Typhoon storm surge in the southeast Chinese mainland modulated by ENSO

In the past decade (2010–2019), the annual maximum typhoon storm surge (AMTSS) accounted for 46.6% of the total direct economic loss caused by marine disasters in Chinese mainland, but its prediction in advance is challenging. By analyzing records of 23 tide-gauge stations, we found that the AMTSSs in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujian show significant positive correlations with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). For the 1987–2016 period, the maximum correlation is achieved at Pingtan station, where correlation coefficient between the AMTSS and Niño-3.4 is 0.55. The AMTSS occurring in El Niño years are stronger than those in non-El Niño years by 9–35 cm in these areas. Further analysis suggests that a developing El Niño can greatly modulate the behaviors of Northwest Pacific typhoons. Strong typhoons tend to make landfall in southeast China with stronger intensities and northward shifted landfall positions. This study indicates that the modulation effect by ENSO may provide potential predictability for the AMTSS, which is useful for the early alert and reduction of storm surge damages.

Spatiotemporal Variations and Risk Analysis of Chinese Typhoon Disasters

Typhoons are a product of air-sea interaction, which are often accompanied by high winds, heavy rains, and storm surges. It is significant to master the characteristics and pattern of typhoon activity for typhoon warning and disaster prevention and mitigation. We used the Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) index as the hazard index; the probability of exceeding, or reaching, return period or exceeding a certain threshold was used to describe the probability of hazard occurrence. The results show that the overall spatial distribution of typhoon hazards conforms to a northeast-southwest zonal distribution, decreasing from the southeast coast to the northwest. Across the six typical provinces of China assessed here, data show that Hainan possesses the highest hazard risk. Hazard index is relatively high, mainly distributed between 0.005 and 0.015, while the probability of exceeding a hazard index greater than 0.015 is 0.15. In light of the four risk levels assessed here, the hazard index that accounts for the largest component of the study area is mainly distributed up to 0.0010, all mild hazard levels. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu as well as six other provinces and autonomous regions are all areas with high hazard risks. The research results can provide important scientific evidence for the sustainable development of China’s coastal provinces and cities. The outcomes of this study may also provide the scientific basis for the future prevention and mitigation of marine disasters as well as the rationalization of related insurance.

Previous oil exposure alters oil avoidance behavior in a common marsh fish, the Gulf Killifish Fundulus grandis

Oil spills threaten the structure and function of ecological communities. In the northern Gulf of Mexico, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill was among the largest marine disasters in history. While many predicted catastrophic consequences for nearshore fishes, field studies indicate surprising resilience in populations and communities. One potential mechanism for this resilience is the recognition and behavioral avoidance at small spatial scales of the toxic chemical constituents found in oil. Previous research indicates many marsh fishes have the capacity to avoid oil contaminated areas. Here, we test whether prior oil exposure of a common marsh fish, the Gulf killifish Fundulus grandis, alters this avoidance response. Using choice tests between unoiled and a range of oiled sediments, we found that, even at low levels of previous exposure, killifish lose recognition of oiled sediments. Preference for unoiled sediments was lost across the entire range of oil concentrations tested here after oil exposure, and some evidence for preference of oiled sediments was even demonstrated. These results provide evidence for lack of response to toxic environments in exposed individuals, suggesting sublethal impairment of sensory mechanisms on an individual level despite organism survival. Future research should highlight additional sublethal consequences that affect ecosystem and food web functioning.

A Comprehensive Method for Evaluating Marine Disaster Risk Reduction Capacity in China

A region’s capacity for marine disaster risk reduction is characterized by the resources that can be mobilized. These resources include pre-disaster defense, disaster monitoring, warning, emergency response, post-disaster restoration, and reconstruction. It is a very important index to effectively evaluate the regional capacity to overcome marine disasters. At present, there is no unified model and method for comprehensively evaluating the regional marine disaster reduction capacity. This study proposes a novel evaluation index system for a county-level administrative region using expert opinions, questionnaires, and analytic hierarchy process methods. Based on the comprehensive evaluation in three pilot areas, the current situation of regional marine disaster reduction capacity is analyzed, which would contribute to the effective management of marine disaster risks in the future. The results and experiences are of great value to future disaster reduction capacity assessment promotion and practice in all coastal counties of China.

Autonomous and In Situ Ocean Environmental Monitoring on Optofluidic Platform

Determining the distributions and variations of chemical elements in oceans has significant meanings for understanding the biogeochemical cycles, evaluating seawater pollution, and forecasting the occurrence of marine disasters. The primary chemical parameters of ocean monitoring include nutrients, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and heavy metals. At present, ocean monitoring mainly relies on laboratory analysis, which is hindered in applications due to its large size, high power consumption, and low representative and time-sensitive detection results. By integrating photonics and microfluidics into one chip, optofluidics brings new opportunities to develop portable microsystems for ocean monitoring. Optofluidic platforms have advantages in respect of size, cost, timeliness, and parallel processing of samples compared with traditional instruments. This review describes the applications of optofluidic platforms on autonomous and in situ ocean environmental monitoring, with an emphasis on their principles, sensing properties, advantages, and disadvantages. Predictably, autonomous and in situ systems based on optofluidic platforms will have important applications in ocean environmental monitoring.

EARTHQUAKE, TSUNAMI, AND SOCIETY COOPERATION: EARLY FINDINGS IN PALU OF INDONESIA POST DISASTER

Geographically, the Sulawesi Island is located on 5.36LU-7.48S and 117.02-125.74E. It is one of the safest islands due to its location that is not directly related to two oceans, namely the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Sulawesi is divided into six provinces and has several small islands. This makes it one of the islands with the longest coastline in Indonesia. However, this is what causes Sulawesi Island to be susceptible to marine disasters, such as high waves and tsunamis triggered by submarine earthquakes whose distribution can be seen in figure 3. In this study, we tried to examine how the society established cooperative relationships with various social elements that existed, a few days after the disaster occurred. In addition, data collection was conducted through interviews, focus group discussions (FGD) along with scientific findings or research that had previously been conducted so that the results of the research became more accurate and systematic. This article was the initial findings so that it only presented data from sources in a homogeneous manner.