suggested future experiments could lead to new insights into layered pattern formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The description of the ocean-atmosphere coupling is presented. The paper analyzes the data of MERRA, JRA, ERA-Interim, and ERA-20Century reanalyses and the re suits of CCM chemistry-climate model simulations based on monthly mean values of air temperature and ozone mixing ratio at the levels of 925 and 20 hPa during 1980–2015. The comparison with data on sea surface temperature is provided. The results of simula-ion are in good agreement with reanalysis data for the atmospheric surface layer, whereas essential differences for the stratosphere require a more detailed analysis. According to the model results, air temperature rises in the surface layer, and air temperature and ozone mixing ratio decrease in the stratosphere. Reanalysis data do not coniradict simuiaiion results for the troposphere but differ significantly for the stratosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brief characteristics of the mineral raw material potential of the deep-sea deposits of ferromanganese nodules in the area of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone leased by Russia in the Pacific Ocean are presented. The creation at the Moscow Mining Institute (MGI) of the USSR's first Scientific and Technical Problems Laboratory and the results of its work on extraction of minerals from the sea and ocean floor are reviewed. The research works carried out by MGI on underwater mining of ilmenite-rutile-zirconium sands on the Baltic Sea shelf and Iturup Island and tin under conditions of northern seas and the development of the technogenic placer of the East Siberian Sea are analyzed. The concept of using the kinetic energy of coaxially swirled fluid jets in hydrotransport-hoisting devices of vortex slurry preparation, which was tested in the Black Sea and an air-lift mud intake by mechanical and hydraulic loosening for extracting diamond-containing gravel-pebble rocks on the Namibia shelf is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of mineral resources base located in offshore zone and ocean space is an important aspect of development of industrial and economic potential. The issues of control over the Earth’s mineral resources as one of the most important components of geopolitical leadership are considered. It is shown that mineral resources of shelf zone, continental slope, and ocean floor are of the greatest interest from the viewpoint of possible commercial development. Data on the major oil and natural gas fields, deep-sea deposits of polymetallic sulfides, ferromanganese nodules, and cobalt-manganese crusts are analyzed. The mechanisms of state management in the field of using the resources of World Ocean and developing marine mining industry in Russia are substantiated.