Hasil untuk "Economic geography of the oceans (General)"

Daniel W. O'Neill, Stefano Vrizzi, Noemi Luna Carmeno et al.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing exponentially and is likely to have profound impacts on human wellbeing, social equity, and environmental sustainability. Here we argue that the "alignment problem" in AI research is also an economic alignment problem, as developing advanced AI inside a growth-based system is likely to increase social, environmental, and existential risks. We show that post-growth research offers concepts and policies that could substantially reduce AI risks, such as by replacing optimisation with satisficing, using the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries to guide development, and curbing systemic rebound with resource caps. We propose governance and business reforms that treat AI as a commons and prioritise tool-like autonomy-enhancing systems over agentic AI. Finally, we argue that the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) may require a new economics, for which post-growth scholarship provides a strong foundation.

Esa Nummelin, Elja Arjas

In economics, construction of perfect models in a way that would be comparable to the standards customary in physical sciences is generally not feasible. In particular, the observed value for an economic equilibrium may deviate significantly from its model-based a priori expected value. Mathematically, the a posteriori observed equilibrium may then represent a large deviation in the sense that it falls outside the region of validity of the Central Limit Theorem. With this as the motivating starting point, we propose a new approach to the theory of stochastic economic equilibrium. Drawing on recent developments in probability theory, we argue for the relevance of the theory of large deviations in stochastic equilibrium economics. Thereby the formalism of stochastic equilibrium economics becomes analogous to that of classical statistical mechanics, as the theory of large deviations forms also the mathematical basis of statistical mechanics. In consequence, thermodynamic concepts such as entropy, partition function and canonical probability can be introduced in a natural way to stochastic equilibrium economics. We focus here on the economic analogs of two fundamental principles, the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Gibbs Conditioning Principle.

Małgorzata Sztorc, Konstantins Savenkovs

Nowadays, a new trend consistent with the goals of sustainable development, the main purpose of which is to resolve environmental dilemmas related to the intensive use of natural resources, increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and irrational use of products, is the circular economy. This article aims to identify actions taken by EU countries from the perspective of achieving a sustainable level of management of materials, products, and raw materials for the transformation towards a circular economy. During the research process, data from Eurostat, OECD, and PORDATA databases were compared. The research was carried out using cluster analysis, the EDAS method, and the grouping of linearly ordered objects. The research results show that the European Union countries studied have not yet achieved the strategic goals set in the CEAP1 and 2 action plans. Moreover, specific principles of the circular economy are implemented in different ways. The results of the conducted research provide suggestions for the management of the countries’ economies regarding the course of action aimed at the complete implementation of programmes resulting in the reduction of the amount of waste and raw materials used. Moreover, they may influence decisions to modify the regulations concerning the creation of a new economic model following the 5R principle.

Agnieszka Niezgoda, Halina Kiryluk, Ewa Markiewicz

In recent years, the growing importance of religious tourism in the broad sense has been noted, both as an area of scientific research and in the practical sphere. Places of religious worship often become tourist destinations, giving many regions an opportunity for development. The direct and indirect impact of tourism permeates the economic, socio-cultural and environmental spheres. The aim of this article is to define the role of religious tourism in the sustainable development of a region, with particular emphasis on its impact on the preservation of cultural heritage. The study was qualitative in nature and used a case study method – Podlaskie Province. The method of Individual In-Depth Interviews (IDI) was used, and respondents representing various types of economic activity in the field of religious tourism were purposefully selected. The original nature of the research stems from the inclusion of different types of service providers representing different religions, reflecting the multicultural nature of the region. The research showed that religious tourism can contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals in tourist regions. In the social sphere, the results of the research inspire improved cooperation and awareness among all tourism stakeholders in the region, both in terms of the uniqueness of religious, cultural and natural heritage values and the benefits of developing religious tourism.

Jeong-Hwan Kim, Daehyun Kang, Young-Min Yang et al.

Artificial intelligence has advanced global weather forecasting, outperforming traditional numerical models in both accuracy and computational efficiency. Nevertheless, extending predictions beyond subseasonal timescales requires the development of deep learning (DL)-based ocean-atmosphere coupled models that can realistically simulate complex oceanic responses to atmospheric forcing. This study presents KIST-Ocean, a DL-based global three-dimensional ocean general circulation model using a U-shaped visual attention adversarial network architecture. KIST-Ocean integrates partial convolution, adversarial training, and transfer learning to address coastal complexity and predictive distribution drift in auto-regressive models. Comprehensive evaluations confirmed the model's robust ocean predictive skill and efficiency. Moreover, it accurately captures realistic ocean response, such as Kelvin and Rossby wave propagation in the tropical Pacific, and vertical motions induced by cyclonic and anticyclonic wind stress, demonstrating its ability to represent key ocean-atmosphere coupling mechanisms underlying climate phenomena, including the El Nino-Southern Oscillation. These findings reinforce confidence in DL-based global weather and climate models and their extending DL-based approaches to broader Earth system modeling, offering potential for enhancing climate prediction capabilities.

