Abstract
Water movement is probably the most important factor influencing life in the interstices of sandy beaches. In order to better understand this ecosystem, e.g. the distribution and migration of interstitial fauna and overall energy transfer, measurements of water flow through high energy beaches were made on the Atlantic coast of the USA. Special hot thermistor-probes and associated electronic circuits were built, capable of measuring water-flow velocity down to less than 10 μm/sec. These were buried in the sand at various depths and locations in the intertidal zone and the flow velocity recorded continuously for one or more tidal cycles. In addition, an orientation sensor was constructed and used together with the flow probe so that a picture of the flow patterns in the intertidal zone of a beach and their changes during a tidal pattern could be developed and defined quantitatively.
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Communicated by O. Kinne, Hamburg
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Riedl, R.J., Machan, R. Hydrodynamic patterns in lotic intertidal sands and their bioclimatological implications. Mar. Biol. 13, 179–209 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391378
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391378