OCEANOGRAPHY

Author: COMERMA PIÑA ERIC.
Year: 2003.
University: POLITÉCNICA DE CATALUÑA [www.upc.edu].
Place of defense: ETSECCPB. UPC..
Place of preparation: EDIFICI D1 Campus NORD.

Summary: One of the major problems affecting the marine environment are repeated episodes of oil pollution. A major oil spill caused by accident must add an annual volume almost identical, because of operational discharges, waste or derived from the increasing use of fossil fuels. In the case of oil spills are terrible economic consequences for the affected regions. But on the other hand, the rate of chronic pollution just damaging virtually unrecoverable in the marine ecosystem and coastal resources. In response to the concerns of a society increasingly sensitive to environmental problems, the present thesis arises development of numerical forecasting tools to support crisis management by marine pollution. First, it analyzes the major sources of oil pollution at sea, as well as its major socio-economic and environmental consequences. On the other hand, describes the tools available for the prevention and forecasting, key support in decision-making over the management of a similar crisis. There are two different frameworks in which they can develop such tools: Contingency Plans and Operational Oceanography. He then reviews the current state of knowledge on the set of physical and chemical processes affecting the oil spilled into the sea. The main objective is to assess the processes of degradation and transport of hydrocarbons in the marine environment, in order to implement the necessary formulations in a numerical forecasting tool. The oil spilled into the sea split into different phases: evaporated, dissolved, dispersed and floating. For each of these phases can be distinguished on the one hand the main forcings transport to be taken into account in the hydrodynamic and transport modeling, and on the other hand, the physical and chemical processes that modify the properties of pollutant as defined in the model degradation. Thus, the models are coupled by introducing changes in the rheology of the contaminant and mass transfer between different phases. Finally, it implements modeling several case studies, two different scales of resolution. To do so, use two different approaches to the modeling of transport: the approach euleriano for small scales and the Lagrangian approach to regional scales. The processes of transportation and aging will be better or worse reproduced in modeling depending on the scale and the approach used.

Author: SCHUCHARDT LENOIR DOMINIQUE.
Year: 2004.
University: LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA [www.ulpgc.es].
Place of defense: FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS BÁSICAS.
Place of preparation: FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS BÁSICAS.

Summary: If we look closely the situation of fisheries, we can contemplate not reaching the allowable catch 100 tonnes only making 85 t. Because of this and the continuing population increase aquaculture taken force to help with the supply of fish. The annual growth of aquaculture is 9.2%, and if you look at consumption of fish aquaculture supplies more than half. But when we talk about aquaculture in the Mediterranean and we are concentrating on fish the vast majority of companies engaged in growing the golden bass. This has ensured that the markets saturen and force prices down due to a large supply and not the same demand. E therefore that for the sustainability of aquaculture in the Mediterranean one of the next steps is diversifying into new species. One of these species is the bocinegro because of its many positive attributes such as its high market value, rapid growth and its large geographical area of distribution that facilitates and opens markets for onward sale. The species bocinegros (Pagrus pagrus) is a candidate for diversification of aquaculture business for its high market value and steady, fast growth and good adaptability to the conditions of crops. With this kind has devoted a great deal of effort by researchers in order to be a candidate for aquaculture business. Most studies have been devoted to the biology of this animal breeding and larval crop. However, little research has been devoted to nutrition in captivity. Only Divanach et al. (1995) conducted a study with fattening feed for the European golden observed in these studies a conversion rate of 3.5 and food such as a 1.5 higher than for a gold. With these results it has been concluded that the bocinegro is a espárido like the dora but their nutritional requirements differ from this and therefore there is a need to explore the requirements of proteins that are the most expensive and major nutrients of a diet fish. The results of this study indicate that this species is its requirement of 50% protein for optimal growth. Another study in this work is to find out the source of carbohydrates that best results for growth and digestibility of the diet. The result of that experience was that the extruded corn starch is more favorable for the species. Once observed that there was a new experience protein / energy to see if there was an alternative effect of lipid protein that could help in future lower cost of feed. But is this study was observed again that the best diet was the 50/15 protein / lipid results similar to the first experiment, thus failing to observe an effect of lipid protein substitute. As observed in this work and not to observe an effect alternative is raising this could be due to the protein quality of fishmeal and therefore for the fourth experiment was decided to replace partially protein fish meal by meal krill, as this is more akin to food in its natural environment that consists of crustaceans. In this study, the results were that if improved growth but no significant differences were observed and the control diet (50/15) was improved by partial replacement of the protein flour krill. But if you look at this experience and look only diets with fishmeal noted that the best diet was 45/20 being here an effect substitute for lipid protein that was not seen before.

