| Affiliation: | (1) School of Mathematics, University of New South Wales, 2052 Sydney, Australia;(2) Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, La Jolla, CA 92093-0218, USA;(3) School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, 2052 Sydney, Australia |
| Abstract: | Previous research has identified a relationship between the rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy,  , and the mass-transfer-limited rate of uptake by a surface, herein called the 1/4 law, and suggests this law may be applicable to nutrient uptake on coral reefs. To test this suggestion, nitrate uptake rate and gravitational potential energy loss have been measured for a section of Warraber Island reef flat, Torres Strait, northern Australia. The reef flat section is 3 km long, with a 3 m tidal range, and on the days measured, subject to 6 m s–1 tradewinds. The measured nitrate uptake coefficient, S , on two consecutive days during the rising tide was 1.23±0.28 and 1.42±0.52×10–4 m s–1. The measured loss of gravitational potential energy across the reef flat,  GPE , on the same rising tides over a 178 m section was 208±24 and 161±20 kg m–1 s–2. Assuming the GPE is dissipated as turbulent kinetic energy in the water column, and using the 1/4 law, the mass-transfer-limited nitrate uptake coefficient, SMTL , on the two days was 1.57±0.03 and 1.45±0.04×10–4 m s–1. Nitrate uptake on Warraber Island reef flat is close to the mass-transfer limit, and is determined by oceanographic nitrate concentrations and energy climate.Communicated by B.C. Hatcher |
