scholarly journals Remote sensing observations of the coherent and non-coherent ring structures in the vicinity of Lesser Antilles

2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Cruz Gómez ◽  
S. N. Bulgakov
Keyword(s):  
Fourier Transforms ◽  
Bottom Topography ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Height Anomaly ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Radon Transforms ◽  
North Brazil ◽  
The Caribbean

Abstract. The North Brazil Current Rings (NBCR) penetration into the Caribbean Sea is being investigated by employing a merged altimeter-derived sea height anomaly (TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1 and ERS-1, 2), the ocean surface color data (SeaWiFS) and Global Drifter Program information. Four strategies are being applied to process the data: (1) calculations of the Okubo-Weiss parameter for NBCR identification, (2) longitude-time plots (also known as Hovmöller diagrams), (3) two-dimensional Radon transforms and (4) two-dimensional Fourier transforms. A twofold NBCR structure has been detected in the region under investigation. The results have shown that NBC rings mainly propagate into the Caribbean Sea along two principal pathways (near 12° N and 17° N) in the ring translation corridor. Thus, rings following the southern pathway in the fall-winter period can enter through very shallow southern straits as non-coherent structures. A different behavior is observed near the northern pathway (~17° N), where NBC rings are thought to have a coherent structure during their squeezing into the eastern Caribbean, i.e. conserving the principal characteristics of the incident rings. We attribute this difference in the rings' behavior to the vertical scales of the rings and to the bottom topography features in the vicinity of the Lesser Antilles.

scholarly journals Spatial and Temporal Distribution of a Multiple Gear Fishing Fleet Exploiting the Caribbean Sea and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-112
Author(s):  
Carolina Mercedes Laurent Singh ◽  
Jamerson Aguiar‐Santos ◽  
Efrem Jorge Gondim Ferreira ◽  
Eucaris del Carmen Evaristo ◽  
Carlos Edwar de Carvalho Freitas
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Distribution ◽  
Fishing Fleet ◽  
Large Marine Ecosystems ◽  
North Brazil ◽  
The Caribbean

A new genus of calcareous sponge discovered in the Caribbean Sea: Bidderia gen. nov. (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea)

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4526 (1) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
MATHEUS V. LOPES ◽  
BÁSLAVI CÓNDOR-LUJÁN ◽  
FERNANDA AZEVEDO ◽  
THIERRY PÉREZ ◽  
MICHELLE KLAUTAU
Keyword(s):  
Type Species ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Molecular Analyses ◽  
Calcareous Sponges ◽  
Calcareous Sponge ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
New Discovery

Calcareous sponges from the Lesser Antilles were recently inventoried and several specimens morphologically resembling species of the genus Ascoleucetta were collected. Morphological and molecular (C-LSU and ITS) analyses indicated that these specimens from the Lesser Antilles constituted a new genus. They lack the conspicuous and very characteristic ornamentation of the inhalant apertures found in two out of three species of Ascoleucetta, including the type species A. compressa. In the molecular analyses, the specimens clustered as an independent lineage, distant from the clade of A. compressa. Based on these results, we decided to erect a new genus, Bidderia gen. nov., whose type species is Bidderia bicolora gen. nov. sp. nov. Considering this new discovery, we are proposing to transfer the species A. amitsba to the genus Bidderia gen. nov. and to rediagnose Ascoleucetta. 

scholarly journals High clonality in Acropora palmata and Acropora cervicornis populations of Guadeloupe, French Lesser Antilles

2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 847 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Japaud ◽  
C. Bouchon ◽  
J.-L. Manceau ◽  
C. Fauvelot
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Clonal Growth ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Acropora Palmata ◽  
Acropora Cervicornis ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Genetic Status ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Genotypic Richness

