Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

SS07 Biomechanics: Turbulent Mass Transfer (Environmental Connections)

Date: Monday, February 12, 2001, Time: 4:15:00 PM

Location: San Miguel

Monismith, S, G, Stanford University, Stanford, USA, monismit@ce.stanford.edu

Reidenbach, M, A, Stanford University, Stanford, USA, mar10@stanford.edu

Genin, A, , Steinitz Marine Lab, Eilat, Israel, genin@stanford.edu

Koseff, J, R, Stanford University, Stanford, USA, koseff@ce.stanford.edu

THE ROLE OF THERMAL CYCLING IN SUPPLYING NUTRIENTS TO CORAL REEFS

Hydrodynamics play a major role in coral-reef ecology. The reef-scale circulation and near-bed hydrodynamics were studied over a fringing reef in the Red Sea, using an array of acoustic current meters and temperature sensors. Onshore/offshore exchanges between the plankton-depleted water near the reef and the deep, relatively food-effluent waters in the open sea were controlled by differential water surface heating and cooling at the two sites. A differential warming of the nearshore zone during the day drives a seaward flow at the surface, coupled with upwelling along the coast, while enhanced cooling during the night causes onshore flow at the surface and downwelling. Concurring variations in phytoplankton concentrations suggest that thermal cycling partially controls the supply of planktonic food to the benthic reef community.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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