The Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences: Technical Sciences (Bull.Pol. Ac.: Tech.) is published bimonthly by the Division IV Engineering Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, since the beginning of the existence of the PAS in 1952. The journal is peer‐reviewed and is published both in printed and electronic form. It is established for the publication of original high quality papers from multidisciplinary Engineering sciences with the following topics preferred: Artificial and Computational Intelligence, Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, Civil Engineering, Control, Informatics and Robotics, Electronics, Telecommunication and Optoelectronics, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Thermodynamics, Material Science and Nanotechnology, Power Systems and Power Electronics.

Journal Metrics: JCR Impact Factor 2018: 1.361, 5 Year Impact Factor: 1.323, SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) 2017: 0.319, Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) 2017: 1.005, CiteScore 2017: 1.27, The Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education 2017: 25 points.

Abbreviations/Acronym: Journal citation: Bull. Pol. Ac.: Tech., ISO: Bull. Pol. Acad. Sci.-Tech. Sci., JCR Abbrev: B POL ACAD SCI-TECH Acronym in the Editorial System: BPASTS.

We talk to Dr. Katarzyna Błachowiak-Samołyk, professor at the Department of Marine Ecology at the PAS Institute of Oceanology in Sopot, about the impact of human activity on life in the oceans.

Seen from today’s perspective, the oceans seem to be a permanent and unchanging element of the Earth’s landscape. Yet various oceans have been formed and “consumed” in the planet’s ancient history.

Studies were carried out from December 1978 till February 1979. Quantities of suspended matter in the waters of Admiralty Bay ranged from 2.8 to 182.6 mg/1. The maximum quantities of suspended matter were recorded in the inshore zone, in particular at the mouths of the streams running off from the pielting glaciers. In the open regions of Admiralty Bay the average quantities of suspended matter were: 12.4 mg/1 in the upper water-layers, from 14.9 to 16.7 at the depth of 10-50 m and less than 10 mg/1 in deeper water-layers. The quantity of suspended matter drifting from the land into Admiralty Bay during austrial summer was estimated as averaging about 2000 tons per day.

Foraminifera are microorganisms of enormous importance – both now and in the past.

Despite many years of research, we have yet to discover all the myriad ways various components of the climate interact. For instance, it looks likely that the circulation of oceanic waters has a much broader impact than previously thought.

Qualitative and quantitative composition of phytoplankton of the Olaf

Prydz Bay (Indian Ocean, East Antarctica) was determined on the basis of 49 samples collected at 34 sampling stations during the period from the 15th to 24th February 1969. Altogether 59 taxa of algae were identified — among them: 57 taxa of the class Bacillariophyceae, 1 species of the class Chrysophyceae and 1 genus of the class Dinophyceae. Species occurring most frequently and most abundantly in the Olaf Prydz Bay are diatoms: Thalassiothrix antarctica, Chaetoceros criophilus, Nitzschia curta, Rhizosolenia alata. At some stations Chaetoceros dichaeta occurred in great numbers. A decrease in phytoplankton numbers in the areas south of 67 S is associated with the lack of neritic algae among dominant species.

The Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences: Technical Sciences (Bull.Pol. Ac.: Tech.) is published bimonthly by the Division IV Engineering Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, since the beginning of the existence of the PAS in 1952. The journal is peer‐reviewed and is published both in printed and electronic form. It is established for the publication of original high quality papers from multidisciplinary Engineering sciences with the following topics preferred: Artificial and Computational Intelligence, Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, Civil Engineering, Control, Informatics and Robotics, Electronics, Telecommunication and Optoelectronics, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Thermodynamics, Material Science and Nanotechnology, Power Systems and Power Electronics.

Journal Metrics: JCR Impact Factor 2018: 1.361, 5 Year Impact Factor: 1.323, SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) 2017: 0.319, Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) 2017: 1.005, CiteScore 2017: 1.27, The Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education 2017: 25 points.

Abbreviations/Acronym: Journal citation: Bull. Pol. Ac.: Tech., ISO: Bull. Pol. Acad. Sci.-Tech. Sci., JCR Abbrev: B POL ACAD SCI-TECH Acronym in the Editorial System: BPASTS.

