65
Earthquake in the Tohoku region. The project
was launched in January 2012 by the Japan’s
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science,
and Technology (MEXT) (Urushihara 2013 ;
Hara 2013 ; Normile 2013a ; TEAMS HP 2013 ).
This commentary will briefl y describe the aims
and activities of TEAMS, particularly the project
being conducted by Tohoku University.
2
General Features of TEAMS
As shown in Fig. 1 , TEAMS primarily comprises
research groups at three institutions in Japan:
Tohoku University, the Atmosphere and Ocean
Research Institute (AORI) of the University of
Tokyo, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth
Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).
Tohoku University is undertaking “Elucidation
of the environmental change process in the fi shing environment.”
AORI is performing “Studies on the mechanisms of marine ecosystem change,” which
includes (1) development of advanced monitoring
systems, (2) disturbances and recovering process
ecosystems, (3) changes in material circulation
processes, (4) infl ux of environmental pollutants,
(5) integrative model of coastal ecosystems,
(6) effects of forests and rivers on the marine environment, and (7) physical changes to coastal
ecosystems (Seike et al. 2013 ). AORI will evaluate the processes of reconstruction in the Sanriku
sea area.
JAMSTEC is charged with “Elucidation of the
mechanisms of ecosystem change on the seafl oor
around the coastal area,” which includes (1) present situations and processes of debris decomposition, (2) surveying distributions of species and
analyzing population structures, (3) realized distributions and materials spread by tsunamis and
turbidity currents, (4) long-term monitoring of
fi shery resources in the deep sea, (5) evaluating
the effects of toxic substances on nutrition stages,
and (6) habitat mapping for deep-sea ecosystems
(Oguri et al. 2013 ). JAMSTEC also manages data
for TEAMS.
TEAMS has been constructing a database of
research information that will be accessible
to the fi shing industry, local residents, and
researchers.
Fig. 1 The research sea
areas near Sanriku Coast
managed by Tohoku
Ecosystem-Associated
Marine Sciences (TEAMS)
Rising to the Challenge of Reconstructing the Coastal Fisheries Environment…
Earthquake in the Tohoku region. The project
was launched in January 2012 by the Japan’s
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science,
and Technology (MEXT) (Urushihara 2013 ;
Hara 2013 ; Normile 2013a ; TEAMS HP 2013 ).
This commentary will briefl y describe the aims
and activities of TEAMS, particularly the project
being conducted by Tohoku University.
2
General Features of TEAMS
As shown in Fig. 1 , TEAMS primarily comprises
research groups at three institutions in Japan:
Tohoku University, the Atmosphere and Ocean
Research Institute (AORI) of the University of
Tokyo, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth
Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).
Tohoku University is undertaking “Elucidation
of the environmental change process in the fi shing environment.”
AORI is performing “Studies on the mechanisms of marine ecosystem change,” which
includes (1) development of advanced monitoring
systems, (2) disturbances and recovering process
ecosystems, (3) changes in material circulation
processes, (4) infl ux of environmental pollutants,
(5) integrative model of coastal ecosystems,
(6) effects of forests and rivers on the marine environment, and (7) physical changes to coastal
ecosystems (Seike et al. 2013 ). AORI will evaluate the processes of reconstruction in the Sanriku
sea area.
JAMSTEC is charged with “Elucidation of the
mechanisms of ecosystem change on the seafl oor
around the coastal area,” which includes (1) present situations and processes of debris decomposition, (2) surveying distributions of species and
analyzing population structures, (3) realized distributions and materials spread by tsunamis and
turbidity currents, (4) long-term monitoring of
fi shery resources in the deep sea, (5) evaluating
the effects of toxic substances on nutrition stages,
and (6) habitat mapping for deep-sea ecosystems
(Oguri et al. 2013 ). JAMSTEC also manages data
for TEAMS.
TEAMS has been constructing a database of
research information that will be accessible
to the fi shing industry, local residents, and
researchers.
Fig. 1 The research sea
areas near Sanriku Coast
managed by Tohoku
Ecosystem-Associated
Marine Sciences (TEAMS)
Rising to the Challenge of Reconstructing the Coastal Fisheries Environment…