Since the 1980s, population densities of Acroporidae have dramatically declined in the Caribbean Sea. Quantitative censuses of Acroporidae provide information on the number of colonies (i.e. ramets), but not on the number of genetically distinct individuals (i.e. genets). In this context, the aim of our study was to provide an overview of the genetic status of Acropora populations in Guadeloupe by examining the genotypic richness of Acropora palmata and Acropora cervicornis. Using 14 microsatellite loci, we found extremely low genotypic richness for both species from Caye-à-Dupont reef (i.e. 0.125 for A. palmata and nearly zero for A. cervicornis). Because genetic diversity contributes to the ability of organisms to evolve and adapt to new environmental conditions, our results are alarming in the context of ongoing global warming as long periods of clonal growth without sexual recruitment may lead to the extinction of these populations.

scholarly journals Seasonal and Interannual Modulation of the Eddy Kinetic Energy in the Caribbean Sea

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (11) ◽  
pp. 2041-2055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Jouanno ◽  
Julio Sheinbaum ◽  
Bernard Barnier ◽  
Jean Marc Molines ◽  
Julio Candela
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Eddy Kinetic Energy ◽  
Altimeter Data ◽  
Main Peak ◽  
Southern Caribbean ◽  
North Brazil ◽  
The Caribbean

Abstract Variability of the mesoscale eddy field in the Caribbean Sea is analyzed over the period 1993–2009 using geostrophic anomalies derived from altimeter data and a high-resolution regional model. The Colombia Basin presents the largest values of eddy kinetic energy (EKE) and its semiannual cycle, with a main peak in August–October and a secondary peak in February–March, is the dominant feature in the whole Caribbean EKE cycle. The analysis of energy conversion terms between low-frequency currents and eddies explains these peaks by enhanced baroclinic and barotropic instabilities, in response to seasonally varying currents in the region of the Guajira Peninsula. The semiannual acceleration of the atmospheric Caribbean low-level jet intensifies the southern Caribbean Current (sCC) twice a year in this region, together with its vertical and horizontal velocity shears. The asymmetry of the EKE seasonal cycle in the Colombia Basin is explained by a summer peak in the annual cycle of the whole sCC. Numerical results suggest that the arrival of more energetic North Brazil Current rings during part of the year have almost no impact on the seasonal cycle of EKE in the Colombia Basin. Instead, they are shown to contribute, together with the annual cycle of the Caribbean inflow through the southern passages of the Lesser Antilles, to an annual peak of EKE in the Venezuela Basin between May and August. At the interannual scale the mechanism is similar: interannual variability of the alongshore wind stress controls the speed of the southern Caribbean Current and the energy of the eddies in the Colombia Basin through instability.

Modulation of the inflow into the Caribbean Sea by North Brazil Current rings

2009 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 1057-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Mertens ◽  
Monika Rhein ◽  
Maren Walter ◽  
Kerstin Kirchner
Keyword(s):  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Brazil Current ◽  
North Brazil ◽  
North Brazil Current ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
North Brazil Current Rings

scholarly journals The Evolution and Demise of North Brazil Current Rings*

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1241-1264 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Fratantoni ◽  
Philip L. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Structure Evolution ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Brazil Current ◽  
Surface Drifter ◽  
North Brazil ◽  
North Brazil Current ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Surface Drifters

Abstract Subsurface float and surface drifter observations illustrate the structure, evolution, and eventual demise of 10 North Brazil Current (NBC) rings as they approached and collided with the Lesser Antilles in the western tropical Atlantic Ocean. Upon encountering the shoaling topography east of the Lesser Antilles, most of the rings were deflected abruptly northward and several were observed to completely engulf the island of Barbados. The near-surface and subthermocline layers of two rings were observed to cleave or separate upon encountering shoaling bathymetry between Tobago and Barbados, with the resulting portions each retaining an independent and coherent ringlike vortical circulation. Surface drifters and shallow (250 m) subsurface floats that looped within NBC rings were more likely to enter the Caribbean through the passages of the Lesser Antilles than were deeper (500 or 900 m) floats, indicating that the regional bathymetry preferentially inhibits transport of intermediate-depth ring components. No evidence was found for the wholesale passage of rings through the island chain.

