Rates of habitat alteration and degradation are increasing worldwide due to anthropogenic influence. On coral reefs, the loss of live coral reduces structural complexity while facilitating algal increase. In many coastal lagoons seagrass and corals are cleared to make room for cultivated macroalgae. This thesis deals with reef and lagoon habitat structure and how fish assemblage patterns may be related to physical and biological features of the habitat. It further examines assemblage change following habitat disturbance. Four studies on East African coral reefs concluded that both the abundance and species richness of recruit and adult coral reef fish were largely predicted by the presence of live coral cover and structural complexity (Papers I-III, VI). Typically, recruits were more selective than adults, as manifested by limited distributions to degraded sites. Paper VI compared short- and long-term responses of fish assemblages to the 1997-1998 bleaching event. The short-term response to coral mortality included the loss of coral dwelling species in favour of species which feed on algae or associated detrital resources. Counterintuitively, fish abundance and taxonomic richness increased significantly at one of two sites shortly after the bleaching. However, the initial increase was later reversed and six years after the death of the coral, only a limited number of fish remained. The influence of fleshy algae on fish assemblages was studied in algal farms (Paper IV), and examined experimentally (Paper V). The effects of algal farming in Zanzibar were significant. Meanwhile, manually clearing algal-dominated patch reefs in Belize from macroalgae resulted in short-term increases of abundance, biomass and activity of a few species, including major herbivores. The findings of this thesis demonstrate the significance of habitat as a structuring factor for tropical fish assemblages and predicts that coral death, subsequent erosion and algal overgrowth may have substantial deleterious impacts on fish assemblage composition, abundance and taxonomic richness, with recovery being slow and related to the recovery of the reef framework.

Thesis (A.Mus.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A. Adviser: Donna A. Buchanan. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-144) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Inaug.-Diss.--Münster. / At head of title: Südslavische Philologie. Bibliography: p. 167-170.

The Arctic area is in a state of rapid change. New fairways open up as the ice melts, which – in turn – presents both opportunities and threats to the neighboring states. As the Arctic is of both economical and strategic interest, these states include both great powers like the U.S. and Russia but also small powers like Norway and Denmark. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how these states use their armed forces in claim of the Arctic and – more specifically – how Maritime Diplomacy is used in this situation. The thesis furthers attempts to address the question whether there are differences between the large states on the one hand, and the smaller ones on the other when using Maritime Diplomacy. The theoretical framework used in the thesis comes from several well known scholars and military theorists including Cable and Corbett which focus on maritime strategy. The analyses suggest that there are indeed significant differences between the studied states in terms of their use of Maritime Diplomacy. The thesis concludes that the four nations uses it’s maritime diplomacy tools in a coherent way. But there is a difference between great powers and smaller states since the smaller tend to use influence as a tool in greater extent. The thesis also shows that Russia as the only state that uses a coercive tool.

Plant indicator species and longitudinal paleobotanical data were used as independent measures to document the human ecological record of the contact period in southern Marin County, California. These data suggest that archaeological and documentary records are insufficient for examining changes in land management and use during the contact period. Prior to A.D. 1579, Western Miwok peoples had not encountered Europeans face to face. This early phase of the contact period is marked the possible introduction of New World species through passive cultural vectors. Two brief encounters occurred between the Miwok and Europeans between A.D. 1579 and 1775. Introduced and weedy plant species from fossil samples appear to confirm these encuentros and confirm the archeological evidence for intermittent contact during the second phase of the contact period. Modern and fossil pollen samples suggest that the intensity of human disturbance is geographically stratified and related to exploration, procurement, and management of specific resources. Coastal prairie, the redwood forest, and Bay salt marshes were the most affected by the second phase of the contact period. Shifts in vegetation diversity and increases in the numbers of introduced and weedy species were compared between ruderal and undisturbed contexts. These data were used as analogs to monitor the final phase of contact between A.D. 1775 to 1817. Hypotheses derived from ethnohistoric and ethnographic sources that suggest rapid shifts in land management practices and changes in plant representation were corroborated by some pollen data. Specifically, the ecological responses to the suppression of anthropogenic burning, changes in land tenure and parcelization, and the initiation of grazing and logging practices were examined. The cumulative impacts of introduced plants, shifts in land management from Miwok to Euroamerican-dominated resource procurement and subsistence practices, and ecological responses of plant species suggests that the contact period might better be defined on ecological terms rather than by purely material cultural or ethnographic definitions. In southern Marin, paleobotanical data provide a measurable indication of the ecological character of the pre-contact landscape and the cultural processes that effectively altered its character during the contact period.

