scholarly journals Phytoplankton Biomass and the Hydrodynamic Regime in NEOM, Red Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2082
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Papagiannopoulos ◽  
Dionysios Raitsos ◽  
Georgios Krokos ◽  
John Gittings ◽  
Robert Brewin ◽  
...  

NEOM (short for Neo-Mustaqbal) is a $500 billion coastal city megaproject, currently under construction in the northwestern part of the Red Sea, off the coast of Tabuk province in Saudi Arabia, and its success will rely on the preservation of biodiverse marine ecosystems. Monitoring the variability of ecological indicators, such as phytoplankton, in relation to regional environmental conditions, is the foundation for such a goal. We provide a detailed description of the phytoplankton seasonal cycle of surface waters surrounding NEOM using satellite-derived chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) observations, based on a regionally-tuned product of the European Space Agency’s Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative, at 1 km resolution, from 1997 to 2018. The analysis is also supported with in situ cruise datasets and outputs of a state-of-the-art high-resolution hydrodynamic model. The open waters of NEOM follow the oligotrophic character of the Northern Red Sea (NRS), with a peak during late winter and a minimum during late summer. Coral reef-bound regions, such as Sindala and Sharma, are characterised by higher Chl-a concentrations that peak during late summer. Most of the open waters around NEOM are influenced by the general cyclonic circulation of the NRS and local circulation features, while shallow reef-bound regions are more isolated. Our analysis provides the first description of the phytoplankton seasonality and the oceanographic conditions in NEOM, which may support the development of a regional marine conservation strategy.

2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut Seip

I show that the relation between annual average phytoplankton concentration (mg Chl-a m–3) and in situ sea surface temperature (SST) is positive (Chl-a=~0.5×SST, r=0.8, P<0.001) at an average temperature of 11°C (range 10–12°C) in the Gulf of Maine. However, within-seasonal observations (for 2005–09) were predominantly negatively associated. For the first relationship that describes annual averages, the extension of the growth season with increasing temperature may be an important factor. I show that an increase of 1°C starts the growing season 8 days earlier and lengthens the season by 13 days (for temperature >10°C). Tentative calculations suggest that the increased length matches the increase in annual phytoplankton concentration. For the second relationship that describes within-seasonal relationships, I suggest that warmer water during late summer increases stratification and limits nutrient supply to the upper productive layer.


2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather D. Masonjones ◽  
Emily Rose ◽  
Lori Benson McRae ◽  
Danielle L. Dixson

Abstract Seagrass ecosystems worldwide have been declining, leading to a decrease in associated fish populations, especially those with low mobility such as syngnathids (pipefish and seahorses). This two-year pilot study investigated seasonal patterns in density, growth, site fidelity, and population dynamics of Tampa Bay (FL) syngnathid fishes at a site adjacent to two marinas under construction. Using a modified mark-recapture technique, fish were collected periodically from three closely located sites that varied in seagrass species (Thalassia spp., Syringodium spp., and mixed-grass sites) and their distance from open water, but had consistent physical/chemical environmental characteristics. Fish were marked, photographed for body size and gender measurements, and released the same day at the capture site. Of the 5695 individuals surveyed, 49 individuals were recaptured, indicating a large, flexible population. Population density peaks were observed in July of both years, with low densities in late winter and late summer. Spatially, syngnathid densities were highest closest to the mouth of the bay and lowest near the shoreline. Seven species of syngnathid fishes were observed, and species-specific patterns of seagrass use emerged during the study. However, only two species, Syngnathus scovelli and Hippocampus zosterae, were observed at high frequencies. For these two species, body size decreased across the study period, but while S. scovelli's population density decreased, H. zosterae's increased. Across six of the seven species, population size declined over the course of this preliminary study; however, seasonal shifts were impossible to distinguish from potential anthropogenic effects of construction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1505
Author(s):  
Ignacio Menéndez Pidal ◽  
Jose Antonio Mancebo Piqueras ◽  
Eugenio Sanz Pérez ◽  
Clemente Sáenz Sanz