Monitoring Agricultural Drought in the West Indies

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham Anthony Chen ◽  
Trevor Falloon
Keyword(s):  
West Indies ◽  
West Indian ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Greater Antilles ◽  
The West ◽  
Blue Mountains ◽  
The North ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Azores High

The core of the West Indies consists of the archipelago of islands that stretches southeast from the Yucatan and Florida peninsulas to Venezuela. Generally the term “West Indies” is synonymous with the “Antilles” and is therefore often used to refer to the islands that compose the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The islands of the Greater Antilles include Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica—all located in the north Caribbean Sea—while the Lesser Antilles encompasses the smaller islands found to the south and east. In total, the West Indies embraces about 25 island territories. There are complex mountain ranges in the Greater Antilles, such as the Blue Mountains (2257 m) in central Jamaica and the Pico Duarte (3175 m) in the Dominican Republic, smaller volcanic peaks in the northeast island arc, and low-lying islands composing the remainder of the Lesser Antilles. The variation in local topography contributes significantly to the general rainfall pattern across the West Indian islands, as the windward sides of the larger and more mountainous islands are rainy and windswept, while the leeward sides are drier. In comparison, the low-lying eastern islands receive much less rainfall due to their lack of topographic relief and are much more dependent on seasonal rains. It is, however, the location of the West Indian islands between the permanent high pressure zone of the subtropical north Atlantic (the Azores high) and the equatorial trough of low pressure that gives rise to the mean monthly West Indian rainfall depicted in figure 11.2. Early in the year (December through March) and for a brief period in July, the Caribbean is dominated by subsidence from the inner zone of the Azores high and is at its driest. Rainfall during this period (barring July) is largely from the intrusion of fronts from North America. By the onset of the rainy season, however, the Azores high drifts farther north, resulting in weakened trade winds. At the same time, the Caribbean Sea warms up.

On a collection of shallow-water hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from Guadeloupe and Les Saintes, French Lesser Antilles

Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1878 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
HORIA R. GALEA
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Present Collection ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
Recent Collection ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Eastern Caribbean ◽  
Les Saintes

A recent collection of shallow-water hydroids from Guadeloupe and Les Saintes, in the eastern Caribbean Sea, was studied. This is the first comprehensive report on the hydroid fauna from the study area. A total of 48 species, belonging to 9 families of athecates and 12 families of thecates, are described or listed. All the species are illustrated and, when necessary, data on the cnidome composition are provided. Two new species, Zanclea migottoi sp. nov. and Halopteris vervoorti sp. nov., are described. Rhizogeton sterreri (Calder, 1988) is redescribed based on fertile material. Its taxonomic status is discussed and the genus Rhizodendrium Calder, 1988 is included in the synonymy of Rhizogeton L. Agassiz, 1862. Scandia michaelsarsi (Leloup, 1935) is believed to be a synonym of S. gigas (Pieper, 1884), and morphological arguments are provided to support this hypothesis. An undescribed type of peculiar gonothecae, arising from the hydrothecal apertures, was found in Dynamena disticha (Bosc, 1802). Sertularella peculiaris (Leloup, 1935) is redescribed and its synonymy discussed. The nematocyst types of Symmetroscyphus intermedius (Congdon, 1907) were identified. Some species in the present collection are provisionally identified or assigned to a genus, pending the discovery of fertile material or additional life cycle studies. Finally, the hydroid fauna from the study area proves to be preponderantly tropical in nature, with several species also occurring in temperate seas. A number of species are first records for the Caribbean basin: R. sterreri, Eudendrium capillare Alder, 1856, Coryne pusilla Gaertner, 1774, Halecium cf. lankesteri (Bourne, 1890), S. gigas, and Sertularia loculosa Busk, 1852.

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