Sparse Modal Decomposition Method Addressing Underdetermined Vortex-Induced Vibration Reconstruction Problem for Marine Risers

When investigating the vortex-induced vibration(VIV)of marine risers,extrapolating the dynamic response on the entire length based on limited sensor measurements is a crucial step in both laboratory experiments and fatigue monitoring of real risers.The problem is conventionally solved using the modal decomposition method,based on the principle that the response can be approximated by a weighted sum of limited vibration modes.However,the method is not valid when the problem is underdetermined,i.e.,the number of unknown mode weights is more than the number of known measurements.This study proposed a sparse modal decomposition method based on the compressed sensing theory and the Compressive Sampling Matching Pursuit(Co Sa MP)algorithm,exploiting the sparsity of VIV in the modal space.In the validation study based on high-order VIV experiment data,the proposed method successfully reconstructed the response using only seven acceleration measurements when the conventional methods failed.A primary advantage of the proposed method is that it offers a completely data-driven approach for the underdetermined VIV reconstruction problem,which is more favorable than existing model-dependent solutions for many practical applications such as riser structural health monitoring.

Vibration Control of A Flexible Marine Riser System Subject to Input Dead Zone and Extraneous Disturbances

An observer-based adaptive backstepping boundary control is proposed for vibration control of flexible offshore riser systems with unknown nonlinear input dead zone and uncertain environmental disturbances.The control algorithm can update the control law online through real-time data to make the controller adapt to the environment and improve the control precision.Specifically,based on the adaptive backstepping framework,virtual control laws and Lyapunov functions are designed for each subsystem.Three direction interference observers are designed to track the timevarying boundary disturbance.On this basis,the inverse of the dead zone and linear state transformation are used to compensate for the original system and eliminate the adverse effects of the dead zone.In addition,the stability of the closed-loop system is proven by Lyapunov stability theory.All the system states are bounded,and the vibration offset of the riser converges to a small area of the initial position.Finally,four examples of flexible marine risers are simulated in MATLAB to verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Corrosion behavior of HVOF Inconel 625 coating in the simulated marine environment

High velocity oxygen fuel(HVOF)spraying process is commonly used to produce superalloy coatings.Inconel 625 coating was prepared on Q235B low carbon steel by HVOF.A series of experiments were conducted to examine the surface and corrosion resistance properties of Inconel 625 HVOF coating.In this paper,potentiodynamic polarization tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)tests were carried out to evaluate the corrosion resistance of Inconel 625 coating under simulated marine environment.The experiment-al results showed that Inconel 625 coating revealed low porosity and desired coating thickness.Shift in the corrosion potential(E_(corr))to-wards the noble direction combined with much low corrosion current density(i_(corr))indicating a significant improvement of HVOF Inconel 625 coating compared with the substrate.

Recent Advances of Bioactive Marine Natural Products in Drug Discovery

Marine natural products(MNPs)are valuable resources for drug development.To date,17 drugs from marine sources are in clinical use,and 33 pharmaceutical compounds are in clinical trials.Presently the success of drug development from the marine resources is higher than the industry average.It is a feasible strategy to conduct the discovery of druglead compounds based on marine chemical ecology by fully exploiting the pharmacological potential of marine chemical defense matters.In the search for bioactive MNPs,our group has constructed a biological resources library including more than 1500 strains of fungi.Focusing on the strategy of Blue Drug Library,we have discovered a series of novel MNPs with abundant biological functions.Highly efficient and scalable total synthesis of(+)-aniduquinolone A(44)and pesimquinolone I(48)have been completed,which will facilitate access to sufficient quantities of candidates for in vivo pharmacological and toxicological studies.As a nucleoprotein(NP)inhibitor,QLA(75)possesses significant anti-influenza A virus(IAV)activities both in vitro and in vivo.CHNQD-00803(76)is a potent and selective AMP-activated kinase(AMPK)activator that can effectively inhibit metabolic disorders and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis(MASH)progression.Moreover,we identified two new candidate molecules with potent anti-hepatocellular carcinoma effects.Particularly,as a natural guanine-nucleotide exchange factors for ADP-ribosylation factor GTPases(Arf-GEFs)inhibitor prodrug,CHNQD-01255(78)is qualified to be developed as a targeted candidate anticancer drug,which may be promising to apply for cancer immunotherapy.Hence,it is evident that MNPs play an important role in drug development.

