Author(s): N. H. Zaker; P. Ghaffari; S. Jamshidi; M. Nourian
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Qeshm Island; Marine Habitat; Tides; Tidal Currents; Harmonic Analysis
Abstract: The Strait of Khuran is among the most important marine habitats in the Persian Gulf. It is the location of the largest Avicennia Marina mangroves along the Persian Gulf shoreline and is a major nursery region for the fish and to breeding, wintering and migrant water birds. This paper presents dynamics of the currents in the Strait of Khuran using the current data collected by fixed current meters. The analysis of the data showed that the currents in the Strait of Khuran were highly dominated by tidal forcing with mixed semi diurnal behavior. The tidal currents were strong and reached to a maximum of 123 cm s -1 in the spring tide. Tidal analysis showed that the tidal current constituents (M 2, S 2, N 2, K 1, O 1) are dominant with M2 component as the major one. The tidal currents occurred basically along the strait. The results showed a westward residual flow along the strait with an average of 5.6 cm s -1 during the study. The direction of the flow indicates that any pollution discharged into the industrial developing eastern part of the strait has the potential to affect the sensitive ecosystem in the western part.
Year: 2010