Urban metabolism refers to the assessment of the amount of resources produced and consumed by urban ecosystems. It has become an important tool to understand how the development of one city causes impacts to the local and regional environment and to support a more sustainable urban design and planning. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to measure the changes in material and energy use occurred in the city of Curitiba (Brazil) between the years of 2000 and 2010. Results reveal better living conditions and socioeconomic improvements derived from higher resource throughput but without complete disregard to environmental issues. Food intake, water consumption and air emissions remained at similar levels; energy use, construction materials and recycled waste were increased. The paper helps illustrate why it seems more adequate to assess the contribution a city makes to sustainable development than to evaluate if one single city is sustainable or not.

Contingency plans are essential in guiding the response to marine oil spills. However, they are written before the pollution event occurs so must contain some degree of assumption and prediction and hence may be unsuitable for a real incident when it occurs. The use of Bayesian networks in ecology, environmental management, oil spill contingency planning and post-incident analysis is reviewed and analysed to establish their suitability for use as real-time environmental decision support systems during an oil spill response. It is demonstrated that Bayesian networks are appropriate for facilitating the re-assessment and re-validation of contingency plans following pollutant release, thus helping ensure that the optimum response strategy is adopted. This can minimise the possibility of sub-optimal response strategies causing additional environmental and socioeconomic damage beyond the original pollution event.

A moratorium on further bivalve leasing was established in 1999–2000 in Prince Edward Island (Canada). Recently, a marine spatial planning process was initiated explore potential mussel culture expansion in Malpeque Bay. This study focuses on the effects of a projected expansion scenario on productivity of existing leases and available suspended food resources. The aim is to provide a robust scientific assessment using available datasets and three modelling approaches ranging in complexity: (1) a connectivity analysis among culture areas; (2) a scenario analysis of organic seston dynamics based on a simplified biogeochemical model; and (3) a scenario analysis of phytoplankton dynamics based on an ecosystem model. These complementary approaches suggest (1) new leases can affect existing culture both through direct connectivity and through bay-scale effects driven by the overall increase in mussel biomass, and (2) a net reduction of phytoplankton within the bounds of its natural variation in the area.

The Ixtoc-I oil spill occurred in 1979 in shallow waters (50m) of the Bay of Campeche, Mexico. Although it is known that a large portion of the released oil from this second largest accidental marine oil spill in history reached the surface, to date there has been no attempt to document the surface footprint and trajectory of the released oil. Our study attempts to fill this knowledge gap using remote sensing data collected by Landsat/MSS and CZCS. Both showed the same general patterns of oil trajectory to the northwest and north, nearly parallel to the coastline of the western Gulf of Mexico (GoM) with possible oil landing on Mexican and Texas beaches. Field observations at selected beaches and islands along the coast of the western and southern GoM during and after the spill confirmed these satellite-based findings, which were also used to help in planning a recent field campaign to collect sediment samples in the southern GoM.

Previous models on simulating gas releases in deepwater were not focused on the dissolved component and its impact on water quality. This paper presents a new model developed for simulating the transport/spread of dissolved methane from an underwater release and its impact on dissolved oxygen in ambient water. Methane dissolves into ambient water from gas phase, direct from hydrate phase, and from dissociating hydrates formed earlier. Dissolved methane affects the dissolved oxygen levels in ambient water due to microbial interaction and possible direct absorption of oxygen into methane bubbles. We use new model simulations of Deepspill field experiments to compare with instantaneous profiles which were unpublished until now. The comparisons are very good with a short time lag, but are within the acceptable discrepancy for models for emergency response and contingency planning. Scenario simulations show the effect on dissolved oxygen due to different methane release situations.

New technology has led to new opportunities for a holistic environmental monitoring approach adjusted to purpose and object of interest. The proposed integrated environmental mapping and monitoring (IEMM) concept, presented in this paper, describes the different steps in such a system from mission of survey to selection of parameters, sensors, sensor platforms, data collection, data storage, analysis and to data interpretation for reliable decision making. The system is generic; it can be used by authorities, industry and academia and is useful for planning- and operational phases. In the planning process the systematic approach is also ideal to identify areas with gap of knowledge. The critical stages of the concept is discussed and exemplified by two case studies, one environmental mapping and one monitoring case. As an operational system, the IEMM concept can contribute to an optimised integrated environmental mapping and monitoring for knowledge generation as basis for decision making.

Full-coverage maps on the distribution of marine biotopes are a necessary basis for Nature Conservation and Marine Spatial Planning. Yet biotope maps do not exist in many regions. We are generating the first full-coverage biotope map for the German Baltic Sea according to the HELCOM Underwater biotope and habitat classification system (HUB). Species distribution modelling is applied to create full-coverage spatial information of biological features. The results of biomass modelling of twelve target taxa and presence/absence modelling of three target taxa enabled the identification of biological levels up to HUB level 6. Environmental data on bathymetry, light penetration depth and substrate are used to identify habitat levels. HUB biotope levels were combined with HUB habitat levels to create a biotope map. Altogether, 68 HUB biotopes are identified in the German Baltic Sea. The new biotope map combining substrate characteristics and biological communities will facilitate marine management in the area.

The U.K.’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee 1998 guidelines for minimising acoustic impacts from seismic surveys on marine mammals were the first of their kind. Covering both planning and operations, they included various measures for reducing the potential for damaging hearing – an appropriate focus at the time. Since introduction, the guidelines have been criticised for, among other things: the arbitrarily-sized safety zones; the lack of shut-down provisions; the use of mitigation measures that introduce more noise into the environment (e.g., soft-starts); inadequate observer training; and the lack of standardised data collection protocols. Despite the concerns, the guidelines have remained largely unchanged. Moreover, increasing scientific recognition of the scope and magnitude of non-injurious impacts of sound on marine life has become much more widespread since the last revisions in 2010. Accordingly, here we present feasible and realistic recommendations for such improvements, in light of the current state of knowledge.

This study aims to improve the current inefficiency and ineffectiveness of communications among stakeholders when planning and constructing offshore wind farms (OWFs). An analysis using a social marketing approach with segmentation techniques is used to identify the target market based on stakeholders’ perceptions. The empirical results identify three stakeholder segments: (1) impact-attend group; (2) comprehensive group; and (3) benefit-attend group. The results suggest that communication should be implemented to alter stakeholders’ attitudes toward the construction of OWFs. Furthermore, based on the results of segmentation, target markets are identified to plan the communication strategies for reducing the conflicts among stakeholders of OWF construction. The results also indicated that in the planning phase of construction for OWFs, effective stakeholder participation and policy communication can enhance the perception of benefits to reduce conflict with local communities and ocean users.

A core task in endangered species conservation is identifying important habitats and managing human activities to mitigate threats. Many marine organisms, from invertebrates to fish to marine mammals, use acoustic cues to find food, avoid predators, choose mates, and navigate. Ocean noise can affect animal behavior and disrupt trophic linkages. Substantial potential exists for area-based management to reduce exposure of animals to chronic ocean noise. Incorporating noise into spatial planning (e.g., critical habitat designation or marine protected areas) may improve ecological integrity and promote ecological resilience to withstand additional stressors. Previous work identified areas with high ship noise requiring mitigation. This study introduces the concept of “opportunity sites” — important habitats that experience low ship noise. Working with existing patterns in ocean noise and animal distribution will facilitate conservation gains while minimizing societal costs, by identifying opportunities to protect important wildlife habitats that happen to be quiet.