Coordination Mechanism and Empirical Research on Marine Science Technology Innovation and Marine Eco-civilization:A Case Study of Coastal Areas of China

Marine science technology innovation provides power and guarantees for marine eco-civilization construction,which provides direction and material support for marine science technology innovation.Therefore,the coordinated development of the two is of great significance to the marine economy sustainable development in China’s coastal areas.On the basis of clarifying the connotations of marine science technology innovation and marine eco-civilization in China’s coastal areas from 2006 to 2019,the mechanism for their coordinated development was analysed.A comprehensive indicator system based on the connotation of the two was constructed,and the coordinated development relationship was empirically tested using the coupled coordination model and the panel vector autoregressive(PVAR)model.The results show that:1)the level of China’s coastal marine science technology innovation continues to improve,gradually forming the core of the development of marine science technology innovation in the north,east and south of Shandong,Shanghai and Guangdong;the level of marine eco-civilization development fluctuating upward trend,showing obvious spatial differentiation characteristics.2)The degree of coordination of marine science technology innovation and marine eco-civilization is growing over time.There is no causal relationship between marine science technology innovation and marine eco-civilization in the northern marine economic circle,but there is a two-way causal relationship between the two in the eastern and southern marine economic circles.3)Marine eco-civilization shows a significant positive and continuous impact on marine science technology innovation,and marine science technology innovation shows a long-term,continuous,fluctuating,and lagging impact on marine eco-civilization.The overall role of marine eco-civilization on marine science technology innovation is dominant,and there are significant differences in the impact effects of the two major marine economic circles.

Marine CO_(2) Removal Joins Race to Scale Up Mitigation Tech

In June 2024,startup company Equatic(Santa Monica,CA,USA)announced that it had begun engineering work on the world’s largest and first commercial scale facility using the ocean to remove CO_(2) from the atmosphere[1].The company claims its plant at a yet-to-be determined site in Quebec,Canada,will be operational by 2027,sequestering 300 t of CO_(2) per day at full capacity.Equatic is already building a similar,but smaller,facility called Equatic-1 in Singapore(Fig.1)[2].That project,expected to be completed in 2025,will have the capacity to remove 10 t of CO_(2) per day.

Predict the evolution of mechanical property of Al-Li alloys in a marine environment

The ocean is one of the essential fields of national defense in the future,and more and more attention is paid to the lightweight research of Marine equipment and materials.This study it is to develop a Machine learning(ML)-based prediction method to study the evolution of the mechanical properties of Al-Li alloys in the marine environment.We obtained the mechanical properties of Al-Li alloy samples under uniaxial tensile deformation at different exposure times through Marine exposure experiments.We obtained the strain evolution by digital image correlation(DIC).The strain field images are voxelized using 2D-Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)autoencoders as input data for Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)neural networks.Then,the output data of LSTM neural networks combined with corrosion features were input into the Back Propagation(BP)neural network to predict the mechanical properties of Al-Li alloys.The main conclusions are as follows:1.The variation law of mechanical properties of2297-T8 in the Marine atmosphere is revealed.With the increase in outdoor exposure test time,the tensile elastic model of 2297-T8 changes slowly,within 10%,and the tensile yield stress changes significantly,with a maximum attenuation of 23.6%.2.The prediction model can predict the strain evolution and mechanical response simultaneously with an error of less than 5%.3.This study shows that a CNN/LSTM system based on machine learning can be built to capture the corrosion characteristics of Marine exposure experiments.The results show that the relationship between corrosion characteristics and mechanical response can be predicted without considering the microstructure evolution of metal materials.

