Developing an Effective Enforcement System for a Marine Reserve in the Pitcairn Islands

This paper details how monitoring and enforcement of the Pitcairn Island's exclusive economic zone could be effectively undertaken for a relatively low level of expenditure. It is important to note that there is no such thing as perfect enforcement, although, in general, the greater the funds available, the closer to perfection an enforcement system is likely to get. This paper does not attempt to detail how near-to-perfect enforcement might be achieved because establishing such a system would be far too costly to be a realistic policy option. Rather, it outlines the most important steps that could be taken to create a robust enforcement system and reviews some affordable technologies that could be deployed to support it. Creating a marine reserve and deploying these relatively low-cost options would protect Pitcairn Islands' exclusive economic zone far better than it currently is, and far better than the vast majority of oceans worldwide. These actions would distinguish the United Kingdom as a world leader in responsible stewardship of the marine environment

Ship and Oil-Spill Detection Using the Degree of Polarization in Linear and Hybrid/Compact Dual-Pol SAR

Monitoring and detection of ships and oil spills using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) have received a considerable attention over the past few years, notably due to the wide area coverage and day and night all-weather capabilities of SAR systems. Among different polarimetric SAR modes, dual-pol SAR data are widely used for monitoring large ocean and coastal areas. The degree of polarization (DoP) is a fundamental quantity characterizing a partially polarized electromagnetic field, with significantly less computational complexity, readily adaptable for on-board implementation, compared with other well-known polarimetric discriminators. The performance of the DoP is studied for joint ship and oil-spill detection under different polarizations in hybrid/compact and linear dual-pol SAR imagery. Experiments are performed on RADARSAT-2 -band polarimetric data sets, over San Francisco Bay, and -band NASA/JPL UAVSAR data, covering the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Evaluation of the Wadden Sea Particularly sensitive Sea Area. On behalf of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat.

The purpose of this document is to present the high level outcomes for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Wadden Sea PSSA, seven years after its designation by the IMO. Key changes with regard to IMO and EU shipping policy are identified and described, followed by a review of ‘expert’ opinion focused on the issues relating to PSSAs. The development of an evaluative framework and the resulting findings are introduced and discussed in context. Using existing data against this evaluative framework we conclude that six key elements require action in order to fully describe the efficacy of the designation, and our recommendations to address these concerns are presented.<br/

Offshore Metallic Platforms Observation Using Dual-Polarimetric TS-X/TD-X Satellite Imagery: A Case Study in the Gulf of Mexico

Satellite-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has been proven to be an effective tool for ship monitoring. Offshore platforms monitoring is a key topic for both safety and security of the maritime domain. However, the scientific literature oriented to the observation of offshore platforms using SAR imagery is very limited. This study is mostly focused on the analysis and understanding of the multipolarization behavior of platforms’ backscattering using dual-polarization X-band SAR imagery. This study is motivated by the fact that under low incidence angle and moderate wind conditions, copolarized channels may fail in detecting offshore platforms even when fine-resolution imagery is considered. This behavior has been observed on both medium- and high-resolution TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X SAR imagery, despite the fact that platforms consist of large metallic structures. Hence, a simple multipolarization model is proposed to analyze the platform backscattering. Model predictions are verified on TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X SAR imagery, showing that for acquisitions under low incidence angle, the platforms result in a reduced copolarized backscattered intensity even when fine resolution imagery is considered. Finally, several solutions to tackle this issue are proposed with concluding remark that the performance of offshore observation

Lung Cancer Care Before and After Medicare Eligibility.

Uninsured and underinsured near-elderly may not have timely investigation, diagnosis, or care of cancer. Prior studies suggest Medicare eligibility confers significant and substantial reductions in mortality and increases in health service utilization. We compared 2245 patients diagnosed with lung cancer at ages 64.5 to 65 years and 2512 patients aged 65 to 65.5 years, with 2492 patients aged 65.5 to 66 years (controls) in 2000 to 2005. Compared with controls, patients diagnosed with lung cancer before Medicare eligibility had no statistically significant differences in cancer stage, time to treatment, type of treatment, and survival. Study power was sufficient to exclude mortality reductions and health service utilization changes of the magnitude found in prior work, suggesting that typically, appropriate lung cancer care may be sought and delivered regardless of insurance status

