The Progress and Situation of Extended Continental Shelf Delineation Worldwide

方银霞，国家海洋局第二海洋研究所专属经济区与大陆架研究中心研究员。尹洁，国家海洋局第二海洋研究所专属经济区与大陆架研究中心助理研究员。唐勇，国家海洋局第二海洋研究所专属经济区与大陆架研究中心研究员。李金蓉，国家海洋信息中心，助理研究员。【中文摘要】：自2001年俄罗斯率先提交划定其200海里以外大陆架外部界限的划界案以来已经15年，截至2016年6月30日，大陆架界限委员会收到的划界案总数达81个，完成审议并通过委员会建议的划界案有24个。本文系统介绍了全球外大陆架划界案提交情况、委员会对划界案的处理模式以及审议时重点关注的问题等，并从科学和法律两个角度分析了当前外大陆架划界实践的特点与未来发展趋势。因此，本文建议，我们应加大相关科学技术和法理问题研究，及时总结大陆架制度理论与实践的最新发展，以便为我国今后外大陆架划界和积极应对侵害我国海洋权益的他国划界主张提供参考和借鉴。 【Abstract】In 2001, Russia made the first submission, containing proposed outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (nm) from the base-lines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). As of 30 June 2016, the CLCS had received 81 submissions and had reviewed and released recommendations on 24 of them. After systematically outlining the situation of the submissions that have been, are being, or will be filed by States, the modes that CLCS adopts to treat submissions, and the primary issues that the CLCS examines during its consideration of submissions, this paper explores, from both scientific and legal perspectives, the features of current practice with respect to extended continental shelf delineation, as well as its development tendency.In this context, this paper suggests that greater efforts should be invested in the study of relevant scientific, technical and legal issues, and the latest developments regarding the theories and practice of the continental shelf regime should be learned and summarized in a timely manner, which could be used for reference by China in the delineation of its extended continental shelf, or when China's maritime rights and interests are undermined by other States' claims of continental shelf.本文获海洋公益性行业科研专项经费资助项目（编号：201205003）和国家自然科学基金项目（编号：41476048 和41401142）资助

Metastable Olivine within Oceanic Lithosphere in the Uppermost Lower Mantle Beneath the Eastern United States

Approximately two-thirds of Earth\u27s outermost shell is composed of oceanic plates that form at spreading ridges and recycle back to Earth\u27s interior in subduction zones. A series of physical and chemical changes occur in the subducting lithospheric slab as the temperature and pressure increase with depth. In particular, olivine, the most abundant mineral in the upper mantle, progressively transforms to its high-pressure polymorphs near the mantle transition zone, which is bounded by the 410 km and 660 km discontinuities. However, whether olivine still exists in the core of slabs once they penetrate the 660 km discontinuity remains debated. Based on SKS and SKKS shear-wave differential splitting times, we report new evidence that reveals the presence of metastable olivine in the uppermost lower mantle within the ancient Farallon plate beneath the eastern United States. We estimate that the low-density olivine layer in the subducted Farallon slab may compensate the high density of the rest of the slab associated with the low temperature, leading to neutral buoyancy and preventing further sinking of the slab into the deeper part of the lower mantle

Legal Principles of and Application Conditions for Relevant Provisions on the Continental Shelf under the UNCLOS

方银霞，国家海洋局第二海洋研宄所，国家海洋局海底科学重点实验室研宄员，主要研宄方向为海洋地质. 周建平，国家海洋局第二海洋研宄所，国家海洋局海底科学重点实验室助理研宄员， 主要研宄方向为海洋地球物理。【中文摘要】《联合国海洋法公约》（以下简称“《公约》”在确认沿海国拥有200海里专属经济区主权权利以外，《公约》第76条关于大陆架的定义中还规定沿海国可根据各自的地形和地质条件将其大陆架扩展到200海里以外，所扩展的 距离根据《公约》第76条的有关规定执行。由于《公约》第76条所定义的大陆架是法律意义的大陆架，是一个科学与法律政治的结合体，也是不同政治利益集团 之间妥协的产物，因此在具体操作中存在一定的复杂性，尤其是“洋脊”问题。《公 约》第76条中规定的“洋脊”可以分为深洋洋脊、海底洋脊和海底高地三种情况， 而不同类型的洋脊有着不同的划界距离标准。目前许多沿海国，尤其是各岛国都 期望利用有关“洋脊”条款中的规定来扩展他们的外大陆架。因此我们必须加强 对《公约》第76条的法理和应用条件研究，真正掌握并正确援用有关法律的依据、 原则和条件，为维护我国合法权益、为我国200海里以外大陆架的申请提供参考， 同时弄清各沿海国的外大陆架划界主张，以便确定我们的应对原则和政策。 【Abstract】Apart from affirming the sovereign rights of coastal States over its exclusive economic zone, which stretches from the baseline to 200 nautical miles into the sea, Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter referred to as the “Convention”）also provides that the continental shelf of a coastal State can be extended for a certain distance beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured in consideration of its topographical and geological conditions, as specified under Article 76. Since the definition of the “continental shelf” is provided as a legal concept under Article 76 of the Convention, therefore it is not only an outcome of the combination of legal factors and political elements, but is also a compromise reached among various political interest groups. However, the complexity lies in the application of the provisions of Article 76, especially those regarding the “ridge”, which can be divided into three categories (i.e., ocean ridges, submarine ridges, and submarine elevations) in accordance with Article 76 of the Convention. In the current context where various island States are making attempts to extend their outer continental shelf through tactful interpretation and application of relevant provisions regarding “ridge” under the Convention, it becomes imperative for China to master and correctly apply the provisions of the Convention to safeguard its legal rights and interests. Moreover, in order to be in a favorable position to make corresponding delimitation principles and policies, China must have clarity on the delimitation claims of interested island States and their basis of claims to achieve desired delimitation results