Many of the large number of underground works constructed or under construction in recent years are in unfavorable terrains facing unusual situations and construction conditions. This is the case of the subject under study in this paper: a tunnel excavated in evaporitic rocks that experienced significant karstification problems very quickly over time. As a result of this situation, the causes that may underlie this rapid karstification are investigated and a novel methodology is presented in civil engineering where the use of saturation indices for the different mineral specimens present has been crucial. The drainage of the rock massif of El Regajal (Madrid-Toledo, Spain, in the Madrid-Valencia high-speed train line) was studied and permitted the in-situ study of the hydrogeochemical evolution of water flow in the Miocene evaporitic materials of the Tajo Basin as a full-scale testing laboratory, that are conforms as a whole, a single aquifer. The work provides a novel methodology based on the calculation of activities through the hydrogeochemical study of water samples in different piezometers, estimating the saturation index of different saline materials and the dissolution capacity of the brine, which is surprisingly very high despite the high electrical conductivity. The circulating brine appears unsaturated with respect to thenardite, mirabilite, epsomite, glauberite, and halite. The alteration of the underground flow and the consequent renewal of the water of the aquifer by the infiltration water of rain and irrigation is the cause of the hydrogeochemical imbalance and the modification of the characteristics of the massif. These modifications include very important loss of material by dissolution, altering the resistance of the terrain and the increase of the porosity. Simultaneously, different expansive and recrystallization processes that decrease the porosity of the massif were identified in the present work. The hydrogeochemical study allows the evolution of these phenomena to be followed over time, and this, in turn, may facilitate the implementation of preventive works in civil engineering.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stelios Katsanevakis ◽  
George Verriopoulos

Abstract The population density of Octopus vulgaris was measured by visual census with scuba diving in coastal areas in Greece (eastern Mediterranean). A time-variant, stage-classified, matrix population model was developed to interpret the seasonal variation of octopus stage densities and to estimate several life cycle parameters. An annual and a semi-annual periodic cycle were found in the stage densities. A main peak of benthic settlement was observed during summer and a secondary, irregular one during late autumn. Two spawning peaks were estimated, a main one during late winter–spring and a secondary one during late summer–early autumn. More than 50% of the just-settled individuals will eventually die after 3 months. Mortality rate declines, as individuals grow larger, reaches a minimum approximately 6 months after settlement, and then grows again probably because of terminal spawning. The life expectancy of recently settled individuals (<50 g) during their summer peak is approximately 5 months. The lifespan of the common octopus is estimated to be between 12 and 15 months. The octopuses' mean specific growth rates (±s.d.) in their natural environment were 1.61 ± 0.30 d−1 for 50–200 g individuals and 1.19 ± 0.31 d−1 for 200–500 g individuals.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinícius Almeida ◽  
Gutemberg França ◽  
Francisco Albuquerque Neto ◽  
Haroldo Campos Velho ◽  
Manoel Almeida ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;Emphasizes some aspects of the aviation forecasting system under construction for use by the integrated meteorological center (CIMAER) in Brazil. It consists of a set of hybrid models based on determinism and machine learning that use remote sensing data (such as lighting sensor, SODAR, satellite and soon RADAR), in situ data (from the surface weather station and radiosonde) and aircraft data (such as retransmission of aircraft weather data and vertical acceleration). The idea is to gradually operationalize the system to assist CIMAER&amp;#180;s meteorologists in generating their nowcasting, for example, of visibility, ceiling, turbulence, convective weather, ice, etc. with objectivity and precision. Some test results of the developed nowcasting models are highlighted as examples of nowcasting namely: a) visibility and ceiling up to 1h for Santos Dumont airport; b) 6-8h convective weather forecast for the Rio de Janeiro area and the S&amp;#227;o Paulo-Rio de Janeiro route. Finally, the steps in development and the futures are superficially covered.&lt;/p&gt;


Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 2699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Li ◽  
Liqiao Tian ◽  
Qingjun Song ◽  
Zhaohua Sun ◽  
Hongjing Yu ◽  
...  