The Forecast Skills and Predictability Sources of Marine Heatwaves in the NUIST-CFS1.0 Hindcasts

Using monthly observations and ensemble hindcasts of the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Climate Forecast System(NUIST-CFS1.0) for the period 1983–2020, this study investigates the forecast skill of marine heatwaves(MHWs) over the globe and the predictability sources of the MHWs over the tropical oceans. The MHW forecasts are demonstrated to be skillful on seasonal-annual time scales, particularly in tropical oceans. The forecast skill of the MHWs over the tropical Pacific Ocean(TPO) remains high at lead times of 1–24 months, indicating a forecast better than random chance for up to two years. The forecast skill is subject to the spring predictability barrier of El Nino-Southern Oscillation(ENSO). The forecast skills for the MHWs over the tropical Indian Ocean(TIO), tropical Atlantic Ocean(TAO), and tropical Northwest Pacific(NWP) are lower than that in the TPO. A reliable forecast at lead times of up to two years is shown over the TIO, while a shorter reliable forecast window(less than 17 months) occurs for the TAO and NWP.Additionally, the forecast skills for the TIO, TAO, and NWP are seasonally dependent. Higher skills for the TIO and TAO appear in boreal spring, while a greater skill for the NWP emerges in late summer-early autumn. Further analyses suggest that ENSO serves as a critical source of predictability for MHWs over the TIO and TAO in spring and MHWs over the NWP in summer.

An updated inventory of marine opisthobranch(Mollusca,Gastropoda)from the territorial waters of the Republic of Mauritius

Island ecosystems support diverse aquatic invertebrate communities comprising endemic taxa.Documentation of existing species is important for conservation.In this study,a checklist of marine opisthobranch from the Republic of Mauritius is presented.A combination of benthic surveys(50 m×5 m in triplicates),rover diving techniques and photo documentation were used over two years(2018–2020)within 35 sheltered and unsheltered lagoons.Morphological and molecular analysis were used for identification.Species composition within sheltered and unsheltered areas in Mauritius was estimated using the Bray-Curtis similarity.The checklist featured 117 species belonging to 61 genera and 28families,of which 13 are new records.The findings increased the knowledge of opisthobranch diversity from the Mauritius by 15.4%.Among the listed species,the distribution range of Cyerce nigra,Actinocyclus papillatus,and Phyllidia picta extended from the Western Pacific to the South Western Indian Ocean.Molecular analysis of the undescribed Gymnodoris sp.showed it resembled Gymnodoris sp.from Hawaii and were different by a genetic distance value of 10.6%.The species richness and evenness were higher within the sheltered regions of Mauritius which harboured the food resource of opisthobranch.These areas as compared to unsheltered regions were heavily populated,suggesting the probable influence of wave actions on opisthobranch diversity and abundance.The order Nudibranchia was reported as most speciose,with 86 species.The Sacoglossa and Nudibranchia were observed only on macroalgae and sponges respectively.High abundance was also recorded on shipwrecks which are the most common form of artificial reefs.With the inclusion of observations from previous studies,201species belonging to 94 genera and 36 families are now known from the Mauritius.

Temporal variations of food web in a marine bay ecosystem based on LIM-MCMC model

Climate change has led to significant fluctuations in marine ecosystems,including alterations in the structure and function of food webs and ecosystem status.Coastal ecosystems are critical to the functioning of the earth’s lifesupporting systems.However,temporal variations in most of these ecosystems have remained unclear so far.In this study,we employed a linear inverse model with Markov Chain Monte Carlo(LIM-MCMC)combined with ecological network analysis to reveal the temporal variations of the food web in Haizhou Bay of China.Food webs were constructed based on diet composition data in this ecosystem during the year of 2011 and 2018.Results indicated that there were obvious temporal variations in the composition of food webs in autumn of 2011 and 2018.The number of prey and predators for most species in food web decreased in 2018 compared with 2011,especially for Trichiurus lepturus,zooplankton,Amblychaeturichthys hexanema,and Loligo sp.Ecological network analysis showed that the complexity of food web structure could be reflected by comprehensive analysis of compartmentalized indicators.Haizhou Bay ecosystem was more mature and stable in 2011,while the ecosystem’s self-sustainability and recovery from disturbances were accelerated from 2011 to 2018.These findings contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of marine ecosystems and highlight the importance of comprehensive analysis of marine food webs.This work provides a framework for assessing and comparing temporal variations in marine ecosystems,which provides essential information and scientific guidance for the Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management.