Den globale etterspørselen etter petroleum er økende, og produksjon av olje-og gassressurser flyttes til stadig nye lokasjoner. Dette har ført til et økt fokus på mulighetene for å utvinne petroleum i nordområdene, også i den norske delen av Barentshavet. Det er allerede felt som er åpnet for oljeutvinning i Barentshavet Sør, Snøhvit produserer allerede gass og Goliat-feltet vil begynne å produsere olje i 2014. I tillegg er en konsekvensutredning utført for åpningen av et nytt mulig felt i Barentshavet Sørøst. Å utvikle nye oljefelt så langt nord er utfordrende. Det er flere metocean-relaterte utfordringer som lave temperaturer, havis, ising, polare lavtrykk og lav sikt. Dette tvinger petroleumsbransjen til å finne nye tekniske løsninger og myndighetene tvinges til å utvikle nye standarder og forskrifter som gjelder for det utfordrende miljøet i Arktis. Men de mest fremtredende utfordringene er de lange avstandene og mangelen på infrastruktur. Dette gjør det vanskelig å utvikle petroleumsløsninger som både ivaretar sikkerheten og er økonomisk gjennomførbare. For å redusere sikkerheten og logistiske hull forårsaket av mangler i infrastrukturen, kan en Offshore Supply Base (OSB) plasseres i Barentshavet. Den norske delen av Barentshavet kan deles inn i to deler, hvor Barentshavet Sør er generelt isfritt hele året og Barentshavet Nord har isdekket farvann hver vinter.Denne oppgaven har sett på to OSB-konsepter, hvor ett er plassert i den sørlige delen av Barentshavet og det andre er plassert i nord. De viktigste betingelsene som er satt for de to konseptene er at OSBen skal kunne-Forbedre SAR-dekning-Forbedre oljevernberedskapen i Barentshavet-Tilby logistikktjenesterDet er for øyeblikket ingen planer om å utvikle oljefelt i Barentshavet Nord. I tillegg er det tekniske begrensninger vedrørende valg av mulige offshore installasjoner for OSBen på grunn av tilstedeværelsen av havis. Derfor er et konsept der en OSB er plassert i Barentshavet Sør ansett å være den beste løsningen. Det resulterende konseptet er et multipurpose skip plassert på ca. 73.1N 27.1E. OSBen vil ha et SAR-helikopter permanent plassert på innretningen og vil kunne tilby utvidet sykehusfunksjonalitet. Den vil også være i stand til å fungere som en NOFO-tankskip under oljevernaksjoner. Logistikktjenestene som har blitt foreslått er verksted og lagringsmuligheter. Hastigheten til fartøyet skal være minimum 15 knop. Den foreslåtte plasseringen til OSBen gjør at et SAR-helikopter plassert på innretning vil ha en 3 timers radius som dekker hele det nye foreslåtte oljefeltet i Barentshavet Sørøst. OSBen vil også være i stand til å dekke hele den norske delen av Barentshavet innen 24 timer i tilfelle en oljevernberedskap.Å basere OSBen på et skipsformet enkeltskrog gjør det mulig å konvertere et eksisterende fartøy, som kan være et billigere alternativ enn et nybygg. Den nøyaktige størrelsen på fartøyet skal være basert på mengden av oljeutslipp OSBen vil kunne motta og de utvidede logistikktjenester OSBen er i stand til å gi. Disse betingelsene bør etableres ved å utføre en konseptuell forretningsplan og risikoanalyse vedrørende mengde oljesøl den bør kunne motta.

