John R. Gardner, Martin W. Doyle, Scott H. Ensign, David M. Kahler
{"title":"A new metric for sunlight exposure in rivers, lakes, and oceans","authors":"John R. Gardner, Martin W. Doyle, Scott H. Ensign, David M. Kahler","doi":"10.1002/lol2.10365","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Vertical motion is an important driver of sunlight exposure in aquatic environments, shaping the growth and fate of materials and organisms. We derive a simple model accounting for turbulent depth fluctuations of particles to predict the depth that contributes the most sunlight exposure (effective depth) as well as the single depth that, if measured at one place over time, produces the same total sunlight exposure as a moving particle (functional depth). Field measurements of light and depth in rivers using neutrally buoyant drifters and buoys validate our model. Effective depth varied from 0.1 to 1.5 m below the water surface and was ~ 30% of the overall water depth on average. Functional depth varied from 0.67 to 2.3 m and was ~ 50% of the overall water depth on average. Functional and effective depth are physically based concepts incorporating turbulent motion, spatial variability, and water clarity offering new approaches to characterize light exposure in aquatic environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":18128,"journal":{"name":"Limnology and Oceanography Letters","volume":"9 2","pages":"128-134"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/lol2.10365","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Limnology and Oceanography Letters","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lol2.10365","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"LIMNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Vertical motion is an important driver of sunlight exposure in aquatic environments, shaping the growth and fate of materials and organisms. We derive a simple model accounting for turbulent depth fluctuations of particles to predict the depth that contributes the most sunlight exposure (effective depth) as well as the single depth that, if measured at one place over time, produces the same total sunlight exposure as a moving particle (functional depth). Field measurements of light and depth in rivers using neutrally buoyant drifters and buoys validate our model. Effective depth varied from 0.1 to 1.5 m below the water surface and was ~ 30% of the overall water depth on average. Functional depth varied from 0.67 to 2.3 m and was ~ 50% of the overall water depth on average. Functional and effective depth are physically based concepts incorporating turbulent motion, spatial variability, and water clarity offering new approaches to characterize light exposure in aquatic environments.
期刊介绍:
Limnology and Oceanography Letters (LO-Letters) serves as a platform for communicating the latest innovative and trend-setting research in the aquatic sciences. Manuscripts submitted to LO-Letters are expected to present high-impact, cutting-edge results, discoveries, or conceptual developments across all areas of limnology and oceanography, including their integration. Selection criteria for manuscripts include their broad relevance to the field, strong empirical and conceptual foundations, succinct and elegant conclusions, and potential to advance knowledge in aquatic sciences.