0000000000075325
AUTHOR
Abdelfattah Atoui
Assessment of surface sediment dynamics and response of benthic macrofauna assemblages in Boughrara Lagoon (SW Mediterranean Sea)
International audience; A study was conducted in the spring of 2009, the winters of 2010 and 2013, and in the summer of 2012 at 13 stations in Boughrara Lagoon, Tunisia (southern Mediterranean). The country’s largest lagoon, it is considered to be an anthropogenically stressed area, though a major tourist centre—Djerba Island—is located along its northern shores. The lagoon bottoms were studied via analyses of grain size, surface sediment composition, total organic matter (TOM) and through the trophic and functional organisation of benthic macrofauna. The results indicate that the bottoms are composed of fine, medium or coarse sands and that sediment distribution is controlled by water move…
Dynamics of sediments along with their core properties in the Monastir-Bekalta coastline (Tunisia, Central Mediterranean)
International audience; The authors report on two campaigns of high-resolution samplings along the shores of Monastir Bay in Tunisia: the first being a study of sediment dynamics, grain size and mineral composition in surface sediment, and the second, eight months later, using four sediment cores to study grain-size distribution in bottom sediments. Particle size analysis of superficial sediment shows that the sand in shallow depths is characterized by S-shaped curves, indicating a certain degree of agitation, possible transport by rip currents near the bottom and hyperbolic curves illustrating heterogeneity of sand stock. The sediments settle in a relatively calm environment. Along the bay…
Surface sediment dynamics along the shore of Hammamet Gulf (Tunisia, southern Mediterranean)
International audience; In the summer of 2015 the authors analysed grain size and surface sediment composition through high spatial resolution from samples taken at 53 stations along the Hammamet coast (southern Mediterranean Sea). The Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler deployed in this study showed that the surface current flows toward the north-east, parallel to the coast at a maximum speed along the main axis of about 5.9 cm s−1. Near the bottom the current flows toward the north-west at a maximum speed of 2.2 cm s−1. The tide plays a relatively small role in water circulation in Hammamet Gulf. Spatial distribution of particle size, along with speed and current direction analysis, furnish…
Assessing surface sediment dynamics along the north-west coast of Marsa Dhouiba (Tunisia, southern Mediterranean)
International audience; An investigation was conducted from summer 2012 to winter 2013 at 25 stations along the Tunisian coast near Kef Abbed at Marsa Dhouiba (north-east Mediterranean Sea) to analyse grain size, sediment mineralogy and currents. Particle-size analysis shows that sand deposits at shallow depths are characterised by S-shaped curves, indicating a degree of agitation and possible transport by rip currents near the bottom. At greater depths (between 10 and 30 m), the bottom is covered by coarse sand and gravel. A current was observed transporting sediment eastward along the coast; another seaward current was also noted. Generated by wind, swell and especially waves from west to…