The ice cap surrounding the Arctic Ocean has been significantly reduced during the last decades. As the ice continues to diminish the economic potential of the NSR is becoming stronger. However there are still challenges and uncertainties connected to navigation in the Arctic. Among these are the lack of marine infrastructure, the uncertainties regarding the regulations and length of the ice free season. The purpose of this master thesis is therefore to develop a transport simulation model to investigate the economic feasibility of a NSR transport system. The route has not been evaluated as a year-round substitute for the traditional route through the Suez Canal, but has been integrated with the southern passage. As a result the Northern Sea Route is only used as an alternative in the navigation season between August and the end of November. In order to investigate the feasibility of the route a case study is developed. Container cargo is evaluated as the most suitable shipping cargo; therefore the case study presents a possible container transport between Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Yokohama in Japan. The shorter distance of the NSR is exploited in two ways, either by slow steaming or increasing the number of transits a year. In addition the transport systems are evaluated for 4 different ice classes, 7 different ice scenarios and a fleet consisting of 6 or 7 vessels. The transport simulation model calculates the speed and fuel consumption in ice with the use of an ice thickness-speed curve (h-v curve). The h-v curve is found by calculating the ice resistance of the vessel for variable ice thicknesses and the corresponding net thrust available to overcome this resistance. Further the model simulates the schedules and calculates the total fuel consumption for the entire fleet. The output of the model is the required freight rate (RFR) for the NSR transport systems and the Suez Canal route.The simulation results indicate that:-The optimal fleet size consist of 7 vessels-The slow steaming schedule is more profitable than the maximum transits schedule-The optimal ice class for the less severe ice scenarios are IC, while IB is better when the ice conditions harshen-All ice classes are more profitable than the SCR if the ice conditions are less severe than ice scenario 5

Measured in volume approximately 80 % of world trade is carried at sea and with just as many different actors the shipping industry acts close to a perfect market. The highly volatile nature of the industry with unexpected market fluctuations is the basis for the major decisions shipping companies are making. Especially the fleet size and mix problem in a strategic setting involving fleet changes during several planning periods as a company growth policy. This decision is therefore highly dependent on correct timing for those who want to succeed and an introduction to the shipping industry is given to state these properties. In this thesis various optimization models solving the fleet size and mix problem are presented where the best suited model structure related to the topic is chosen. This model is of deterministic nature, meaning that all input values are known, and based upon predefined routes. The decision regarding the fleet composition during several planning periods is aiming at determining an optimal fleet for a given market. The validity of the results solely relies on input data, which is highly uncertain into an unknown future. The predictions need to coincide with the real life development in order for the results to maintain its validity.Two different trades are used as cases, solved with the models presented. Some input parameters are changed and the differences are investigated. The main findings imply that only relative small changes of the input parameters resulted in very different decisions. The related loss of making the wrong decision is observed in the region of 100 – 200 million USD during three years. This large loss potential and the uncertainty related to the input parameters leads to a need for a method minimizing these effects. An approach is developed to treat uncertainties minimizing the losses by finding a robust fleet capable of handling a large set of generated future scenarios, called the “Scenario Algorithm”. The approach is divided into three main steps; the scenario generating step where development are based on historical fluctuations, a deterministic solution with the given scenario as basis and finally storing of all the solutions with a statistical analysis of the output. The algorithm is used on the two cases with two different scenario generating approaches, based on an exponential- and a continuous uniform distribution. The fleet size and mix decisions which appeared with the highest frequency were chosen, and gave a consistent estimate based on risk aversion decreasing the potential of making losses.The approaches presented in this thesis is not meant to give a correct answer on how the future will be, but help the decisions makers reduce the uncertainty connected to the strategic decision. The deterministic model give valuable information with a given scenario as input, but the model is only capable of evaluate the scenarios individually. The result found by the scenario algorithm evaluating scenarios collectively is therefore of higher value since it provide a more robust solution.

