Development of an Operational Nearshore Wave Forecast System for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Anselmi-Molina, Carlos; Canals, M.; Morell, Julio M.; Gonzalez, Juan; Capella, Jorge E.; Mercado, Aurelio

doi:10.2112/jcoastres-d-11-00132.1

Cited by 28 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…For the present study area, data from the parent 1‐km grid and the United States Virgin Islands high‐resolution grid at 240 m resolution were used. The model has been validated using buoy data, and further details of the validation of the CNWM have been previously described . Another example of a previous application of how the wave model has been applied in the United States Virgin Islands is found in Manger et al .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ciguatoxin prevalence in 4 commercial fish species along an oceanic exposure gradient in the US Virgin Islands

Loeffler

Robertson

Quintana

et al. 2018

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Ciguatera fish poisoning is a seafood-toxin illness resulting from consumption of fish contaminated with ciguatoxins. Managing ciguatera fish poisoning is complex. It is made easier, however, by local fishers from endemic areas reporting regional predictability for local fish species' ciguatera fish poisoning risk, which the present study then tested. We investigated the prevalence of ciguatoxins in 4 commonly marketed and consumed species (Balistes vetula, Haemulon plumierii, Ocyurus chrysurus, and Epinephelus guttatus) across an oceanic gradient (north, south, east, and west) from the US Virgin Islands. Fish muscle extracts were analyzed for Caribbean ciguatoxins using an in vitro mouse neuroblastoma (N2a) cytotoxicity assay and confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Fish collected from the north location had 0 fish with detectable ciguatoxins; this site also had the greatest wave energy. Caribbean ciguatoxins in fish ranged from 0.01 to 0.11, 0.004 to 0.10, and 0.005 to 0.18 ng Caribbean ciguatoxin-1 eq/g, from the west, east, and south respectively. Ciguatoxin-like activity was detectable by the N2a assay in 40, 41, 50, and 70% of H. plumierii, O. chrysurus, B. vetula, and E. guttatus, respectively. Of the fish collected, 4% had Caribbean ciguatoxin levels exceeding the US Food and Drug Administration guidance of 0.1 ng Caribbean ciguatoxin-1 eq/g fish. These findings concurred with spatial ciguatera fish poisoning prevalence information provided by local fishers in the US Virgin Islands and demonstrate how partnerships between researchers and fishers can aid the improvement of science-based ciguatera fish poisoning management. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;39:1852-1863. Published 2018 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ciguatoxin prevalence in 4 commercial fish species along an oceanic exposure gradient in the US Virgin Islands

Loeffler

Robertson

Quintana

et al. 2018

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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“…Details of the setup and validation of the CariCOOS Nearshore Wave Model may be found in Anselmi et al (2010) and Canals et al (2012).…”

Section: Modeling Benthic Orbital Velocitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Structuring Forces on a Shelf Edge Upper Mesophotic Coral Ecosystem in the US Virgin Islands

et al. 2016

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Mesophotic coral ecosystems are extensive light-dependent habitats that typically form between 30 and 150 m depth in the tropical oceans. The forces that structure the benthic communities in these ecosystems are poorly understood but this is rapidly changing with technological advances in technical diving and remote observation that allow large-scale scientific investigation. Recent observations of southeastern Puerto Rican Shelf of the US Virgin Islands have shown that this Caribbean mesophotic coral ecosystem has distinct habitats within the same depth ranges and across small horizontal distances (<<1 km), that range from sparse hardbottom to vibrant coral reefs with stony coral cover >25%. High-resolution bathymetric mapping of the shelf edge revealed a topographically distinct semi-continuous 71 km-long relict barrier reef bank system. The purpose of this study was to characterize the pattern of mesophotic habitat development of the shelf edge and use this data to narrow the potential long-term and large-scale structuring forces of this mesophotic coral ecosystem. We hypothesized from limited preliminary observations that the shelf edge coral cover was limited in shallower portions of the bank and on the seaward orientation. Through stratified random surveys we found that increasing depth and decreasing wave driven benthic orbital velocities were positively related to coral abundance on the shelf edge. In addition, low coral cover habitats of the shelf edge contrasted strongly with adjacent on shelf banks surveyed previously in the same depth range, which had relatively high coral cover (>30%). Predictions of benthic orbital velocities during major storms suggested that mechanical disturbance combined with low rates of coral recovery as a possible mechanism structuring the patterns of coral cover, and these factors could be targets of future research.

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“…Since many locations lack or do not have a buoy considered representative of the wave climatology in the region, data from the high resolution CariCOOS Nearshore Wave Model was used to obtain wave conditions for the above-mentioned time interval [1]. Likewise, validation of the model was conducted, as seen in Fig.…”

Section: B Wave Climatology Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wave energy resource assessment and recoverable wave energy in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands

Garcia

Canals

2015

OCEANS 2015 - Genova

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The present study seeks to further advance our understanding concerning the potential of wave energy in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Two main factors were identified as fundamental in this effort, namely; wave power availability and recoverability by wave energy converters. As such, wave data from a high-resolution numerical wave model was used in order to provide factual estimates pertaining to the amount of available energy in the region. The latter in conjunction with data provided by locally situated buoys already has shown yearly averages of 10-12 kW/m of wave crest available in the north coast of Puerto Rico and the USVIs. Based on these results, sites considered optimal for wave energy conversion, given resource availability, were further studied to estimate where the greatest amount of energy could be harvested. It is well known that one of the biggest challenges in the wave energy industry can be attributed to wave energy recoverability due to the current state of this technology [4][9]. Consequently, a group of prominent wave energy companies were contacted in order to acquire technical specifications corresponding to their respective wave energy conversion devices. Wave data obtained from buoys maintained by the Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CariCOOS), allowed us to validate the potential yearly electrical power generated by predominant sea states suggested by the CariCOOS Nearshore Wave Model. The resulting data provides a much-needed insight on the suggested capacity factor for these devices under small high frequency waves, such as the ones commonly found in the vicinity of PR and USVI. We consider the results of this study as fundamental in further advancements of current ongoing investigations seeking to optimize power take off units operating under the aforementioned wave climatology and the expansion of this emerging market into the Caribbean.

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Development of an Operational Nearshore Wave Forecast System for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Cited by 28 publications

References 6 publications

Ciguatoxin prevalence in 4 commercial fish species along an oceanic exposure gradient in the US Virgin Islands

Ciguatoxin prevalence in 4 commercial fish species along an oceanic exposure gradient in the US Virgin Islands

Potential Structuring Forces on a Shelf Edge Upper Mesophotic Coral Ecosystem in the US Virgin Islands

Wave energy resource assessment and recoverable wave energy in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands

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