76 research outputs found
Satellite remote sensing reveals a positive impact of living oyster reefs on microalgal biofilm development
Satellite remote sensing (RS) is routinely used for the large-scale monitoring of microphytobenthos (MPB) biomass in intertidal mudflats and has greatly improved our knowledge of MPB spatio-temporal variability and its potential drivers. Processes operating on smaller scales however, such as the impact of benthic macrofauna on MPB development, to date remain underinvestigated. In this study, we analysed the influence of wild Crassostrea gigas oyster reefs on MPB biofilm development using multispectral RS. A 30-year time series (1985-2015) combining high-resolution (30 m) Landsat and SPOT data was built in order to explore the relationship between C. gigas reefs and MPB spatial distribution and seasonal dynamics, using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Emphasis was placed on the analysis of a before-after control-impact (BACI) experiment designed to assess the effect of oyster killing on the surrounding MPB biofilms. Our RS data reveal that the presence of oyster reefs positively affects MPB biofilm development. Analysis of the historical time series first showed the presence of persistent, highly concentrated MPB patches around oyster reefs. This observation was supported by the BACI experiment which showed that killing the oysters (while leaving the physical reef structure, i.e. oyster shells, intact) negatively affected both MPB biofilm biomass and spatial stability around the reef. As such, our results are consistent with the hypothesis of nutrient input as an explanation for the MPB growth-promoting effect of oysters, whereby organic and inorganic matter released through oyster excretion and biodeposition stimulates MPB biomass accumulation. MPB also showed marked seasonal variations in biomass and patch shape, size and degree of aggregation around the oyster reefs. Seasonal variations in biomass, with higher NDVI during spring and autumn, were consistent with those observed on broader scales in other European mudflats. Our study provides the first multi-sensor RS satellite evidence of the promoting and structuring effect of oyster reefs on MPB biofilms
Remote Sensing-Driven Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) Growth Modeling to Inform Offshore Aquaculture Site Selection
Aquaculture increasingly contributes to global seafood production, requiring new farm sites for continued growth. In France, oyster cultivation has conventionally taken place in the intertidal zone, where there is little or no further room for expansion. Despite interest in moving production further offshore, more information is needed regarding the biological potential for offshore oyster growth, including its spatial and temporal variability. This study shows the use of remotely-sensed chlorophyll-a and total suspended matter concentrations retrieved from the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), and sea surface temperature from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), all validated using in situ matchup measurements, as input to run a Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) PaciïŹc oyster growth model for a study site along the French Atlantic coast (Bourgneuf Bay, France). Resulting oyster growth maps were calibrated and validated using in situ measurements of total oyster weight made throughout two growing seasons, from the intertidal zone, where cultivation currently takes place, and from experimental offshore sites, for both spat (R2 = 0.91; RMSE = 1.60 g) and adults (R2 = 0.95; RMSE = 4.34 g). Oyster growth time series are further digested into industry-relevant indicators, such as time to achieve market weight and quality index, elaborated in consultation with local producers and industry professionals, and which are also mapped. Offshore growth is found to be feasible and to be as much as two times faster than in the intertidal zone (p < 0.001). However, the potential for growth is also revealed to be highly variable across the investigated area. Mapping reveals a clear spatial gradient in production potential in the offshore environment, with the northeastern segment of the bay far better suited than the southwestern. Results also highlight the added value of spatiotemporal data, such as satellite image time series, to drive modeling in support of marine spatial planning. The current work demonstrates the feasibility and beneïŹt of such a coupled remote sensing modeling approach within a shellïŹsh farming context, responding to real and current interests of oyster producers
Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) growth modelling and indicators for offshore aquaculture in Europe under climate change uncertainty
Aquaculture development in Europe, while critical to the European Union (EU) Blue Growth strategy, has
stagnated over the past decades due largely to high competition for space in the nearshore coastal zone among
potential uses and the lack of clear priorities, policy, and planning at EU and national scales. Broad Marine
Spatial Planning, including the designation of Allocated Zones for Aquaculture, requires spatial data at the
corresponding broad spatial scale, which has not been readily available, as well as model projections to assess
potential impacts of climate change. Here, daily chlorophyll-a, water temperature, salinity, and current speed
outputs from a marine ecosystem model encompassing the coastal North East Atlantic, the North Sea, and the
Mediterranean Sea (the pan-European POLCOMS-ERSEM model configuration) are used to drive a Dynamic
Energy Budget growth model of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas). Areas broadly suitable for growth were idenïżœtified using threshold tolerance range masking applied using the model variables mentioned above, as well as
bathymetry data. Oyster growth time series were transformed into simplified indicators that are meaningful to
the industry (e.g., time to market weight) and mapped. In addition to early-century indicator maps, modelling
and mapping were also carried out for two contrasting late-century climate change projections, following
representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5. Areas found to have good oyster growth potential now and
into the future were further assessed in terms of their climate robustness (i.e., where oyster growth predictions
are comparable between different future climate scenarios). Several areas within Europe were highlighted as
priority areas for the development of offshore Pacific oyster cultivation, including coastal waters along the