This master thesis in marine systems design is about how to assess the future uncertainty in a design setting, or as the topic puts it; semi-submersible platform design to meet uncertainty in the future operation scenarios. Central terms that will be discussed are robustness, flexibility, adaptability, and real options, so-called ilities. Also, methods for evaluation of designs in relation to ilities and future uncertainty are presented.The background for this thesis is the ever importance of a good assessment of investment projects in the offshore business in general, and more specific in relation to designs subjected to different forms of ilities. Now, more than ever, it is crucial to make the right decisions when designing an offshore construction, to ensure that an investment is viable. This thesis has used the concept of an intervention semi, provided by Aker Solutions, to assess problems related to these aspects. At first, design drivers for the concept were identified. These were found to be cost, weigh and operability, where (total) cost and (total) weight are strictly correlated. Operability, meaning the ability to keep operations running in different conditions and situations, are mainly dependent on motion characteristics and layout, where vertical motions were found to be the most important. The properties of the intervention semi was presented as a functional breakdown, divided in five main categories; well intervention, drilling, power generation, station keeping and transit, and other functions. The last category, the one called other functions, incorporated accommodation, ballast and bilge water systems, and heave compensation system. Most relevant for the intervention concept are the intervention functions and drilling functions. Of well intervention procedures, the concept should be able to do wireline operations, coiled tubing operations, and for drilling, through tubing rotary drilling will be the main procedure. After presenting the properties for the intervention semi concept, aspects of changing requirements due to uncertainty in the future, were discussed. The design functions of changing requirements identified were operation method and technology, environment and legislation, area of operation, and economics. Following this, a discussion of how to accommodate for these changing requirements were presented, with focus on aspects regarding flexibility, robustness, adaptability, and real options. After these terms and aspects had been discussed, an evaluation of the concept in relation to the ilities presented was done. Most relevant was the possibility of a development of the coiled tubing equipment, the aspect of managed pressure drilling as a function that might be needed in the future, and the use of rental equipment. Also, ilities were identified and discussed in a concept similar to the intervention semi presented in this thesis. From this, it was found that functions related to the environment (regarding emissions) would be a potential area of ilities, due to the continually increasing focus on such matters, and by having functions related to this designed with ilities, It would make it easier to improve these functions at a later time. Also, the aspect of extra deck space was discussed, which will give the design better flexibility, and in general, it was found that flexibility in the procedures for intervention and drilling operation was important for this concept. Some functions and aspects were also found not to be relevant for any sort of ilities. Among these were functions related to heavy drilling, increased water depth and the aspect of ice class.To find the value of a design with functional ilities, different methods and aspects were presented. At first, economical aspects were discussed, and methods using net present value were found to be relevant in relation to the valuation of ilities. Another approach discussed was scenario development and assessment, where in particular one method was found relevant. This method proposes to find an optimal design for the scenario assumed most probable, and then test this design against the other possible scenarios (using the models as simulation models) to get an impression of the resilience of the designs. Two decision support models were proposed, Model 1 and Model 2. The first model presented, Model 1, can be described as a “hybrid” decision model, part static, part dynamic, where an optimal design is found for a set of contracts, taking real options into consideration. The contracts should reflect the future, and from a set of base designs, with varying possibilities for functions and options, a design with an optimal combination of capabilities and options will be the result of solving the problem. Model 2 is sort of a static variant of Model 1, where the possibility of real options is no longer available. The model will still find a design with an optimal combination of capabilities for a set of contracts, but all capabilities must be part of the construction initially.Further, the two models are implemented for use in a commercial solver, and parameters and constraints are discussed. These implemented models were then used for the illustrative cases.The case studies illustrate how the two models presented can be utilised, and in addition illustrate how the scenario assessment discussed earlier can be combined with the decision support models. There are mainly three