Panoptic UAV:Panoptic Segmentation of UAV Images for Marine Environment Monitoring

UAV marine monitoring plays an essential role in marine environmental protection because of its flexibility and convenience,low cost and convenient maintenance.In marine environmental monitoring,the similarity between objects such as oil spill and sea surface,Spartina alterniflora and algae is high,and the effect of the general segmentation algorithm is poor,which brings new challenges to the segmentation of UAV marine images.Panoramic segmentation can do object detection and semantic segmentation at the same time,which can well solve the polymorphism problem of objects in UAV ocean images.Currently,there are few studies on UAV marine image recognition with panoptic segmentation.In addition,there are no publicly available panoptic segmentation datasets for UAV images.In this work,we collect and annotate UAV images to form a panoptic segmentation UAV dataset named UAV-OUC-SEG and propose a panoptic segmentation method named PanopticUAV.First,to deal with the large intraclass variability in scale,deformable convolution and CBAM attention mechanism are employed in the backbone to obtain more accurate features.Second,due to the complexity and diversity of marine images,boundary masks by the Laplacian operator equation from the ground truth are merged into feature maps to improve boundary segmentation precision.Experiments demonstrate the advantages of PanopticUAV beyond the most other advanced approaches on the UAV-OUC-SEG dataset.

Non-native species in marine protected areas: Global distribution patterns

Marine protected areas(MPAs)across various countries have contributed to safeguarding coastal and marine environments.Despite these efforts,marine non-native species(NNS)continue to threaten biodiversity and ecosystems,even within MPAs.Currently,there is a lack of comprehensive studies on the inventories,distribution patterns,and effect factors of NNS within MPAs.Here we show a database containing over 15,000 occurrence records of 2714 marine NNS across 16,401 national or regional MPAs worldwide.To identify the primary mechanisms driving the occurrence of NNS,we utilize model selection with proxies representing colonization pressure,environmental variables,and MPA characteristics.Among the environmental predictors analyzed,sea surface temperature emerged as the sole factor strongly associated with NNS richness.Higher sea surface temperatures are linked to increased NNS richness,aligning with global marine biodiversity trends.Furthermore,human activities help species overcome geographical barriers and migration constraints.Consequently,this influences the distribution patterns of marine introduced species and associated environmental factors.As global climate change continues to alter sea temperatures,it is crucial to protect marine regions that are increasingly vulnerable to intense human activities and biological invasions.

A Study of the Effect of the Miller Cycle on the Combustion of a Supercharged Marine Diesel Engine

The Miller cycle is a program that effectively reduces NOx emissions from marine diesel engines by lowering the maximum combustion temperature in the cylinder,thereby reducing NOx emissions.To effectively investigate the impact of Miller cycle optimum combustion performance and emission capability under high load conditions,this study will perform a one-dimensional simulation of the performance of a marine diesel engine,as well as a threedimensional simulation of the combustion in the cylinder.A 6-cylinder four-stroke single-stage supercharged diesel engine is taken as the research object.The chassis dynamometer and other related equipment are used to build the test system,carry out the diesel engine bench test,and collect experimental data.The simulation results are compared with the test results,and the error is less than 5%.In this study,the authors will use simulation software to simulate several Miller cycle scenarios designed for early inlet valve closure and analyze the impact of the Miller cycle on combustion and emissions at 100%load conditions.By comparing the flow field distribution of the engine at 1500 r/min condition,it was found that proper EIVC can prolong the ignition latency period and homogeneous fuel-air mixture combustion acceleration,but it can reduce pressure and temperature within the piston chamber and NOx emission.However,the Miller cycle reduces end-of-compression temperatures,which increases combustion duration and exhaust temperatures,making it difficult to improve fuel economy at the optimum fuel consumption point,and closing the intake valves prematurely leads to excessive fuel expenditure.Furthermore,temperature and heat release rate within the piston chamber,NOx,and SOOT generation were significantly enhanced.