French Atlantic, the southern North Sea, and western Scotland and Ireland. A large potential growth hot spot was
also identified along northwestern Africa, associated with a cool, productive upwelling coastal zone. The
framework proposed here offers a flexible approach to include a large range of ecological input data, climate and
ecosystem model scenarios, aquaculture-related models, species of interest, indicator types, and tolerance
thresholds. Such information is suggested to be included in more extensive spatial assessments and planning,
along with further socioeconomic and environmental data
Satellite remote sensing reveals a positive impact of living oyster reefs on microalgal biofilm development
Satellite remote sensing (RS) is routinely used for the large-scale monitoring of microphytobenthos (MPB) biomass in intertidal mudflats and has greatly improved our knowledge of MPB spatio-temporal variability and its potential drivers. Processes operating on smaller scales however, such as the impact of benthic macrofauna on MPB development, to date remain underinvestigated. In this study, we analysed the influence of wild Crassostrea gigas oyster reefs on MPB biofilm development using multispectral RS. A 30-year time series (1985â2015) combining high-resolution (30âŻm) Landsat and SPOT data was built in order to explore the relationship between C. gigas reefs and MPB spatial distribution and seasonal dynamics, using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Emphasis was placed on the analysis of a beforeâafter control-impact (BACI) experiment designed to assess the effect of oyster killing on the surrounding MPB biofilms. Our RS data reveal that the presence of oyster reefs positively affects MPB biofilm development. Analysis of the historical time series first showed the presence of persistent, highly concentrated MPB patches around oyster reefs. This observation was supported by the BACI experiment which showed that killing the oysters (while leaving the physical reef structure, i.e. oyster shells, intact) negatively affected both MPB biofilm biomass and spatial stability around the reef. As such, our results are consistent with the hypothesis of nutrient input as an explanation for the MPB growth-promoting effect of oysters, whereby organic and inorganic matter released through oyster excretion and biodeposition stimulates MPB biomass accumulation. MPB also showed marked seasonal variations in biomass and patch shape, size and degree of aggregation around the oyster reefs. Seasonal variations in biomass, with higher NDVI during spring and autumn, were consistent with those observed on broader scales in other European mudflats. Our study provides the first multi-sensor RS satellite evidence of the promoting and structuring effect of oyster reefs on MPB biofilms
Orbital effects of a monochromatic plane gravitational wave with ultra-low frequency incident on a gravitationally bound two-body system
We analytically compute the long-term orbital variations of a test particle
orbiting a central body acted upon by an incident monochromatic plane
gravitational wave. We assume that the characteristic size of the perturbed
two-body system is much smaller than the wavelength of the wave. Moreover, we
also suppose that the wave's frequency is much smaller than the particle's
orbital one. We make neither a priori assumptions about the direction of the
wavevector nor on the orbital geometry of the planet. We find that, while the
semi-major axis is left unaffected, the eccentricity, the inclination, the
longitude of the ascending node, the longitude of pericenter and the mean
anomaly undergo non-vanishing long-term changes. They are not secular trends
because of the slow modulation introduced by the tidal matrix coefficients and
by the orbital elements themselves. They could be useful to indepenedently
constrain the ultra-low frequency waves which may have been indirectly detected
in the BICEP2 experiment. Our calculation holds, in general, for any
gravitationally bound two-body system whose characteristic frequency is much
larger than the frequency of the external wave. It is also valid for a generic
perturbation of tidal type with constant coefficients over timescales of the
order of the orbital period of the perturbed particle.Comment: LaTex2e, 24 pages, no figures, no tables. Changes suggested by the
referees include
Recent trend reversal for declining European seagrass meadows
Seagrass meadows, key ecosystems supporting fisheries, carbon sequestration and coastal
protection, are globally threatened. In Europe, loss and recovery of seagrasses are reported,
but the changes in extent and density at the continental scale remain unclear. Here we collate
assessments of changes from 1869 to 2016 and show that 1/3 of European seagrass area was
lost due to disease, deteriorated water quality, and coastal development, with losses peaking
in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, loss rates slowed down for most of the species and fastgrowing
species recovered in some locations, making the net rate of change in seagrass area
experience a reversal in the 2000s, while density metrics improved or remained stable in
most sites. Our results demonstrate that decline is not the generalised state among seagrasses
nowadays in Europe, in contrast with global assessments, and that deceleration and
reversal of declining trends is possible, expectingly bringing back the services they provide
Length Sensing and Control in the Virgo Gravitational Wave Interferometer
The gravitational wave detector Virgo is presently being commissioned. A significant part of last year was spent in setting up the cavity length control system. This work was carried out with steps of increasing complexity: locking a simple Fabry-Perot cavity, then a Michelson interferometer with Fabry-Perot cavities in both arms, and finally recycling the light beam into the interferometer. The applied strategy and the main results obtained are describe
The Virgo interferometric gravitational antenna
Submitted to: Class. Quantum Grav.The interferometric gravitational wave detectors represent the ultimate evolution of the classical Michelson interferometer. In order to measure the signal produced by the passage of a gravitational wave, they aim to reach unprecedent sensitivities in measuring the relative displacements of the mirrors. One of them , the 3-km-long Virgo gravitational wave antenna, which will be particularly sensitive in the low frequency range (10-100 Hz), is presently in its commissioning phase. In this paper the various techniques developed in order to reach its target extreme performance are outlined
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