Ocean law has developed greatly in the recent years as an area within maritime law and environmental law. The increased attention has been received mainly due to the sea- level rise, ocean acidification and changing ocean currents caused by climate change. The negative impacts of climate change affect a wide spectrum of law and policy and have direct and indirect implications on various aspects such as: international security, food security, shipping, fisheries, marine and coastal governance etc. According to the IPCC 2018 Report, ocean ecosystems are already experiencing large-scale changes and critical thresholds are expected to be reached at higher levels of global warming. The main aim of this article is to present how the ocean law and climate law respond to the regulatory challenges caused by climate change.

Biography and scientific achievements of Academician Leonid Maksimovich Brekhovskikh - Russian physicist, the founder of the scientific school of Ocean Acoustics, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics Sciences, Professor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Phytoplankton composition plays a major role in biogeochemical cycles of the ocean. The intensity of carbon fixation and export is strongly dependent on the phytoplankton community. Yet, the contribution of different types of phytoplankton to the total production on various communities is still poorly understood in the Indian Ocean sector of Southern Ocean (SO). Therefore the variability of chlorophyll- A (Chl-a) and diatoms in the frontal ecosystems of the Indian sector of SO have been investigated along with the sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface wind (SSW), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and nutrients datasets for the period of 1998-2012. Combined analysis of in-situ, model and satellite observations indicate that the variability of Chl- A and diatoms were primarily influenced by light and wind. The Chl- A was higher at the sub-Antarctic front (SAF) followed by the sub-tropical front (STF) and the polar front (PF). The diatom concentration was higher at the SAF followed by the PF and STF. Maximum concentration of Chl- A and diatoms commonly observed at the SAF region are probably due to the moderate PAR, SST and wind. Dominance of diatoms at the PF may be attributed to their adaptability for low light conditions. The results from this study in the frontal ecosystems would help to understand the biogeochemical cycle of the Indian sector of the SO.

The European Commission, continuing its efforts to contribute to the integrated governance of global oceans, promotes harmonization of respective regimes in its Member States. In its assessment of this process in 2019, the Commission stressed in its joint report to the European Parliament and the Council that healthy oceans can exist only if responsibility for this dynamic natural ecosystem is shared not only between states, but also between different kinds of cross-border operating actors and stakeholders. The dynamics of the marine environment shall be reflected in an elastic legal regime based not only on classic legal instruments like conventions and their national implementations, but also on different kinds of soft laws, standards and formal specifications created by representatives of these stakeholders. However, admitting that integrated governance is the long-term goal, the European Union also accepts solutions based on a sectoral approach, as long as they effectively fulfill the duty to protect the marine environment enabling use of the sea for mankind and economical use of the ocean. Such a comprehensive view on the ocean is also the background of the UNCLOS co-operation.
Integrated ocean governance and its mechanisms must then be created and developed by very diverse organisations and institutions, from classical international organizations, through to intergovernmental cooperations at different levels and private organizations. This article summarizes the achievements of practical cooperation of EU mechanisms of ocean governance with non-governmental private organisations, representing the de facto decentralised management of the world oceans. Extended analysis will reveal how climate change is becoming a major long-term driver of ecosystems, bringing together different actors in an integrated, ecosystem-based oceans management approach which highlights the interplay between environmental and economic conditions, and legal mechanisms and their reflections in documents prepared by private organisations.

This paper attempts to allocate a segment of the Paleozoic Ocean situated in what is now Southeastern Europe (SEE) into a regional geological and paleotectonic synthesis connecting the sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous records associated with the ocean’s cycle. The Supragetic basement (external section of the Carpatho-Balkan arch) represents a tectonically reworked basement vestige of the Neoproterozoic–Lower Paleozoic oceanic floor system recrystallized under regional low temperature greenschist-facies conditions. The regional geological constraints associated with this low-grade basement are integrated with information from the overlying Silurian, Devonian and Lower Carboniferous cap-rocks of the “Kučaj Unit” to demonstrate the presence of a major Paleozoic ocean crossing this segment of SEE. In connection with the Lower Paleozoic north Gondwanan Pan- African processes, the low-grade Supragetic basement (including its Devonian cover) is in a complex relationship with the occasionally anchimetamorphic Silurian, Devonian, and Lower Carboniferous deep-water record of the polymetamorphic “Kučaj Unit”. The Upper Devonian–Lower Carboniferous flysch and molasse of the “Kučaj Unit” are interposed with the Neoproterozic–Lower Paleozoic oceanic vestige or with the Supragetic basement with the corresponding Devonian Balkan-Carpathian back-arc ophiolite-bearing lithosphere and its carrier (Danubian Unit). This regional-scale synthesis demonstrates that a segment of the Rheic Ocean referred to as the Saxo-Thuringian seaway and its suture lay to the east, underneath the Permian red-bed overstepping sequence and to the west of the Danubian aggregation. Unlike many of the high-pressure rocks characterizing the segment of the Rheic suture in the Central European Variscides, the SEE zone described here has only a mild overprint.

