Coastal Ocean Microclimates: Temperature Dynamics in Nearshore Kelp Forests of Isla Natividad, Baja California, Mexico
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Kelp forests are resource-rich coastal ecosystems that provide livelihoods to coastal communities. Climate change is negatively impacting these ecosystems through heat waves, acidification and hypoxia. Nearshore transport and mixing, combined with coastline morphology, can result in refuges from these stressors in kelp forests. Such refuges have been identified in Isla Natividad, B. C., Mexico but their characterization is still in progress. This study focuses on 4 locations transected with a linear configuration of 3 moorings perpendicular to the coast, with 3-7 temperature sensors cabled to each mooring line. Local oceanographic variability was analyzed using spectral methods on temperature and pressure data, satellite imagery of synoptic events, and linear interpolation of binned current data in the vertical axis. The high spatial resolution of this study shows that tidal frequencies are stronger near the seafloor, although not necessarily attributed to tidal wave forcing, and surface heat forcing is stronger near the surface. Greater distance from the shore reduces the role of kelp in current dampening, where stronger surface currents result in lower coherence between surface and bottom of the water column at moorings further from shore. Frequencies of temperature oscillation drive the residence time of some water masses, affecting the length of exposure of organisms to extreme temperature ranges, and tend to fall in lower frequencies at the west side compared to the east side. However, weather events such as hurricanes can impact both sides of the island and the resilience of existing climate refuges to such events is uncertain. Increased frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change might decrease the effectiveness of climate refuges in coastal ecosystems, reducing survival and resilience of organisms that inhabit them. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of these coastal microclimates as climate refuges is critical to their consideration and use in marine spatial planning and conservation.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | [ca. June 13, 2019] |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Sancho-Gallegos, Diego Alvaro |
|---|---|
| Advisor | Dunbar, Rob |
| Primary advisor | Monismith, Stephen |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Earth Systems Program |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy and Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Subject | Earth Systems Program |
| Subject | coastal oceanography |
| Subject | marine refuges |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Sancho-Gallegos, Diego Alvaro. (2019). Coastal Ocean Microclimates: Temperature Dynamics in Nearshore Kelp Forests of Isla Natividad, Baja California, Mexico. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/mr423sm2109
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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- diesanchog@gmail.com
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