cases presented; two where Model 1 is used, and a third, where Model 2 is used. In Case 1 there are three base designs, with different characteristics, and one only attribute (supplementary function) that should be assessed. Three scenarios are presented as a basis for the contract generation. First, an optimal design solution was found for each scenario (Case 1a, Case 1b and Case 1c). Secondly, a scenario assessment was done, where the solution from the scenario assumed most probable is tested against the other two scenarios using the model as a simulation model rather than an optimisation model. Scenario 1 was assumed to be the most probable one, represented by Case 1a, and the optimal solution for this case was Design 1. This design was then tested against the two other scenarios, and it came out with a rather good result, illustrating the resilience of the chosen design. Case 2 illustrated a more complex problem, where an optimal solution should be found among 16 different base designs and four possible attributes. The attributes could either be part of the design initially or made as options that can be realised at a later time. The instance tested is assumed to be somewhat more complex than a commercial problem, but illustrates in a good way the capability of Model 1. Case 3 is an example of how Model 2 can be used. In Case 3a, only one base design is available, and with a set of four possible attributes, an optimal design should be found. Due to the “static” character of Model 2, the attributes can only be part of the initial design. Case 3b is much the same, except here there are two base designs to choose among, in addition to the four attributesA computational study was carried out, using Model 1, and only this, as it is assumed to be the most complex of the two models. The test incident assumed most relevant, with 100 contracts, four base designs, and eight attributes, can be solved one time in on the average less than two seconds, and for a full scenario analysis, consisting of about 1000 runs, the analysis will take about half an hour.As a concluding remark for this thesis, I will say that the main scope, which I in my opinion was to discuss how different design solutions can be evaluated in relation to future uncertainty, was answered in a good way with the two decision models proposed together with how these could be used in a scenario setting.

The report is divided into three different categories; background, concept evaluation and comparison and the methodology development. The background gives a short introduction of product architecture, modularity and modularization and also a brief description of existing design concepts which are capable of offering modular capabilities in the operation phase of a vessels life cycle.The second part of the report is a review of possible advantages and disadvantages with the implementation of a similar concept as presented in the background on offshore support vessels. The review deals with several aspects such as increased flexibility, higher spot utilization and also how this concept can have effects in an environmental perspective. Direct challenges with modular capabilities such as equipment complexity, port logistics issues etc. has also been discussed. Finally the concept is evaluated from an economical perspective, discussing costs in short and long term perspectives and how to predict the costs of a conversion between operations.The result of the evaluation is that the concept has aspects that are presumed quite beneficial for ship owners. Noticeable are increased flexibility in the range of operations a vessel can perform, possibilities for a fleet reduction due to modular capabilities and also possibilities for economic benefits in forms of higher spot utilization and easier maintenance of equipment modules. It is also anticipated that the concept will make the vessel more receptive for new technology and equipment modules. The most repressive aspect regarding modular capabilities is by far each equipment modules high degree of complexity together with the low degree of independency.The concept has also been compared with multi-purpose OSV’s and conventional mission specific OSV’s within several different aspects considered important for ship owners. The results are generally favoring a vessel with modular capabilities, but also that the negative aspects of the concept might not be taken sufficient account for in the comparison.In the third and last part it is developed a methodology to establish the equipment structure of an offshore support vessel with modular capabilities. It establishes the function hierarchy of the vessel and defines the interactions between the equipment modules and the functions before each module is evaluated in light of modular complexity and vessel influence. Based on this the equipment structure is established and exchange intervals for the modules are proposed.To illustrate the steps of the methodology better a case study is performed based on 5 different operations; anchor handling, towing, pipe lay, construction and support. The case study gives two main indications:1. There are a potential in further development of the methodology. Mainly involving the modules interactions and the specific equipment evaluation.2. The equipment modules are as determined before very complex and require long exchange intervals and also extensive external support to swap modules.