Monitoring of water quality changes in highly dynamic inland lakes is frequently impeded by insufficient spatial and temporal coverage, for both field surveys and remote sensing methods. To track short-term variations of chlorophyll fluorescence and chlorophyll-a concentrations in Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, high-frequency, in-situ, measurements were collected from two fixed stations. The K-mean clustering method was also applied to identify clusters with similar spatio-temporal variations, using remote sensing Chl-a data products from the MERIS satellite, taken from 2003 to 2012. Four lake area classes were obtained with distinct spatio-temporal patterns, two of which were selected for in situ measurement. Distinct daily periodic variations were observed, with peaks at approximately 3:00 PM and troughs at night or early morning. Short-term variations of chlorophyll fluorescence and Chl-a levels were revealed, with a maximum intra-diurnal ratio of 5.1 and inter-diurnal ratio of 7.4, respectively. Using geostatistical analysis, the temporal range of chlorophyll fluorescence and corresponding Chl-a variations was determined to be 9.6 h, which indicates that there is a temporal discrepancy between Chl-a variations and the sampling frequency of current satellite missions. An analysis of the optimal sampling strategies demonstrated that the influence of the sampling time on the mean Chl-a concentrations observed was higher than 25%, and the uncertainty of any single Terra/MODIS or Aqua/MODIS observation was approximately 15%. Therefore, sampling twice a day is essential to resolve Chl-a variations with a bias level of 10% or less. The results highlight short-term variations of critical water quality parameters in freshwater, and they help identify specific design requirements for geostationary earth observation missions, so that they can better address the challenges of monitoring complex coastal and inland environments around the world.


1998 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Beer ◽  
M. Ilan ◽  
A. Eshel ◽  
A. Weil ◽  
I. Brickner

2016 ◽  
Vol 76 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Bresciani ◽  
Claudia Giardino ◽  
Rosaria Lauceri ◽  
Erica Matta ◽  
Ilaria Cazzaniga ◽  
...  

Cyanobacterial blooms occur in many parts of the world as a result of entirely natural causes or human activity. Due to their negative effects on water resources, efforts are made to monitor cyanobacteria dynamics. This study discusses the contribution of remote sensing methods for mapping cyanobacterial blooms in lakes in northern Italy. Semi-empirical approaches were used to flag scum and cyanobacteria and spectral inversion of bio-optical models was adopted to retrieve chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations. Landsat-8 OLI data provided us both the spatial distribution of Chl-a concentrations in a small eutrophic lake and the patchy distribution of scum in Lake Como. ENVISAT MERIS time series collected from 2003 to 2011 enabled the identification of dates when cyanobacterial blooms affected water quality in three small meso-eutrophic lakes in the same region. On average, algal blooms occurred in the three lakes for about 5 days a year, typically in late summer and early autumn. A suite of hyperspectral sensors on air- and space-borne platforms was used to map Chl-a concentrations in the productive waters of the Mantua lakes, finding values in the range of 20 to 100 mgm-3. The present findings were obtained by applying state of the art of methods applied to remote sensing data. Further research will focus on improving the accuracy of cyanobacteria mapping and adapting the algorithms to the new-generation of satellite sensors.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daffne C. López-Sandoval ◽  
Katherine Rowe ◽  
Paloma Carillo-de-Albonoz ◽  
Carlos M. Duarte ◽  
Susana Agusti

Abstract. Resolving the environmental drivers shaping planktonic communities is fundamental to understanding their variability, present and future, across the ocean. More specifically, resolving the temperature-dependence of planktonic communities in low productive waters is essential to predict the response of marine ecosystems to warming scenarios, as ocean warming leads to oligotrophication of the subtropical ocean. Here we quantified plankton metabolic rates along the Red Sea, a unique oligotrophic and warm environment, and analysed the drivers that regulate gross primary production (GPP), community respiration (CR) and the net community production (NCP). The study was conducted on six oceanographic surveys following a north-south transect along Saudi Arabian coasts. Our findings revealed that Chl-a specific GPP and CR rates increased with increasing temperature (R2 = 0.41 and 0.19, respectively, P 


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