Author: CERVIÑO LÓPEZ SANTIAGO.
Year: 2004.
University: VIGO [www.uvigo.es].
Place of defense: FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS.
Place of preparation: UNIVERSIDAD DE VIGO.

Summary: This thesis examines the role of uncertainty in the evaluation of fisheries. Given the breadth of the subject, the study focuses on the analysis of one of the sources of information necessary for the assessment, which are the indices of abundance by age obtained through campaigns bottom trawling. The methods are intensive methods of calculation, known as a bootstrap and Monte Carlo methods. The work is carried out through simulations and following a specific case, which is the campaign and evaluation of the stock of cod in the Flemish Cap in Newfoundland. The thesis is divided into three chapters: the first, presents the design bootstrap applied to the calculation of the uncertainty of the age-abundance of cod stocks on the Flemish Cap, looks at the various sources of uncertainty and provides examples of how applying this approach to improving the design of the campaign. The second chapter discusses a model structured by age, XSA; methods are used Monte Carlo simulation show that some of the problems of the model as an underestimation of the error or an overestimation of plenty. The third chapter is a comparative study of four bootstrap methods applied to the assessment of the population under study. The indices of abundance by age is a key component in the evaluation of fisheries and the results show the importance of looking at all aspects of the structure of the error of these (variance and covariance bias) in providing advice scientific necessary for the regulation of fisheries.

Author: MARTIN DE NASCIMENTO JACOBO.
Year: 2005.
University: POLITÉCNICA DE CATALUÑA [www.upc.edu].
Place of defense: L'ICM, Pg. Marítim de la Barceloneta.
Place of preparation: EDIFICI D1 Campus NORD.

Summary: The present thesis focuses on the transfer and accumulation of particulate matter in the Palamós Canyon, located in the Northwestern Mediterranean. In the context of the CANYONS project, 7 moorings with a total of 7 sediment traps and 18 current meters (some of them equipped with turbidimeters) were deployed in the Palamós submarine canyon and adjacent slope from March to November 2001, during two consecutive deployments. Total mass fluxes, major constituents (organic carbon, opal, calcium carbonate and lithogenics) contents and fluxes, granulometry and 210Pb activity of particulate matter from sediment trap samples were analysed. Horizontal fluxes of suspended particulate matter were calculated from the current meter/nephelometer pairs. Additionally, three sediment cores were collected in the canyon axis and dated with the radionuclides 210Pb and 137Cs. Downward particle fluxes measured in the Palamós Canyon were highly variable and significantly higher than those measured in other Northwestern Mediterranean canyons at similar depths. This high sedimentological activity is related to the morphological characteristics of the canyon and the fact that it incises almost the full width of the continental shelf, with the canyon head located a few kilometres from the coastline. Besides, the steep canyon walls and the gullies incised in the walls enhance the transference of particles from the shelf and upper slope into the canyon. The results evidence that the Palamós Canyon acts as a preferential path for offshore export ofparticulate matter. This difference was further heightened during a major storm in November 2001. The spatial-temporal distribution of total mass fluxes and major constituents allowed two domains to be defined in the Palamós Canyon: an inner domain (up to 1200 m depth) constricted by the canyon topography and mainly influenced by the lateral transport of particulate matter from the adjoining shelf, and an outer domain, where slope dynamics and seasonal trends are more important in determining the composition and amount of downward fluxes. The regional current (Northern Current) flows over the canyon little affected by the underlying topography at depths of 150-250 m depth. At intermediate levels of the water column (400-500 m depth), the water flow is strongly affected by the canyon topography in the inner domain, promoting a closed circulation. In the southern side of the canyon, the mean cross-canyon flow is deflected offshore along the south canyon wall. The current is apparently weaker at the south than at the north canyon wall, allowing particles to settle out of the water column in the latter. Near the bottom (12 meters above), two main mechanisms of horizontal particle transport were identified: 1) Transport driven by the mean water flow. Along the canyon axis, a relatively weak net sediment flux is directed up-canyon, while in the canyon walls it is directed offshore; 2) Sporadic sediment gravity, which dominated largely the net near-bottom sediment transport during the study period, especially at 1200 and 1700 m depth in the canyon axis, but also in the southern wall at 1300 m depth, changing a weak advective net particle flux into a strong cross- and down-canyon sediment transport at these sites. Most of the sediment gravity flows at 1200 m depth were not caused by natural processes. Instead, they were triggered by trawling activities in the north canyon rim and channeled towards the canyon axis through a gully deeply incised in the canyon wall.