The corrosion characteristic and mechanism of Mg-5Y-1.5Nd-xZn-0.5Zr(x=0,2,4,6 wt.%)alloys in marine atmospheric environment

The microstructure and precipitated phases of as-cast Mg-5Y-1.5Nd-x Zn-0.5Zr(x=0,2,4,6 wt.%)alloys were investigated by optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,energy-dispersive spectrometry and X-ray Diffraction.The exposure corrosion experiment of these magnesium alloys was tested in South China Sea and KEXUE vessel atmospheric environment.The corrosion characteristic and mechanism of magnesium alloys of Mg-5Y-1.5Nd-x Zn-0.5Zr(x=0,2,4,6 wt.%)alloys were analyzed by weight loss rate,corrosion depth,corrosion products and corrosion morphologies.The electrochemical corrosion tests were also measured in the natural seawater.The comprehensive results showed that Mg-5Y-1.5Nd-4Zn-0.5Zr magnesium alloy existed the best corrosion resistance whether in the marine atmospheric environment and natural seawater environment.That depended on the microstructure,type and distribution of precipitated phases in Mg-5Y-1.5Nd-4Zn-0.5Zr magnesium alloy.Sufficient quantity anodic precipitated phases in the microstructure of Mg-5Y-1.5Nd-4Zn-0.5Zr alloy played the key role in the corrosion resistance.

Safety assessment of a novel marine multi-stress-tolerant yeast Meyerozyma guilliermondii GXDK6 according to phenotype and whole genome-sequencing analysis

The application of microorganisms as probiotics is limited due to lack of safety evaluation.Here,a novel multi-stress-tolerant yeast Meyerozyma guilliermondii GXDK6 with aroma-producing properties was identified from marine mangrove microorganisms.Its safety and probiotic properties were assessed in accordance with phenotype and whole-genome sequencing analysis.Results showed that the genes and phenotypic expression of related virulence,antibiotic resistance and retroelement were rarely found.Hyphal morphogenesis genes(SIT4,HOG1,SPA2,ERK1,ICL1,CST20,HSP104,TPS1,and RHO1)and phospholipase secretion gene(VPS4)were annotated.True hyphae and phospholipase were absent.Only one retroelement(Tad1-65_BG)was found.Major biogenic amines(BAs)encoding genes were absent,except for spermidine synthase(JA9_002594),spermine synthase(JA9_004690),and tyrosine decarboxylase(inx).The production of single BAs and total BAs was far below the food-defined thresholds.GXDK6 had no resistance to common antifungal drugs.Virulence enzymes,such as gelatinase,DNase,hemolytic,lecithinase,and thrombin were absent.Acute toxicity test with mice demonstrated that GXDK6 is safe.GXDK6 has a good reproduction ability in the simulation gastrointestinal tract.GXDK6 also has a strong antioxidant ability,β-glucosidase,and inulinase activity.To sum up,GXDK6 is considered as a safe probiotic for human consumption and food fermentation.

Evaluation and projection of marine heatwaves in the South China Sea: insights from CMIP6 multi-model ensemble

