Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Strasse 9-11, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
J R Soc Interface. 2010 Jul 6;7(48):1093-103. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2009.0495. Epub 2010 Jan 19.
Transportation networks play a crucial role in human mobility, the exchange of goods and the spread of invasive species. With 90 per cent of world trade carried by sea, the global network of merchant ships provides one of the most important modes of transportation. Here, we use information about the itineraries of 16 363 cargo ships during the year 2007 to construct a network of links between ports. We show that the network has several features that set it apart from other transportation networks. In particular, most ships can be classified into three categories: bulk dry carriers, container ships and oil tankers. These three categories do not only differ in the ships' physical characteristics, but also in their mobility patterns and networks. Container ships follow regularly repeating paths whereas bulk dry carriers and oil tankers move less predictably between ports. The network of all ship movements possesses a heavy-tailed distribution for the connectivity of ports and for the loads transported on the links with systematic differences between ship types. The data analysed in this paper improve current assumptions based on gravity models of ship movements, an important step towards understanding patterns of global trade and bioinvasion.
交通网络在人类流动、货物交换和入侵物种传播中起着至关重要的作用。全球贸易中有 90%是通过海路运输的，全球商船网络提供了最重要的运输方式之一。在这里，我们利用 2007 年期间 16363 艘货船的航线信息来构建港口之间的链路网络。我们表明，该网络具有几个使其有别于其他交通网络的特征。具体而言，大多数船舶可以分为三类：散装干货船、集装箱船和油轮。这三种船舶不仅在物理特性上有所不同，而且在其移动模式和网络中也有所不同。集装箱船遵循定期重复的路径，而散装干货船和油轮在港口之间的移动则不太可预测。所有船舶运动的网络在港口的连通性和链路所运输的负载方面具有长尾分布，并且在船舶类型之间存在系统差异。本文分析的数据改进了基于船舶运动重力模型的现有假设，这是理解全球贸易和生物入侵模式的重要一步。