Author: COCA SAEZ DE ALBENIZ JOSEP.
Year: 2005.
University: LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA [www.ulpgc.es].
Place of defense: FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DEL MAR.
Place of preparation: FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DEL MAR.

Summary: The physiological characteristics of albacore, related endotermia determine behavior selective fish compared to ocean environment. This paper characterizes an oceanic environment from four variables measures geophysical satellite (sea surface temperature, concentration of chlorophyll, sea level anomaly and Ekman pumping). This environment is related to artisanal fisheries Basque albacore. The visual analysis of catches on maps for the different variables geophysical allowed for a preliminary relationships with them and was very helpful in deciding which variables drawn from satellite data. The scatter plots between catch per unit effort (CPUE) and the value of different variables drawn at the point of capture, and histograms of variables drawn at the point of capture enabled the traits of different variables on the occurring catches. The multiple linear regression methods helped explain the CPUE rates reached 62% from models obtained with the variables of remote sensing and derived variables. The discriminant analysis yielded functions discriminated well CPUE levels high and low ranges, but not for average CPUE. The binary logistic regression was able to sort quite well (80%) between the CPUE grouped into high and low. The models used variables drawn to different lapson time which showed the importance of a delayed impact on CPUE. Based on models derived from the multivariate analysis, probability maps were constructed using the remote sensing data. The models were applied to the whole area except for the areas where values of the variables geophysical exceeded the ranges over which were distributed catches. It was assumed that these areas exceed ranges were not suitable for fishing for albacore. Generating maps using probability models, masking areas that exceeded the ranges and drawing on the actual catch them, resulting in consistent results both in terms of space and time, in relation to catch periods and areas of fishing.

Author: EL KHATAB MOHAMED.
Year: 2005.
University: POLITÉCNICA DE CATALUÑA [www.upc.edu].
Place of defense: C.Internacional de Mètodes Numèrics en Enginyeria.
Place of preparation: EDIFICI D1 Campus NORD.

Summary: This thesis has been funded projects âFLUXALBâ funded by the âComisión International Science and Tecnologíasâ and âCANYONâ funded by the âDirección General of Higher Education and Research Científicaâ. The study area was the depositional system of submarine canyon Guadiaro. He was chosen because: 1) is related to the Guadiaro River that is not affected by dams and presents a wealth permanent 2) the continental shelf near the Guadiaro submarine canyon is the closest Alboran Sea Northwest, and they have the high biological productivity. The objective of this thesis is to showcase the dynamics of sedimentary materials and heavy metals associated with it in the northwestern margin of Alboran Sea. The texture, sediment geochemistry recent sediment accumulation rates and their major components (organic and inorganic) were also studied. Below is a list of chapters that make up the argument with a brief introduction to each of them: In the first chapter, is considered the importance of the continental margin and submarine canyons in the transfer of matter, energy and heavy metals partners from the platform toward the deep zone. Closing the chapter gives an idea of pathways and factors that control the distribution of heavy metals once they reach the marine environment. The second chapter, describes the study area, as well as morphology, climatology, the water context, productivity and the river system in the western Mediterranean. The methodology chapter describes methods used in the field and laboratory. In chapter four, explained the distribution of particulate matter in suspension in the northwestern margin of the Alboran Sea. The suspended particulate matter is distributed in three layers nefeloides permanent (surface, intermediate and defondo) and related hydrographic structures. The layer nefeloide deeper occupies nearly the entire continental slope and presents the maximum concentrations (5 mg / l) between 500 and 600 m deep. Layers nefeloides are more developed inside the barrel and are strongly related to the presence of internal waves. It also explains the timing and composition of the vertical flow of the particulate matter who introduced a distinctly seasonal, with peak values in winter and minimum in summer and autumn. During the winter, peak flows were recorded related to the increase in river discharge Guadiaro. High flows in the canyon during May and June related to resuspension caused by internal waves. The gun Guadiaro works as a depocenter sediment, rather than as a conduit for preferential transport of sediment. Chapter five deals with the flow of heavy metals. These flows are dominated by the tendency of the total mass flux. The highest flows coincided with peaks and waves higher download Guadiaro River. Heavy metals (Al, Fe, Cr, Ni) were clearly associated with input terrígenos, while the Zn and Pb with biogenic components. In the sixth chapter, discusses the texture and sediment accumulation rates, the distribution of carbon and major metals along with their rates of accumulation. It found that the sediment in the Guadiaro depositional system is mostly mud except on the edge of the shelf presence of gravel and sand biogénica very thick it is more evident that the fine material. The high rate of sediment accumulation in the canyon coincides with high vertical flow of particulate matter. The rate of accumulation of organic matter in the barrel was between 6 and 7 times greater than that of c 8 anal karma 2b8 n the western slope adjacent respectively.