On Small Satellites for Oceanography: A Survey

The recent explosive growth of small satellite operations driven primarily from an academic or pedagogical need, has demonstrated the viability of commercial-off-the-shelf technologies in space. They have also leveraged and shown the need for development of compatible sensors primarily aimed for Earth observation tasks including monitoring terrestrial domains, communications and engineering tests. However, one domain that these platforms have not yet made substantial inroads into, is in the ocean sciences. Remote sensing has long been within the repertoire of tools for oceanographers to study dynamic large scale physical phenomena, such as gyres and fronts, bio-geochemical process transport, primary productivity and process studies in the coastal ocean. We argue that the time has come for micro and nano satellites (with mass smaller than 100 kg and 2 to 3 year development times) designed, built, tested and flown by academic departments, for coordinated observations with robotic assets in situ. We do so primarily by surveying SmallSat missions oriented towards ocean observations in the recent past, and in doing so, we update the current knowledge about what is feasible in the rapidly evolving field of platforms and sensors for this domain. We conclude by proposing a set of candidate ocean observing missions with an emphasis on radar-based observations, with a focus on Synthetic Aperture Radar.Comment: 63 pages, 4 figures, 8 table

The Potential Tourism Impact of Creating the World's Largest Marine Reserve in the Pitcairn Islands

The Pitcairn Islands, by virtue of their small size and isolation, do not have many obvious economic options, but tourism based on their environment and history is an opportunity that could provide employment, income, and increased connection to the outside world. The creation of the world's largest marine reserve in the Pitcairn Islands would greatly enhance the territory's image and provide an opportunity for increased awareness of the islands and their unique tourism offerings. The proposed marine reserve represents a realistic opportunity for building a sustainable economic future for Pitcairn's resident population. Environmentally responsible marine tourism has enormous potential for generating reliable revenues for the Pitcairn islanders and overcoming chronic problems of economic marginalisation caused by the islands' extreme geographic isolation

Marine Ship Automatic Identification System (AIS) for Enhanced Coastal Security Capabilities: An Oil Spill Tracking Application

National and international trade via shipping is already significant, and expected to continue increasing rapidly over the next decade. Both more ships and larger ships will contribute to this trade, includingships from countries with less rigorous shipping maintenance and inspection standards than the United States, and less strict pollution monitoring regulations. Changes in ship traffic management protocols have been implemented in recent years in the U.S. to minimize damage to coastlines, particularly near sensitive or protected marine environments. For example, to reduce risk to coastal resources off central California, shipping lanes for larger vessels were moved further offshore to allow for additional response time in case of accidents before such vessels might drift into coastal areas. Similarly, shipsare now routed via specific approach channels when entering Boston Harbor to reduce impacts within adjacent National Marine Sanctuary resources. Several recent high profile cases have occurred where \u27mystery\u27 oil spills were found near shipping channels, but no vessel could be readily identified as their source. These incidents lead to extensive and expensive efforts to attempt to identify the shipsresponsible. As time passes in responding to these incidents, the likelihood of confirming the identity of the ships diminishes. Unfortunately, reports of vessels engaging in illegal oily waste discharge to reduce fees for offloading the waste in port are ongoing. We here discuss use of improved capabilities of near-continuous real-time position location monitoring of shipping traffic using marine AutomaticIdentification Systems (AIS) for ships that would facilitate identification of ships responsible for illegal oily waste discharge. The next phase of the National AIS, N-AIS Increment 2, can supply additional spatial coverage not currently included in the N-AIS Increment 1, which can provide an enhanced capability for monitoring shipping and improving managem- ent of coastal ship traffic and response to pollution incidents. These methods will not only improve response time, but reduce cost of response as well

Girt by sea: understanding Australia’s maritime domains in a networked world

This study aims to provide the background, language and context necessary for an informed understanding of the challenges and dilemmas faced by those responsible for the efficacy of Australia’s maritime domain awareness system. Abstract Against a rapidly changing region dominated by the rise of China, India and, closer to home, Indonesia, Australia’s approaches to understanding its maritime domains will be influenced by strategic factors and diplomatic judgements as well as operational imperatives.&nbsp; Australia’s alliance relationship with the United States and its relationships with regional neighbours may be expected to have a profound impact on the strength of the information sharing and interoperability regimes on which so much of Australia’s maritime domain awareness depends. The purpose of this paper is twofold.&nbsp; First, it seeks to explain in plain English some of the principles, concepts and terms that maritime domain awareness practitioners grapple with on a daily basis.&nbsp; Second, it points to a series of challenges that governments face in deciding how to spend scarce tax dollars to deliver a maritime domain awareness system that is necessary and sufficient for the protection and promotion of Australia’s national interests

Applications of a High-Altitude Powered Platform (HAPP)

A list of potential uses for the (HAPP) and conceptual system designs for a small subset of the most promising applications were investigated. The method was to postulate a scenario for each application specifying a user, a set of system requirements and the most likely competitor among conventional aircraft and satellite systems. As part of the study of remote sensing applications, a parametric cost comparison was done between aircraft and HAPPS. For most remote sensing applications, aircraft can supply the same data as HAPPs at substantially lower cost. The critical parameters in determining the relative costs of the two systems are the sensor field of view and the required frequency of the observations being made. The HAPP is only competitive with an airplane when sensors having a very wide field of view are appropriate and when the phenomenon being observed must be viewed at least once per day. This eliminates the majority of remote sensing applications from any further consideration