Assemblage of encrusting organisms on floating marine debris along the west coast of Qatar

The floating marine debris (FMD) and the associated rafting communities are one of the major stressors to ecosystem services, global biodiversity, economy, and human health. In this study, assemblages of encrusting organisms on different types of stranded FMD along the west coast of Qatar, Arabian Gulf (hereafter referred to as 'Gulf') were examined. The analysis showed 18 fouling species belonging to 5 phyla (Annelida, Anthropoda, Bryozoa, Mollusca and Porifera) on the FMD. The most abundant fouling species were the encrusting Amphibalanus amphitrite, polychaete Spirobranchus kraussii, Bryozoan species and Megabalanus coccopoma. More number of taxa were found on larger size FMD than on smaller FMD. Some of the barnacle rafting types were found to be non-indigenous species. The central and northwestern parts of Qatar had more FMD and fouled species than in other locations. The present study confirmed that huge amount of bio-fouled FMD items, causing great damage to biodiversity, drift in the surface layer of ocean under the influence of coastal dynamics, and eventually strand onto the beaches. We propose a simple, but an effective management plan for FMD and associated organisms at regional scale to restore the biodiversity, sustainability and health of the marine ecosystem in the Gulf

Sources, spatial distribution and characteristics of marine litter along the west coast of Qatar

The spatial distribution, sources and characteristics of marine litter (ML) from 36 locations spread over 12 beaches along the west coast of Qatar have been assessed. A total of 2376 ML items with varying sizes were found with an average abundance of 1.98 items/m2. The order of abundance of ML along the coast was as follows: plastics (71.4%) > metal (9.3%) > glass (5.1%) > paper (4.4%) > fabric (4.0%) > rubber (3.9%) > processed wood (2.0%). Locations in the south and northwest coasts of Qatar had significantly higher concentrations of ML. Surprisingly, nearly 47% of the beached polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles were derived from the countries bordering the Arabian/Persian Gulf (Gulf), and most of them were produced in the last 2 years. The plastic materials were drifted by winds and currents to the Qatar coast. Gulf circulation provides evidence to the pathways of ML beached on the Qatar coast.We acknowledge ORS, QU for awarding the Project (QUEX-ESC-QP-TM-18/19), funded by the Qatar Petroleum

Microplastics in the beach sediments around the Ras Rakan Island, Qatar

The ubiquitous microplastic (MP) pollution is an emerging environmental issue in the marine environment. In this study, historical accumulation trends of MPs in the beach sediments around the Ras Rakan Island of Qatar have been established. The vertical distribution of MPs ranged from 0 to 665 particles/kg with maximum abundance at the surface layer (0-5 cm). Pellets were the dominant type of MPs in the surface sediments, whereas fibers were dominant in the bottom sediments. The polymer composition of MPs was identified using Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Polystyrene (EPS) were the abundant polymers present in the sediments. High MP concentrations were found in the western and northern parts of the island. The prevailing winds, waves, tides and currents are the forces responsible for the distribution and transport of MPs from the offshore to the island and further to vertical re-distribution as time progresses. The level of MP pollution along the Coast of Ras Rakan Island was higher than that found on the coast of mainland Qatar. This informs that remote islands should also be considered for MP pollution monitoring to assess the risk associated with MP on the biota

Spatial distribution, structural characterization and weathering of tarmats along the west coast of Qatar

Oil pollution resulting from natural and anthropogenic activities in the Arabian Gulf as well as oil residue in the form of tarmat (TM) deposited on the coast is a major environmental concern. The spatial distribution, chemical composition and weathering pattern of tarmat along the west coast of Qatar has been assessed based on the TM samples collected from 12 coastal regions. The range of TM distribution is 0–104 g m−1 with an average value of 9.25 g m−1. Though the current TM level is thirty-fold lesser than that was found during 1993–1997 (average 290 g m−1), the distribution pattern is similar. The results of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy indicate that aromatic compounds are higher in the north (N) coast TMs than those found in the northwest (NW) and southwest (SW) coasts, and Carbonyl Index values indicate that TM of NW coast is highly weathered compared to those found in the N and SW coasts.ORS, QU Project (QUEX-ESC-QP-TM-18/19), funded by the Qatar Petroleum

Extreme value analysis of wave climate around Farasan Islands, southern Red Sea

The study investigates extreme value analysis of wave climate around the Farasan islands’ protected coastal zone in the southern Red Sea. It provides an overall idea of the extreme wave conditions in the southern Red Sea, which are influenced by the Indian monsoon and local climates as well as by the effect of complex topography due to the presence of corals and high steepness in the bathymetry. The significant wave height return levels for the select shallow and deep regions around the Farasan islands are estimated using extreme value models; Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) and Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD). Both block maxima and annual maxima methods are used in the GEV and GPD established with Peak Over Threshold (POT). The GPD method gives more reliable return level estimates compared to GEV. The trend analysis shows that, the trends of near extremes (90th and 95th percentile Hs) are significant in the offshore regions around the Farasan Islands, but not significant in the nearshore regions. The seasonal analysis indicate that the seasonal estimates of extreme Hs are more reliable than annual estimates considering the differences in the seasonal wave generation mechanisms over the region.Grant No. ZDBS-LY-7011, West Light Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No.Y9XB011B01), Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, China (Grant No. 18DZ1206500) and Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, China (Grant No. 2019-4); JMA was supported by Qatar Petroleum

Propagation of Atlantic Ocean swells in the north Indian Ocean: A case study

10.5194/nhess-12-3605-2012Natural Hazards and Earth System Science12123605-361

Coastal circulation along the central west coast of India during cyclone Phyan: Measurements and numerical simulations

10.1007/s11069-012-0228-zNatural Hazards641259-27

The maxima in northerly wind speeds and wave heights over the Arabian Sea, the Arabian/Persian Gulf and the Red Sea derived from 40 years of ERA5 data

Recent studies point out the importance of northerly winds and waves in the Arabian Sea, especially those due to shamal and makran events in addition to the northeast monsoon system. We have analyzed climatology and trends of northerly maximum wind speed and significant wave height (Hs) in the Arabian Sea and the connected marginal seas, Arabian/Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, during non-monsoon season derived from 40 years of ERA5 wind and wave data, and estimated monthly, annual and decadal extreme climate and their trends. The study brings out an increasing trend in the northerly maximum wind speed (0.8–1.2 cm/s/year) and Hs (0.42–0.88 cm/year) in the southern and central Arabian Sea, which is consistent with the global trend in extreme wind speed and Hs. The northern Arabian Sea including the Sea of Oman exhibits significant decreasing trend in northerly maximum wind speed (− 1.4 cm/s/year) and Hs (− 0.67 cm/year), while the Gulf and the Red Sea exhibit sectorial contrasting trend, indicating the dominance of localized effects in modifying the regional climate. Distinct features identified in the climate and trends of northerly winds and waves are further discussed.The project is funded under the IRCC International Research Co-Fund Collaboration Program of QU and NIO, executed through ORS, QU (IRCC-2019-002)

Wave transformation and attenuation along the west coast of India: Measurements and numerical simulations

10.1142/S0578563413500010Coastal Engineering Journal551-CEJO