Andrzej Letkiewicz, Beata Majecka, Małgorzata Ławreszuk

The purpose of the article is to show changes in the operation of Polish large and medium-sized road carriers in the context of the EU's pro-environmental requirements contained in the Green Deal in the post-pandemic period. The decline in the number of transport orders resulting from the general slowdown in the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly had an impact on the turnover of road carriers and, consequently, on funding for investment projects, including environmentally friendly investments. Verifying the magnitude and direction of such changes seems a much-needed aspect of the research in the context of the Green Deal's unchanging high demands. The research that was conducted shows the impact of the pandemic on the investment decisions and activities of transport companies and the reality of post-pandemic transport. The practical application of the research results is very useful, primarily as guidance for road carriers in the context of Green Deal.

Wiesław Koczur, Agnieszka Lorek

The central objective of the article is to determine the basic links between social and environmental policies in the context of sustainable development and to evaluate the challenges of environmental issues for particular social policy sectors. The primary research method applied in the following article was a systematic review of the available literature on the subject, thematic reports, statistical data and legal acts. The main areas of concern analysed are the identification of the most significant challenges facing social policy in the 21st century in the context of environmental protection and of the most significant effects of climate change and other environmental threats on sectoral social policies (population and family policy, education policy, labour market policy, social security policy, health care and housing policy), along with the directions of necessary changes. Currently, environmental issues are still greatly neglected in social policy debates. The article presented here is a comprehensive attempt to assess the environmental and climate challenges for social policy. Moreover, it points out the necessary directions for change.

Anna Kononiuk, Andrzej Magruk

The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have negatively affected the sustainability of the food market and contributed significantly to the increase in agricultural prices. The goal of this article is to present the results of a European Delphi study on enabling factors and barriers to developing robustness within food distribution networks. The paper also aims to identify ways to ensure food security and build resilience in supply chains for European Union (EU) citizens, as well as strategies to protect the agricultural sector. The Delphi theses, the expected timing of their implementation and their impact on selected stages of supply chains were assessed. The paper employs a literature review, the Delphi method and STEEPED analysis to identify factors for increasing the robustness of European food distribution networks. The research findings highlighted crucial factors in enhancing food supply chain resilience, including financial aid to farmers, the use of advanced technologies (like AI, remote sensing, GIS, VR, or drones), and the encouragement of conscious consumption practices. The study revealed that severe weather, inadequate financial support for farmers and insufficient favourable legislation at the national level are the main barriers to achieving resilience in food supply chains. The main recommendations for building food resilience include encouraging localised food supply chains and, advocating for eco-friendly, sustainable production approaches and small-scale agriculture and reducing unnecessary food losses. The originality of the study is reflected in the presentation of the opinions of international experts on developing robustness within food distribution networks in view of the disruption caused by COVID-19 and the geopolitical situation.

Anita Bednarek, Anna Klepacka

In Poland, despite ambitious plans from 15 years ago, when it was assumed that by 2020, an agricultural biogas plant would be standard in every commune, the potential of agricultural biogas has not been used due to the lack of stable legal regulations and financing programmes for the construction of the plants. The situation has now changed due to new forms of support systems, which motivated the authors to compare two agricultural biogas plants operating in the certificate system and the support system in the form of feed-in premiums. Moreover, the authors pointed to differences in the number of agricultural biogas plants and their capacity by voivodeship due to changes in legal conditions in force in two periods: from 1 January  2011, to 30 June 2016, and from 1 July 2016, to 19 January 2024. Based on the research methods used ‒ including Earnings Before Interest, Taxes Depreciation and Amortisation, the Internal Rate of Return, risk matrix and data analysis in spatial terms ‒ it was indicated that: 1. agricultural biogas plants are characterised by very high sensitivity related to the probability of risk in the case of investment costs, substrate prices and changes in energy prices; 2. financial support is important at the stage of construction of a biogas plant, which largely makes it possible to shorten the payback period and thus increase the willingness of future investors to invest in biogas plants and 3. in the periods analysed, significant differences were noted in the spatial location of biogas plants due to trends towards lower-power biogas plants, which is probably dictated by the constant and predictable premium system in the new support system.

Marta Nalewajko

The article presents a review of research conducted on cement-free concretes based on alkaline-activated waste materials. Research is conducted in order to create concretes that are in line with the doctrine of sustainable development. Their main assumption is the reuse of recycled materials in newly produced building materials without compromising their properties. In addition, attempts are made to eliminate Portland cement, replacing it partially or completely with fly ashes or metakaolin. Another modification of concrete consists of replacing natural aggregate with artificial aggregate. The research conducted on lightweight concretes based on fly ashes, and alkali-activated porous ash aggregate is also presented. 

