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MODELING COUPLING OF EEL GRASS ZOSTRA MARINA AND WATER FLOW
Citation:
ABDELRHMAN, M. MODELING COUPLING OF EEL GRASS ZOSTRA MARINA AND WATER FLOW. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES. Inter-Research, Luhe, Germany, 338:81-96, (2007).
Impact/Purpose:
to examine flow and transport patterns of dissolved and suspended constituents
Description:
Ecological effects caused by submerged aquatic vegetation not only depend on the plants and their morphology but also on the flow and transport patterns of dissolved and suspended constituents near the canopy. The height of the canopy is a major parameter in any quantitative analysis of plant biomass and constituent transport in its vicinity. Height of eelgrass (Zostera marina) canopies changes due to the bending of the blades under varying current regimes. In this paper, I mathematically modeled the coupling between eelgrass blade bending and current flow. Based on the balance of forces of drag, lift, friction, weight, and buoyancy on a single blade, the model defined the bending of the blades (height of canopy) and the response of the flow within and above the canopy. This coupling was tested using laboratory data and indicated that the model performed adequately. Both model results and laboratory data confirmed that the bending of the blades, and hence the height of the canopy, was very sensitive to the magnitude of the current and directly influenced the current profile. Identifying this height is a major factor in defining the spatial distribution of the grass biomass from optical or acoustical remote sensing devices. The model has direct implications for biological issues related to the plants and their associated organisms such as the vertical distribution of photosynthesis within the canopy and the effect of current shear on the recruitment of organisms on the blades. It can also be used to study how eelgrass canopies affect the horizontal transport of constituents such as dissolved oxygen, nutrients, and organic carbon, and particulate material such as pollen, larvae, plankton, and detritus.