Deep seismic sounding measurements were performed in the continent-ocean transition zone of north-western Spitsbergen , during the expedition ARKTIS XV/2 of the RV Polarstern and the Polish ship Eltanin in 1999. Profile AWI-99200 is 430 km long and runs from the Molloy Deep in the Northern Atlantic to Nordaustlandet in north-eastern Svalbard . Profile AWI-99400 is 360 km long and runs from the Hovgĺrd Ridge to Billefjorden. Seismic energy (airgun and TNT shots) was recorded by land (onshore) seismic stations (REF) and ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) and hydrophone systems (OBH). Good quality refracted and reflected P waves were recorded along the two profiles providing an excellent data base for a detailed seismic modelling along the profile tracks. Clear seismic records from airgun shots were obtained up to distances of 200 km at land stations and 50 km at OBSs. TNT explosions were recorded even up to distances of 300 km . A minimum depth of about 6 km of the Moho discontinuity was found east of the Molloy Deep. Here, the upper mantle exhibits P-wave velocity of about 7.9 km/s, and the crustal thickness does not exceed 4 km . The continent–ocean transition zone to the east is characterised by a complex seismic structure. The zone is covered by deep sedimentary basins. The Moho interface dips down to 28 km beneath the continental part of the 99200 profile, and down to 32 km beneath the 99400 profile. The P-wave velocity below the Moho increases up to 8.15 km/s. The continental crust consists of two or three crystalline layers. There is a lowermost crustal continental layer, in the 99400 profile’s model, with the P-wave velocity in order of 7 km/s, which does not exist in the continental crust along the 99200 profile. Additionally, along the 99200 profile, we have found two reflectors in the lower lithosphere at depths of 14–42 and 40–50 km dipping eastward, with P-wave velocity contrasts of about 0.2 km/s. The characteristics of the region bears a shear-rift tectonic setting. The continent–ocean transition zone along the 99200 profile is mostly dominated by extension, so the last stage of the development of the margin can be classified as rifting. The uplifted Moho boundary close to the Molloy Deep can be interpreted as a south-western end of the Molloy Ridge. The margin in the 99400 profile area is of transform character.

Hybrid filter material was obtained via modification of polypropylene (PP) nonwoven with nanosize zinc oxide particles of a high aspect ratio. Modification was conducted as a three-step process, a variant of hydrothermal method used for synthesis of nano-ZnO, adopted for coating three dimensional polymeric nonwoven filters. The process consisted of plasma treatment of nonwoven to increase its wettability, deposition of ZnO nanoparticles and low temperature hydrothermal growth of ZnO rods. The modified nonwovens were investigated by a high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM). It has been found that the obtained hybrid filters offer a higher filtration efficiency, in particular for so called most penetrating particle sizes.

Abstract An attempt has been made to determine the effect of an addition of colloidal suspensions of the nanoparticles of magnesium oxide on the structure of water glass, which is a binder for moulding and core sands. Nanoparticles of magnesium oxide MgO in propanol and ethanol were introduced in the same mass content (5wt.%) and structural changes were determined by measurement of the FT-IR absorption spectra.