This study evaluates the performance of 16 models sourced from the coupled model intercomparison project phase 6(CMIP6)in simulating marine heatwaves(MHWs)in the South China Sea(SCS)during the historical period(1982−2014),and also investigates future changes in SCS MHWs based on simulations from three shared socioeconomic pathway(SSP)scenarios(SSP126,SSP245,and SSP585)using CMIP6 models.Results demonstrate that the CMIP6 models perform well in simulating the spatial-temporal distribution and intensity of SCS MHWs,with their multi-model ensemble(MME)results showing the best performance.The reasonable agreement between the observations and CMIP6 MME reveals that the increasing trends of SCS MHWs are attributed to the warming sea surface temperature trend.Under various SSP scenarios,the year 2040 emerges as pivotal juncture for future shifts in SCS MHWs,marked by distinct variations in changing rate and amplitudes.This is characterized by an accelerated decrease in MHWs frequency and a notably heightened increase in mean intensity,duration,and total days after 2040.Furthermore,the projection results for SCS MHWs suggest that the spatial pattern of MHWs remains consistent across future periods.However,the intensity shows higher consistency only during the near-term period(2021−2050),while notable inconsistencies are observed during the medium-term(2041−2070)and long-term(2071−2100)periods under the three SSP scenarios.During the nearterm period,the SCS MHWs are characterized by moderate and strong events with high frequencies and relatively shorter durations.In contrast,during the medium-term period,MHWs are also characterized by moderate and strong events,but with longer-lasting and more intense events under the SSP245 and SSP585 scenarios.However,in the long-term period,extreme MHWs become the dominant feature under the SSP585 scenario,indicating a substantial intensification of SCS MHWs,effectively establishing a near-permanent state.

Friction Characteristics Between Marine Clay and Construction Materials

Structure-soil interface friction characteristics is of importance to investigate the interaction between engineering structures and soils,especially for offshore structures.The interface friction behavior between marine clay and structural materials with different roughness was studied in this paper by using 3D optical scanning tests,a modified direct shear device and numerical simulation.Relationships between the surface roughness of structures,water content and interface friction angle were presented by model tests.The increase of water contents decreased the interface friction angles.For interfaces with different roughness,the interface friction angles will be smaller than that of the soil when the water content exceeds a certain value.The roughness of the interface and the water content of the soil are mutually coupled to influence the coefficient of friction(COF).This paper proposed a Finite Element Method(FEM)to simulate the interface direct shear tests of structures with different roughness.The surface models with different roughness are established based on the structure data obtained by 3D scanning.The Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian(CEL)approach was employed to analyse soils sheared by irregular surfaces.The interface behavior for interfaces with different roughness under cyclic shear stresses was analyzed by FEM.

Marine Predators Algorithm with Deep Learning-Based Leukemia Cancer Classification on Medical Images

In blood or bone marrow,leukemia is a form of cancer.A person with leukemia has an expansion of white blood cells(WBCs).It primarily affects children and rarely affects adults.Treatment depends on the type of leukemia and the extent to which cancer has established throughout the body.Identifying leukemia in the initial stage is vital to providing timely patient care.Medical image-analysis-related approaches grant safer,quicker,and less costly solutions while ignoring the difficulties of these invasive processes.It can be simple to generalize Computer vision(CV)-based and image-processing techniques and eradicate human error.Many researchers have implemented computer-aided diagnosticmethods andmachine learning(ML)for laboratory image analysis,hopefully overcoming the limitations of late leukemia detection and determining its subgroups.This study establishes a Marine Predators Algorithm with Deep Learning Leukemia Cancer Classification(MPADL-LCC)algorithm onMedical Images.The projectedMPADL-LCC system uses a bilateral filtering(BF)technique to pre-process medical images.The MPADL-LCC system uses Faster SqueezeNet withMarine Predators Algorithm(MPA)as a hyperparameter optimizer for feature extraction.Lastly,the denoising autoencoder(DAE)methodology can be executed to accurately detect and classify leukemia cancer.The hyperparameter tuning process using MPA helps enhance leukemia cancer classification performance.Simulation results are compared with other recent approaches concerning various measurements and the MPADL-LCC algorithm exhibits the best results over other recent approaches.

