Abstract
The surprisingly small wind stress on the water over a fringing coral reef, which was observed by Hicks et al. (1974), raised the question as to whether this was mainly a shallow water effect or could be the effect of a surface film of organic surfactant. This is considered in relation to other evidence on the shallow water effect and to the fact that coral secretes mucus containing much cetyl palmitate (Benson and Muscatine, 1974). On hydrolysis this yields two powerful surfactants of a type found in natural sea slicks, so the surface film effect is concluded to be the predominant influence.
It is conjectured that mucus secretion may have a role in reef ecology by producing quieter water conditions for the more delicate forms of coral typically found some distance shoreward of the windward reef edge.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barger, W. R. and Garrett, W. D.: 1970, ‘Effects of an artificial sea slick upon the atmosphere and ocean’, J. Appl. Meteorol. 9, 396–400.
Benson, A. A. and Muscatine, L.: 1974, ‘Wax in coral mucus: energy transfer from corals to reef fishes’, Limnol. Oceanogr. 19, 810–814.
Cox, C. and Munk, W.: 1954, ‘Statistics of the sea surface derived from sun glitter’, J. Mar. Res. 13, 198–227.
Garratt, J. R.: 1977, ‘Review of drag coefficients over oceans and continents’, Mon. Weather Rev. 105, 915–929.
Garrett, W. D.: 1967, ‘The organic chemical composition of the ocean surface’, Deep-Sea Res. 14, 221–227.
Garrett, W. D. and Bultman, J. D.: 1963, ‘Capillary-wave damping by insoluble organic monolayers’, J. Colloid Sci. 18, 798–801.
{au{fnHicks}, {gnB. B.}}, {au{fnDrinkrow}, {gnR. L.}} and {au{fnGrauze}, {gnG.}}: ‘Drag and bulk transfer coefficients associated with a shallow water surface’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 6, 287–297.
Hühnerfuss, H., Walter, W. and Kruspe, G.: 1977, ‘On the variability of surface tension with mean wind speed’, J. Phys. Oceanog. 7, 567–571.
Johannes, R. E.: 1967, ‘Ecology of organic aggregates in the vicinity of a coral reef’, Limnol. Oceanog. 12, 189–195.
Ladd, H. S.: 1973, ‘Bikini and Eniwetok Atolls, Marshall Islands’ Chap. 3 of ‘Biology and Geology of Coral Reefs’, Vol. 1 (Eds. Jones, O. A. and Endean, R.), Academic Press.
Lange, P. and Hühnerfuss, H.: 1978, ‘Drift response of monomolecular slicks to wave and wind action’, J. Phys. Oceanog. 8, 142–150.
Liss, P. S.: 1965, ‘Chemistry of the sea surface microlayer’, Chap. 10 of ‘Chemical Oceanography’, Vol. 2 (2nd Edn.), Riley, J. P. and Skirrow, G. (Eds.), Academic Press.
Marty, J. C., Saliot, A., Buat-Ménard, P., Chesselet, R. and Hunter, K. A.: 1979, ‘Relationship between the lipid compositions of marine aerosols, the sea surface microlayer, and subsurface water’, J. Geophys. Res. 84, 5707–5716.
Sturdy, Gladys and Fischer, W. H.: 1976, ‘Surface tension of slick patches near kelp beds’, Nature, 211 (No. 5052), 951–952.
Van Dorn, W. G.: 1953,.‘Wind stress on an artificial pond’, J. Mar. Res. 12, 249–276.
Vines, R. G.: 1960, ‘The damping of water waves by surface films’, Austral. J. Phys. 13, 43–51.
Wieringa, J.: 1974, ‘Comparison of three methods for determining strong wind stress over Lake Flevo’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 7, 3–19.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Deacon, E.L. The role of coral mucus in reducing the wind drag over coral reefs. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 17, 517–521 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00118614
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00118614