Hydrocarbon Resources within the U-shaped Line in the Southern South China Sea:Distribution Characteristics and Development Status

*李金蓉,国家海洋信息中心助理研究员。电子邮箱:[email protected]。 **方银霞,国家海洋局第二海洋研究所专属经济区与大陆架研究中心研究员。 ***朱瑛,中国海洋大学。［文摘］南海南部油气资源丰富,多年来越南、菲律宾、马来西亚、文莱无视我国海洋主权和权益,在我国U形线附近和U形线内大肆开展油气资源勘探开发活动,使得南海南部成为全球关注的焦点和热点。本文在分析研究南海中、南部主要沉积盆地构造特征的基础上,讨论了南海南部油气资源分布和开发现状,以及我国在复杂政治地理环境下的应对策略。［Abstract］The southern South China Sea contains rich hydrocarbon resources.Over many years,Vietnam,the Philippines,Malaysia and Brunei have wantonly carried out exploration and development activities of oil and gas resources near and even within China’s U-shaped boundary line,defying the maritime sovereign rights and interests of China.Consequently,the southern South China Sea has become a focus of global attention.In this article,by analyzing and studying the tectonic features of the major basins in the central and southern South China Sea,the authors discuss the distribution characteristics and development status of the oil and gas resources in the southern South China Sea,as well as China’s strategies to cope against the complex geopolitical backdrops.本文为2010年国家社科基金重大课题《南海地区国家核心利益的维护策略研究》(项目编号: 10zd&013)之子课题二《南海非生物资源权益维护》的阶段性成果

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues

Sedimentary budget of the Southwest Sub-basin, South China Sea: Controlling factors and geological implications

Calculation of the sediment budget in the South China Sea abyssal basin lacks constraints from drilling data and reinterpretation of seismic data. On the basis of six multichannel seismic profiles across the Southwest Sub-basin (SWSB) and the drilling data from International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 349, we divided the Cenozoic sediments into four sedimentary units. The sedimentary budget of the abyssal basin at different geological times was calculated. The previous works in the Mekong continental shelf and slope areas were integrated to calculate the sediment budget of the whole SWSB. Our researches show that the sediment budget in the SWSB increased during the Palaeogene and reached its first peak because of intensified erosion, which might have resulted from the continued uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and accelerated southeastward extrusion of the Indo-China Peninsula. Since the Late Miocene, the sediment budget was mainly influenced by the East Asia monsoon, that is, the intensified winter monsoon decreased the sediment budget of the entire area during the Late Miocene, whereas the strengthened summer monsoon increased the sediment budget during the Pliocene and reached a peak during the Pleistocene. The sediment budgets of the Mekong continental shelf, the Mekong continental slope, and the abyssal basin have distinct characteristics, relating to the infilling sequence of the terrestrial sediments in different regions. The sediment provenance of the SWSB was mainly from the Indo-China Peninsula, the Nansha area, and the Palawan before the Late Miocene. After that time, sediments were mainly transported from the modern Mekong River

Summary of Recommendations by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf with Regard to Japan''s Submission：A Commentary

*方银霞，国家海洋局第二海洋研究所专属经济区与大陆架研究中心，研究员，主要从事大陆边缘演化及大陆架划界研究，电子邮箱：[email protected]。 **唐勇，国家海洋局第二海洋研究所专属经济区与大陆架研究中心，研究员。 ***付洁，国家海洋局第二海洋研究所专属经济区与大陆架研究中心，博士研究生。［文摘］自日本外务省2012年4月28日宣布，日本200海里以外大陆架的申请获得了大陆架界限委员会(以下简称“委员会”)的批准以来，关于其划界案涉冲之鸟礁区块的争论就一直吵得沸沸扬扬，备受国际社会关注。随着委员会分别于2012年5月15日和6月3日在联合国网站上公布了委员会第29届会议主席声明和日本划界案建议摘要，日本划界案审议结果已经是明明白白，那就是委员会根本不认可日本依据冲之鸟礁主张的外大陆架。日本除了借助冲之鸟礁外，在其他主张区还混淆概念，滥用《联合国海洋法公约》相关规定，以获取本国利益最大化，但并未得到委员会认可。本文对委员会建议摘要作全文解读，以便大家全面了解日本的划界主张和委员会的审议结果。［Abstract］Since Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on April 28，2012 that Japan's submission to delimit the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles was approved by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), the part of the submission involving the region based on Oki-no-Tori Shima has been arousing controversy in the international community. Since the May 15,2012 publication of the Statement by the Chairperson on the “Progress of Work in the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf” from the 29th session of meetings and the June 3，2012 publication of the Summary of Recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in Regard to the Submission Made by Japan (hereinafter “Summary of Recommendations”)on the United Nations' website, the result of the deliberations on Japan's submission has been clear: the CLCS did not agree at all with Japan's claims of an outer continental shelf based on Oki-no-Tori Shima. In addition to its attempt to claim an outer continental shelf based on Oki-no-Tori Shima, Japan also tried to maximize its interests in other regions by confusing the issues and abusing the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. These attempts were also rejected by the CLCS. This paper gives a comprehensive analysis of the CLCS's Summary of Recommendations, so that the reader can gain a thorough understanding of Japan's delimitation claims and the results of the CLCS's consideration.本文获海洋公益性行业科研专项经费赞助（编号：201205003）