Author: CAL RODRÍGUEZ ROSA M..
Year: 2005.
University: VIGO [www.uvigo.es].
Place of defense: FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS BIOLÓGICAS.
Place of preparation: FAC. DE BIOLÓGICAS - UNIVERSIDAD DE VIGO.

Summary: The objective of this study was to develop techniques to induce chromosome manipulation triploidía and ginogénesis in turbot, in order to produce lots and lots as sterile females, respectively. Moreover, checked for bonda method and the biological consequences of these manipulations to determine whether the effects observed met the expectations due, in the face explore its potential application in aquaculture of this kind. The result of research carried out on induction, and verification purposes of triploidía and ginogénesis in turbot have generated seven publications, which are reproduced as forming the main body of the report, which was supplemented by an introduction and general discussion, followed by the conclusions and peer-reviewed literature. The induction to the triploidía can be achieved without difficulty turbot by applying cold shock to the newly fertilized eggs. The triploidía in turbot induces complete sterility in females and males, and produces a significant increase in the proportion of females. The induction of triploidía does not imply higher growth in the rodabllo, however, the considerable number of female-higher growth that machos-, the lowest dispersion of sizes and reduced or no mortality after the season put observed in the populations of the triploidía makes an interesting option for aquaculture turbot, particularly in the production of large fish. The induction of ginogénesis in turbot is the sperm fertilizing the egg whose DNA has been previously inactivated with UV radiation. The initial concentration of spermatozoa is not decisive for predicting response to the effects of radiation with ultraviolet light, which suggests the presence of other factors (physiological, biochemical, and so on.), Not yet discovered, it should influence the response . Exposure to progressive amounts of ultraviolet radiation produces an effect on turbot radiobiological Hertwig typical, which helps determine the radiation dose needed to completely inactivate the DNA of sperm while preserving their ability to trigger embryonic development. Par confirmation of the ginogénesis used two specific microsatellite loci, which resulted in the identification of turbot ginogenéticos with high accuracy, confirming its usefulness not only for the establishment of fatherhoods pair but also the determination of the inheritance exclusively mantearan. Obtaining populations in which all fish are females after induction of ginogénesis means that the females are turbot sex homogamético. However, the occasional presence of males in other factors indicating the existence of secondary determinants of sex, the possibility of effects of the environment on such determination, or both. Crossbreeding neomachos ginogenéticos with normal females recover the heterocigosidad and allow production populations consist exclusively of females feasibility normal, which would certainly be beneficial to the growth of turbot.

Author: PALLAS SANZ ENRIC.
Year: 2006.
University: POLITÉCNICA DE CATALUÑA [www.upc.edu].
Place of defense: INSTITUT DE CIÈNCIES DEL MAR.
Place of preparation: EDIFICI D1 Campus NORD.

Author: VALLINA FERNANDEZ SERGIO MANUEL.
Year: 2006.
University: POLITÉCNICA DE CATALUÑA [www.upc.edu].
Place of defense: SALA D'ACTES. EDIFICI CIÈNCIES DEL MAR..
Place of preparation: EDIFICI D1 Campus NORD.

