AGRICULTURAL TRADE POLICY ACTORS, ANALYSTS, AND ADVOCATES

International Relations/Trade,

United States Agriculture in an International Environment

Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade,

From the Arctic to the Tropics: The U.S. UNCLOS Bathymetric Mapping Program

Since CHC2006, the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Coastal & Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center has mapped with multibeam, the bathymetry of an additional ~220,000 km2 of seafloor in areas as diverse as the Arctic, the Northern Marianas of the western Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico. The mapping supports any potential U.S. submission for of extended continental shelves under Article 76 of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea. Consequently, the mapping has concentrated on capturing the complete extent of the 2500-m isobath and the zone where the Article 76-defined foot of the slope exists. In practice, the complete area between ~1500 and ~4500 m water depths is mapped in each region (with the exception of the Arctic Ocean). The data have been collected in conditions that range from harsh Arctic sea ice to the calms of the Philippine Sea tropics. Although, some of the conditions have limited the quality of some of the data, the data quality is generally quite good and geological surprises have been uncovered on each of the cruises

Mapping in the Arctic Ocean in Support of a Potential Extended Continental Shelf

Under Article 76 of The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS; U.N. 1997), coastal states may, under certain circumstances, gain sovereign rights over the resources of the seafloor and subsurface of “submerged extensions of their continental margin” beyond the recognized 200 nautical mile (nmi) limit of their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The establishment of an “extended continental shelf” (ECS) under Article 76 involves the demonstration that the area of the ECS is a “natural prolongation” of a coastal state’s territorial landmass and then the application of a series of formulae and limit lines that are based on determination of the “foot of the slope,” (defined in Article 76 as the maximum change in gradient at it’s base), the underlying sediment thickness, and the locations of the 2500 m isobath and the 350 nmi line from the territorial sea base line. Although the United States has not yet acceded to the UNCLOS, increasing recognition that implementation of Article 76 could confer sovereign rights over large and potentially resource-rich areas of the seabed beyond its current 200 nautical mile (nmi) limit has renewed interest in the potential for accession to the treaty and spurred U.S. efforts to map area of potential “extended continental shelf”

TRADE WAR OR NEGOTIATIONS: WHERE ARE WE HEADING?

International Relations/Trade,

High Resolution Mapping in support of UNCLOS Article 76: Seeing the seafloor with new eyes

Since 2003, the Center for Coastal & Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) has been conducting multibeam mapping of many U.S. continental margins in areas where there is a potential for an extended continental shelf as defined under Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. UNH was directed by Congress, through funding by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, to map the bathymetry in areas in the Arctic Ocean, Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Northwest Atlantic, northern Gulf of Mexico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll (Fig. 1). The purpose of these surveys is to accurately locate the 2500-m isobath and to collect the bathymetry data required to eventually determine the location of the maximum change in gradient on Figure 1. Locations and year of bathymetry mapping (yellow areas) for U.S. UNCLOS concerns. the continental rises. A total area of about 862,000 km2 has been completed; approximately 250,000 km2 remains to be mapped. The area between the ~1000 and ~4800-m isobaths has been mapped on each of the completed margins. The mapping has been conducted with multibeam echosounders (MBES) that typically collect soundings with a spacing of ~50 m or less in the focused water depths. After each area is mapped, the data are gridded at 100-m spatial resolution although higher resolution is possible in the shallower regions. The depth precision achieved on all of the cruises has been \u3c1% of the water depth and typically has been \u3c0.5% of the water depth, based on cross-line comparisons. Navigation on all of the cruises has been acquired with inertial-aided DGPS using commercial differential corrections that provide 2 position accuracies much better than ±5 m. All of the MBES systems used produce acoustic backscatter as well as bathymetry but the backscatter quality varies among systems and conditions. Table 1 is a summary of the mapping completed and of areas yet to be mapped for bathymetry. The data are all processed at sea by UNH personnel during their collection and the data, grids and views of the processed data are posted on the worldwide web soon after completion of each area. The data, grids and images can be viewed and downloaded at http://ccom.unh.edu/law_of_the_sea.html

TRADE NEGOTIATIONS AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURE

International Relations/Trade,

Seafloor mapping in the Arctic: support for a potential U.S. extended continental shelf

For the United States, the greatest opportunity for an extended continental shelf under UNCLOS is in the ice-covered regions of the Arctic north of Alaska. Since 2003, CCOM/JHC has been using the icebreaker Healy equipped with a multibeam echosounder, chirp subbottom profiler, and dredges, to map and sample the region of Chukchi Borderland and Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge complex. These data have led to the discovery of several new features, have radically changed our view of the bathymetry and geologic history of the area, and may have important ramifications for the determination of the limits of a U.S. extended continental shelf under Article 76

Formation of methodical competence of future teachers of foreign languages: the personality-activity approach

The article defines peculiarities of personal activity approach in forming methodological competence with master’s degree students – future French teachers in the process of their self-dependent out-of-classroom work. Personality activity approach is studied in unity of its both components and from the position of a teacher of the subject called «Methodology of teaching foreign languages at high school». In the context of personal component from the position of a master’s degree student it is emphasized the development of his/her personality, professionally meaningful personal and psychical qualities, and in the context of the activity component – ability of the students to organize personal learning on the individual trajectory. In personal component from the position of a teacher it is emphasized the motivation for creative process of learning as well as the wish to use various learning technologies. The activity component is fulfilled by defining the content of study, developing means of study including application of informational and communicative technologies.Key words: master’s degree students, future teacher, methodological competence, personal activity approach, out-of-classroom work, French language.ФОРМУВАННЯ МЕТОДИЧНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ У МАЙБУТНІХ ВИКЛАДАЧІВ ІНОЗЕМНИХ МОВ: ОСОБИСТІСНО-ДІЯЛЬНІСНИЙ ПІДХІДкандидат педагогічних наук, доцент, Майєр Н. В.Київський національний лінгвістичний університет, Україна, Київ Визначено особливості реалізації особистісно-діяльнісного підходу до формування методичної компетентності у магістрантів – майбутніх викладачів французької мови в процесі їхньої самостійної позааудиторної роботи. Особистісно-діяльнісний підхід розглянуто у єдності обох його компонентів та з позиції викладача дисципліни «Методика навчання іноземних мов у вищій школі». У контексті особистісного компоненту з позиції магістранта акцентовано розвиток його особистості, професійно значущих особистісних та психічних якостей, а діяльнісного компоненту – вміння магістрантів організовувати власне учіння за індивідуальною траєкторією. В особистісному компоненті з позиції викладача наголошено на його мотивації до здійснення творчої діяльності навчання та бажанні застосовувати різні технології навчання. Діяльнісний компонент реалізується шляхом добору змісту навчання, розроблення засобів навчання, з використанням інформаційно-комунікаційних технологій зокрема. Ключові слова: магістрант, майбутній викладач, методична компетентність, особистісно-діяльнісний підхід, позааудиторна робота, французька мов