One of the fundamental problems of modern geodesy is precise de fi nition of the gravitational fi eld and its changes in time. This is essential in positioning and navigation, geophysics, geodynamics, oceanography and other sciences related to the climate and Earth’s environment. One of the major sources of gravity data is satellite altimetry that provides gravity data with almost 75% surface of the Earth. Satellite altimetry also provides data to study local, regional and global geophysical processes, the geoid model in the areas of oceans and seas. This technique can be successfully used to study the ocean mean dynamic topography. The results of the investigations and possible products of altimetry will provide a good material for the GGOS (Global Geodetic Observing System) and institutions of IAS (International Altimetry Service). This paper presents the achievements in satellite altimetry in all the above disciplines obtained in the last years. First very shorly basic concept of satellite altimetry is given. In order to obtain the highest accuracy on range measurements over the ocean improved of altimetry waveforms performed on the ground is described. Next, signi fi cant improvements of sea and ocean gravity anomalies models developed presently is shown. Study of sea level and its extremes examined, around European and Australian coasts using tide gauges data and satellite altimetry measurements were described. Then investigations of the phenomenon of the ocean tides, calibration of altimeters, studies of rivers and ice-sheets in the last years are given.

Catalytic converters contain the catalytic substance in their structure, which is a mixture of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs). The prices of these metals and a growing demand for them in the market, make it necessary to recycle spent catalytic converters and recovery of PGMs. In the study, the effect of ozone and hydrogen peroxide application on the possibility of extracting PGM from used car catalysts was investigated. The catalytic carrier was milled, sieved and then the fractions with the desired grain size were treated with the appropriate HCl mixture and 3%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 30% H2O2, respectively, and the tests were also carried out at temperature 333 K. Ozone tests were conducted with the O3 flow in the range of 1,3,5 g/h. Samples for analysis were collected after 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 3 h and after 4 h, respectively. The residue after the experiments and filtration process was also analysed. The obtained results confirmed the assumption that PGMs can be extracted using hydrochloric acid with the addition of H2O2 or ozone as oxidants. It allows to significantly intensify the carried out reactions and to improve the rate of PGMs transfer to the solution.

In this work, three ceramic composite coatings Al2O3-3TiO2 C, Al2O3-13TiO2 C, and Al2O3-13TiO2 N were plasma sprayed on steel substrates. They were deposited with two conventional powders differing the volume fraction of TiO2 and nanostructured powder. The mechanical and tribological properties of the coatings were investigated and compared. The increase in TiO2 content from 3 wt.% to 13 wt.% in the conventional feedstock improved the mechanical properties and abrasion resistance of coatings. However, the size of the used powder grains had a much stronger influence on the properties of deposited coatings than the content of the titania phase. The Al2O3-13TiO2 coating obtained from nanostructured powder revealed significantly better properties than that plasma sprayed using conventional powder, i.e. 22% higher microhardness, 19% lower friction coefficient, and over twice as good abrasive wear resistance. In turn, the Al2O3-13TiO2 conventional coating showed an increase in microhardness and abrasive wear resistance, 36% and 43%, respectively, and 6% higher coefficient of friction compared to the Al2O3-3TiO2 conventional coating.

A series of nanocomposite graphene/CoFe2O4 and graphene/NiFe2O4 hybrid materials was synthesized via facile, one-pot solvothermal route. The materials were obtained using two pressure methods: synthesis in the autoclave and synthesis in the microwave solvothermal reactor. The use of a microwave reactor enabled to significantly shorten the synthesis time up to 15 min. All the syntheses were carried out in a solution of ethanol. The effect of processing conditions and composite composition on the physicochemical properties and electric conductivity was studied. The specific surface area, density, morphology, phase composition, thermal properties and electric conductivity of the obtained composites were investigated. The results of studies of composites obtained in an autoclave and in a microwave reactor were compared.

The current study were performed in order to assess the fabrication possibility of the metal-ceramic composites based on nanocrystalline substrates. The influence of the variable time of the high energy ball-milling (10, 30 and 50 h) on the structure, pores morphology and microhardness of Ti/ZrO2 and Ti/Al2O3 compositions was studied. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the composite formation for all milling times and sintering in the case of Ti/ZrO2 system. Decomposition of substrates during milling process of Ti/Al2O3 system was also observed. Additionally, the changes of lattice parameter as a function of milling time were studied. The morphology of powders and the microstructure of the sintered samples were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also, analysis of microhardness and pores structure were performed.