Ruochu Yang, Chad Lembke, Fumin Zhang et al.

Underwater gliders have been widely used in oceanography for a range of applications. However, unpredictable events like shark strikes or remora attachments can lead to abnormal glider behavior or even loss of the instrument. This paper employs an anomaly detection algorithm to assess operational conditions of underwater gliders in the real-world ocean environment. Prompt alerts are provided to glider pilots upon detecting any anomaly, so that they can take control of the glider to prevent further harm. The detection algorithm is applied to multiple datasets collected in real glider deployments led by the University of Georgia's Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO) and the University of South Florida (USF). In order to demonstrate the algorithm generality, the experimental evaluation is applied to four glider deployment datasets, each highlighting various anomalies happening in different scenes. Specifically, we utilize high resolution datasets only available post-recovery to perform detailed analysis of the anomaly and compare it with pilot logs. Additionally, we simulate the online detection based on the real-time subsets of data transmitted from the glider at the surfacing events. While the real-time data may not contain as much rich information as the post-recovery one, the online detection is of great importance as it allows glider pilots to monitor potential abnormal conditions in real time.

Yaoxuan Zeng, Malte F. Jansen

Observational data suggest that the ice shell on Enceladus is thicker at the equator than at the pole, indicating an equator-to-pole ice flow. If the ice shell is in an equilibrium state, the mass transport of the ice flow must be balanced by the freezing and melting of the ice shell, which in turn is modulated by the ocean heat transport. Here we use a numerical ocean model to study the ice-ocean interaction and ocean circulation on Enceladus with different salinities. We find that salinity fundamentally determines the ocean stratification. A stratified layer forms in the low salinity ocean, affecting the ocean circulation and heat transport. However, in the absence of tidal heating in the ice shell, the ocean heat transport is found to always be towards lower latitudes, resulting in freezing at the poles, which cannot maintain the ice shell geometry against the equator-to-pole ice flow. The simulation results suggest that either the ice shell on Enceladus is not in an equilibrium state, or tidal dissipation in the ice shell is important in maintaining the ice shell geometry. The simulations also suggest that a positive feedback between cross-equatorial ocean heat transport and ice melting results in spontaneous symmetry breaking between the two hemispheres. This feedback may play a role in the observed interhemispheric asymmetry in the ice shell.

Aleksandra Romanowska, Sylwia Pangsy-Kania , Marcin Budzyński et al.

The objective of the research was to assess how selected factors influence road safety in Poland’s poviats. To that end, an analysis was conducted of road accident determinants and effects in the poviats in the years 2010-2019. The time horizon fits in with Goal 3.6. of Agenda 2030 which is to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020. The article presents the results of the analysis for the following determinants: the rate of car ownership by poviat, poviat spending on transport and length of road network, and quality of road infrastructure. The research problem was to establish which of the poviats are closest to achieving Goal 3.6. of  Agenda 2030 and how likely it is, and, as a consequence, which of the poviats should step up their road safety policies to align them to the targets set out in the Agenda. To identify groups of poviats sharing similar characteristics, they were grouped using the k-means method. Five groups of poviats were identified and analysed for how their road safety indicators changed between 2010 and 2019. The results of the analysis show that the highest fatality reduction (-40%) was achieved by urban poviats with the highest per capita spending on transport. The same poviats, however, have the highest increases in serious injuries (+30%). The analyses show that Polish poviats are still far from achieving Goal 3.6 of Agenda 2030. The research results presented in the article are original for the poviat level.

Eliza Hawrylik, Andrzej Butarewicz, Marzanna Andraka

The aim of this study was to assess the toxicity of sewage sludge from the municipal sewage treatment plant in Bialystok. Raw sewage, sewage sludge from the primary settling tank, activated sludge, sludge before the fermentation chamber, recirculated sludge and sewage sludge after fermentation and dehydration on press were tested. The Microtox Model 500 kit using Aliivibrio fischeri luminescent bacteria was used for the toxicity analyzes. The EC50 index (indicating the concentration of toxic substances resulting in a 50% reduction in the intensity of luminescence of the bacterial strains used) converted into the TUa toxicity units was adopted as the value describing the toxicity of the tested media. The obtained results showed high and very high ecotoxicity of raw sewage and sewage sludge from the primary settling tank, sludge in front of the fermentation chamber and after fermentation and dehydration in the press. The use of tests determining the toxicity of sewage flowing into the sewage treatment plant and sewage sludge generated at various stages of the treatment process allows to detect the danger associated with the uncontrolled discharge of toxic substances into the sewage system.

