The tidal migration, temporal and spatial patterns in feeding of the surface-swimming four-eyed fish Anableps anableps (Anablepidae) were studied in a macrotidal mangrove area in north Brazil to exemplify the ecology of a tropical... more
The tidal migration, temporal and spatial patterns in feeding of the surface-swimming four-eyed fish Anableps anableps (Anablepidae) were studied in a macrotidal mangrove area in north Brazil to exemplify the ecology of a tropical intertidal fish. Visual censuses in the main channel showed that abundances were high at low water (LW) and low at high water (HW). Anableps anableps entered the intertidal creeks with the first flood rise. They fed in the inundated mangrove at HW and returned gradually after the ebb current maximum to concentrate again in the subtidal parts of the main channel at LW. This pattern occurred at neap, mid and spring tides throughout the year. The tidal migration was triggered by water level, not by time. In the study area the diet of A. anableps caught with block nets was dominated by intertidal red algae (Catanella sp.). Other important food items were Insecta and Grapsidae. The combination of high inundation and daylight (spring tide-day) provided the best foraging conditions, probably emphasizing the importance of the above-water eye. Darkness and low inundation was linked to poorest foraging conditions (neap tide-night). The quantity of food consumed by A. anableps was clearly influenced by the factors tide, time of day and creek location, but not by size and sex. The qualitative composition of the diet was not influenced by any of the factors, except for mud, which was only ingested at neap tides. The temporal and spatial variability in food consumption suggests that food web modelling in macrotidal areas may lead to misinterpretations of the overall systems dynamics if the spring and neap tide alternation and the diurnal cycle are not considered.
A detailed study is presented of the tidal constituents for Livingston and Deception Islands (Antarctica) obtained at the LIVMAR and DECMAR tide gauge stations. Data were acquired with tide gauge pressure sensors, and calculated from a... more
A detailed study is presented of the tidal constituents for Livingston and Deception Islands (Antarctica) obtained at the LIVMAR and DECMAR tide gauge stations. Data were acquired with tide gauge pressure sensors, and calculated from a long time series of 798 days of data-logging, using the least-squares harmonic estimation method. The results show an improvement over previous results in the region. Seventy tidal constituents were obtained, of which 19 were the most representative with amplitudes greater than 1 cm and a contribution of 93% of the wave energy. In both stations, it was confirmed that the tides are mixed, with a semi-diurnal behavior. The tidal gauge benchmarks (TGBMs) were linked to vertical and horizontal Antarctic Geodetic Networks, which provides a very important contribution for geodetic, oceanographic and hydrographic studies in the area.
Arabia with the collaboration of International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as an environmentally sensitive area. This study is considered to be a baseline study for Ras Hatiba Lagoon. The lagoon is... more
Arabia with the collaboration of International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as an environmentally sensitive area. This study is considered to be a baseline study for Ras Hatiba Lagoon. The lagoon is located at the eastern coast of the Red Sea. It is shallow with an average depth of 2m. Tidal force is dominating the water circulation in the lagoon.
[1] A regional ocean circulation model (ROMS) is used to simulate the Chinese land-derived sediment transport in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea (BYECS). The model includes the effect of currents, tides, and waves on the... more
[1] A regional ocean circulation model (ROMS) is used to simulate the Chinese land-derived sediment transport in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea (BYECS). The model includes the effect of currents, tides, and waves on the sediment transport and is used to study the pathway and dynamic mechanisms of the fine-grain sediment transport from the Huanghe River (Yellow River), the Old Huanghe Delta, and the Changjiang River (Yangtze River) in the BYECS. The seasonal variability of the sediment transport in the BYECS and the sources of the Yellow Sea Trough mud patch, the mud patch southwest of Cheju Island, the mud patch offshore from the Zhejiang and Fujian provinces and the Okinawa Trough mud patch are discussed. The results show that the Huanghe River sediment can be transported to the Yellow Sea Trough, but little makes it to the outer shelf while the Old Huanghe Delta sediment is mainly transported to the Yellow Sea Trough. Most of the sediment from the Changjiang River m...
Although several considerations about fluxes and budgets of dissolved and particulate matter between the Venice Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea recently appeared in the scientific literature, no detailed study has been performed until now in... more
Although several considerations about fluxes and budgets of dissolved and particulate matter between the Venice Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea recently appeared in the scientific literature, no detailed study has been performed until now in such a coastal environment to give a reasonable exhaustive picture of the quantities exchanged from lagoon to sea. In this paper, preliminary results about the seasonal variability of some biogeochemical parameters (hydrology, dissolved nutrients and particulate matter) at the three Lagoon inlets (Lido, Malamocco and Chioggia), as well as preliminary calculations of fluxes and budgets at Lido, derived from 1 year of intensive field experiments, are reported and discussed.
The interaction of gravity waves (GWs) and the migrating diurnal tide are studied in a GW-resolving general circulation model (GCM) by calculating the tidal components of zonal wind accelerations and equivalent Rayleigh friction due to... more
The interaction of gravity waves (GWs) and the migrating diurnal tide are studied in a GW-resolving general circulation model (GCM) by calculating the tidal components of zonal wind accelerations and equivalent Rayleigh friction due to tidal induced GW dissipation. Two 15-day periods for perpetual equinoctial and solstice simulations are analyzed, which are performed with the Japanese Atmospheric General circulation model for Upper Atmosphere Research (JAGUAR) high-resolution GCM. The model can directly simulate GWs with horizontal wavelengths greater than about 190 km, and, thus reproduce the general features of the mean winds and temperatures from the surface to the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). The amplitudes of the migrating diurnal tide are successfully simulated during both seasons, and the tidal winds affect the altitudes of GW dissipation in the low-latitude MLT. The tidal component of GW forcing has maximal values of about 15 m s-1 d-1 near the maximal vertical shears of the tidal winds and generally works to shorten the vertical wavelength of the migrating diurnal tide. The phase relationship between the tidal winds and the tidal induced GW forcing is not exactly 90° out of phase, causing amplification/suppression of the tide. The GW forcing amplifies the migrating diurnal tide during the equinox, while during the solstice, it suppresses the tidal winds in the upper mesosphere of both hemispheres. This difference in behavior can be attributed to a seasonal variation of the mean zonal winds, because combination of the mean and tidal winds affects the altitudes of GW dissipation.
This paper addresses a critical issue for many coastal States: rising global sea levels. While the causes of climate change still excite controversy and debate, it is now widely accepted that significant sea level rise is taking place and... more
This paper addresses a critical issue for many coastal States: rising global sea levels. While the causes of climate change still excite controversy and debate, it is now widely accepted that significant sea level rise is taking place and that this trend appears likely to accelerate in the future. This phenomenon raises a number of important challenges for coastal and island States. Among these threats is the likely impact of rising sea levels on national claims to maritime jurisdiction. Significant changes to coastlines and therefore baselines and the potential submergence of key basepoints may potentially lead to the loss of broad national claims to maritime jurisdiction. The loss of significant areas, even all, of the maritime jurisdictional zones claimed by certain coastal States is likely to have profound economic consequences as jurisdictional rights over the valuable resources within these maritime spaces would also necessarily be lost. Certain generally low-lying Pacific Isl...