Summary: The CLAW hypothesis postulates that an increase in solar irradiance or in the heat flux to the ocean can trigger a biogeochemical response to counteract the associated increase in temperature and available sunlight. This natural (negative) feedback mechanism would be based on a multi-step response: first, an increase in seawater dimethylsulfide concentrations (DMSw) and then its fluxes to the atmosphere (DMSflux); second, an increase in the atmospheric cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) burden as a consequence of DMS oxidation to form biogenic CCN (CCNbio); third, an increase in cloud albedo due to higher CCN numbers. Therefore, DMS is suggested to exert a cooling effect on the Earth radiative budget through its involvement in the formation and optical properties of tropospheric clouds over the ocean. Such a feedback has been regarded as a potential natural mechanism that might partly counteract anthropogenic Global Warming. This hypothesis, although suggestive, is highly speculative and some of its main postulates remain unproved. In this study we sought to contribute to the current knowledge of the oceanic biogenic sulfur cycle and its potential impact on climate by addressing some relevant open questions regarding the CLAW hypothesis. The climatic factor that drives oceanic DMS production, the impact of DMS oxidation on atmospheric CCN, and the potentiality of DMS to counteract Global Warming are investigated in detail based on modeling and data analyses. A new one-dimensional (1D) model of DMS dynamics (DMOS) is developed and coupled to a pre-existing ecological model that explicitly simulates the microbial-loop. The model is applied to the Sargasso Sea in order to explain what drives DMS seasonality. We have conducted a series of modeling experiments where some of the DMOS sulfur paths are turned 'off' or 'on', and the results on chlorophyll-a, dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP; the DMS precursor) and DMS concentrations have been compared with the vertical profiles of these same variables measured during the years 1992 through 1993. Solar-induced DMS exudation by phytoplankton outstands as the process without which the model is unable to produce realistic DMS simulations and reproduce the DMS summer-paradox. The analysis of a global DMS data-base as well as local DMS time-series (Blanes Bay and Sargasso Sea) have revealed that it is the solar radiation dose in the upper mixed layer (or SRD) the climatic factor that seems to drive DMS dynamics. With a spatially resolved perspective, our analysis of globally derived SRD and DMS climatologies shows that the seasonal couplings between SRD and DMS are very tight and widespread over the Global Ocean, irrespective of latitude, temperature, and phytoplankton biomass. From these results, we have been able to obtain a global predictive diagnostic equation that relates DMS concentrations to the SRD. Statistical analyses of satellite and model-derived global data of several oceanic and atmospheric variables suggest that DMS oxidation can indeed be a major source of CCN over oceanic regions far from continental aerosol sources (eg. Southern Ocean, Subtropical South Pacific), especially in summer when the oxidation efficiency of DMS is the highest. Small sea-salt (SS) aerosols, although quantitatively important, do not seem to control CCN seasonality over the Southern Ocean, a region were SS production is amongst the highest of the world due to the constant presence of strong winds. Rather, they appear to conform a fairly constant background of CCN. Differences in the seasonalities of wind speed and the small-mode fraction of aerosols support these conclusions. Although over clean-air oceanic regions DMS seems to control CCN seasonality and its contribution to CCN numbers is estimated to up to 80-100%, over a global scale, estimated current DMS contribution to total CCN numbers is about 30%.

Author: CARRIZO GALLARDO DANIEL ALESANDRO.
Year: 2006.
University: POLITÉCNICA DE CATALUÑA [www.upc.edu].
Place of defense: Sala de Graus.CSIC.
Place of preparation: EDIFICI D1 Campus NORD.

Summary: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) include a wide variety of compounds and uses different structure. The organohalogen compounds are an important part thereof. One feature common to all of them is their resistance to a greater or lesser degree to photolytic degradation, biological or chemical. We also have a high lipofilicidad (tendency to preferentially dissolve in fats and lipids). The latter property also leads to the compound tends to bioconcentrarse from aqueous media to the body. That, together with its environmental persistence and resilience in biological degradation, resulting in biomagnify through the food chains. Another important feature is its semi-volatilidad, at ambient temperatures of these compounds fall in gas phase, volatilizándose from the soil, vegetation and water bodies in the atmosphere - which allows them to disperse over long distances from areas warm up his re - deposition areas cold. The origin of these compounds is anthropogenic. It was introduced to this so important in the environment around the years 40-50, when they were made and used as insulation (eg, polychlorinated biphenyls PCBs), insecticides (eg, DDT) or fungicides (eg, hexachlorobenzene, HCB). They are also co-products generating unwanted in a wide variety of manufacturing processes (eg, organic solvents) or burning (ie, incinerators). Because of its physicochemical characteristics of these compounds have been distributed to all ecosystems and also have entered the human diet, accumulate in the tissues of people. Humans born from years 50 live from conception to death in constant contact with these contaminants transmitted through the air, water, soil and food. The exposure to a particular contaminant in one stage of life can have negative effects in later stages, either the same person or their descendants. In memory of this thesis is a study of the effect of these compounds on two child populations in the West Bank d'Ebre (Catalunya) and Menorca (Illes Balears). The samples were collected in epidemiological studies