Charles-Édouard Boukaré, Nicolas B. Cowan, James Badro

Astronomers have discovered a handful of exoplanets with rocky bulk compositions but orbiting so close to their host star that the surface of the planet must be at least partially molten. It is expected that the dayside of such "lava planets" harbors a rock vapor atmosphere that flows quickly towards the airless nightside -- this partial atmosphere is critical to the interpretation of lava planet observations, but transports negligible heat towards the nightside. As a result, the surface temperature of the magma ocean may range from 3000~K near the sub-stellar point down to 1500~K near the day-night terminator. We use simple models incorporating the thermodynamics and geochemistry of partial melt to predict the physical and chemical properties of the magma ocean as a function of the distance from the sub-stellar point. Our two principal findings are that 1) the dayside magma ocean is much deeper than previously thought, probably extending down to the core-mantle boundary in some locations, and 2) much of the dayside is only partially molten, leading to gradients in the surface chemistry of the magma ocean. These findings have important implications for the dynamics of the magma ocean as well as the composition and dynamics of the atmosphere.

David J. Haw, Christian Morgenstern, Giovanni Forchini et al.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the mitigation policies implemented in response to it have resulted in economic losses worldwide. Attempts to understand the relationship between economics and epidemiology has lead to a new generation of integrated mathematical models. The data needs for these models transcend those of the individual fields, especially where human interaction patterns are closely linked with economic activity. In this article, we reflect upon modelling efforts to date, discussing the data needs that they have identified, both for understanding the consequences of the pandemic and policy responses to it through analysis of historic data and for the further development of this new and exciting interdisciplinary field.

Editor Drassana

El Manifest per unes humanitats digitals (París, 2010) defineix les humanitats digitals (HD) com una transdisciplina portadora dels mètodes, els dispositius i les perspectives heurístiques relacionats amb els processos de digitalització en el camp de les ciències humanes i socials. Ara bé, si deixem de banda les definicions formals, per comprendre què són les HD poden ser claus la potenciació de l’accés lliure a dades i metadades, per una banda, i la circulació lliure dels mètodes i els resultats de les recerques, per una altra. Paraules com interdisciplinari o multidisciplinari semblen tant clares i acceptades com depreciades per un ús excessiu, però, en el cas de les humanitats digitals, no hi ha altre remei que afirmar que és una disciplina que requereix la col·laboració entre els especialistes en informàtica i documentació i els investigadors de la branca corresponent de les humanitats.

Katarzyna Tokarczyk-Dorociak, Marta Sylla

In the current legal system concerning the environmental legislation in Poland, environmental impact assessment (EIA) constitutes an essential tool for the protection of ecosystems. A report that is being prepared within EIA includes different methods to assess the impact of a given project on the environment. The combination of the currently used methods and ecosystem services assessment may allow for a better understanding of the consequences of the environmental change. This article presents the theoretical framework of integrating the ecosystem services assessment into the EIA procedure and its use in a report on the environmental impact assessment of a given project.

Gianandrea Lanzara, Matteo Santacesaria

This paper proposes a spatial model with a realistic geography where a continuous distribution of agents (e.g., farmers) engages in economic interactions with one location from a finite set (e.g., cities). The spatial structure of the equilibrium consists of a tessellation, i.e., a partition of space into a collection of mutually exclusive market areas. After proving the existence of a unique equilibrium, we characterize how the location of borders and, in the case with mobile labor, the set of inhabited cities change in response to economic shocks. To deal with a two-dimensional space, we draw on tools from computational geometry and from the theory of shape optimization. Finally, we provide an empirical application to illustrate the usefulness of the framework for applied work.

Chao Yan, James C. McWilliams, Marcelo Chamecki

Boundary layer turbulence in coastal regions differs from that in deep ocean because of bottom interactions. In this paper, we focus on the merging of surface and bottom boundary layers in a finite-depth coastal ocean by numerically solving the wave-averaged equations using a large eddy simulation method. The ocean fluid is driven by combined effects of wind stress, surface wave, and a steady current in the presence of stable vertical stratification. The resulting flow consists of two overlapping boundary layers, i.e. surface and bottom boundary layers, separated by an interior stratification. The overlapping boundary layers evolve through three phases, i.e. a rapid deepening, an oscillatory equilibrium and a prompt merger, separated by two transitions. Before the merger, internal waves are observed in the stratified layer, and they are excited mainly by Langmuir turbulence in the surface boundary layer. These waves induce a clear modulation on the bottom-generated turbulence, facilitating the interaction between the surface and bottom boundary layers. After the merger, the Langmuir circulations originally confined to the surface layer are found to grow in size and extend down to the sea bottom (even though the surface waves do not feel the bottom), reminiscent of the well-organized Langmuir supercells. These full-depth Langmuir circulations promote the vertical mixing and enhance the bottom shear, leading to a significant enhancement of turbulence levels in the vertical column.