Assessing the Variability of Extreme Weather Events and Its Influence on Marine Accidents along the Northern Coast of Tanzania

The marine accidents are among the main components of the Zanzibar Disaster Management Policy (2011) and the Zanzibar Blue Economy Policy (2020). These policies aimed to institute legal frame works and procedures for reducing both the frequency of marine accidents and their associated fatalities. These fatalities include deaths, permanent disabilities and loss of properties which may result into increased poverty levels as per the sustainable development goal one (SDG1) which stipulates on ending the poverty in all its forms everywhere. Thus, in the way to support these Government efforts, the influence of climate and weather on marine accidents along Zanzibar and Pemba Channels was investigated. The study used the 10 years (2013-2022) records of daily rainfall and hourly wind speed acquired from Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) (for the observation stations of Zanzibar, Pemba, Dares Salaam and Tanga), and the significant wave heights data, which was freely downloaded from Globally Forecasting System (GFS-World model of 13 km resolution). The marine accident records were collected from TASAC and Zanzibar Maritime Authority (ZMA), and the anecdotal information was collected from heads of quay and boat captains in different areas of Zanzibar. The Mann Kendal test, was used to determine the slopes and trends direction of used weather parameters, while the Pearson correlations analysis and t-tests were used to understand the significance of the underlying relationship between the weather and marine accidents. The paired t-test was used to evaluate the extent to which weather parameters affect the marine accidents. Results revealed that the variability of extreme weather events (rainfall, ocean waves and wind speed) was seen to be among the key factors for most of the recorded marine accidents. For instance, in Pemba high rainfall showed an increasing trend of extreme rainfall events, while Zanzibar has shown a decreasing trend of these events. As for extreme wind events, results show that Dar es Salaam and Tanga had an increasing trend, while Zanzibar and Pemba had shown a decreasing trend. As for the monthly variability of frequencies of extreme rainfall events, March to May (MAM) season was shown to have the highest frequencies over all stations with the peaks at Zanzibar and Pemba. On the other hand, high frequency of extreme wind speed was observed from May to September with peaks in June to July, and the highest strength was observed during 09:00 to 15:00 GMT. Moreover, results revealed an increasing trend of marine accidents caused by bad weather except during November. Also, results showed that bad weather conditions contributed to 48 (32%) of all 150 recorded accidents. Further results revealed significant correlation between the extreme wind and marine accidents, with the highest strong correlation of r = 0.71 (at p ≤ 0.007) and r = 0.75 (at p ≤ 0.009) at Tanga and Pemba, indicating the occurrence of more marine accidents at the Pemba channel. Indeed, strong correlation of r = 0.6 between extreme rainfall events and marine accidents was shown in Pemba, while the correlations between extremely significant wave heights and marine accidents were r = 0.41 (at p ≤ 0.006) and r = 0.34 (p ≤ 0.0006) for Pemba and Zanzibar Channel, respectively. In conclusion, the study has shown high influence between marine accidents and bad weather events with more impacts in Pemba and Zanzibar. Thus, the study calls for more work to be undertaken to raise the awareness on marine accidents as a way to alleviate the poverty and enhance the sustainable blue economy.

The biofilm characteristics and enhanced performance of a marine microbial-electrolysis-cell-based biosensor under positive anodic potential

Microbial fuel cells have already been used as biosensors to monitor assimilable organic carbon(AOC).However,their signal production from AOC is known to be completely suppressed by dissoved oxygen(DO).In this study,two identical microbial electrolysis cell(MEC)based biosensors were inoculated with marine sediment and operated at two different anodic potentials,namely-300 mV and+250 mV relative to Ag/AgCl.The MEC biosensor operated under positive anodic potential conditions had electrochemically active microbial communities on the anode,including members of the Shewanellaceae,Pseudoalteromonadaceae,and Clostridiaceae families.However,the strictly anaerobic members of the Desulfuromonadaceae,Desulfobulbaceae and Desulfobacteraceae families were found only in the negative anodic potential MEC biosensor.The positive anodic potential MEC biosensor showed several other advantages as well,such as faster start-up,significantly higher maximum current production,fivefold improvement in the AOC detection limit,and tolerance of low dissolved oxygen,compared to those obtained from the negative anodic potential MEC biosensor.The developed positive anodic potential MEC biosensor can thus be used as a real-time and inexpensive detector of AOC concentrations in high saline and low DO seawater.