High-resolution numerical modelling of the barotropic tides in the Gulf of Gabes, eastern Mediterranean Sea (Tunisia)

Synthesis review of the Gulf of Gabes (eastern Mediterranean Sea, Tunisia): Morphological, climatic, physical oceanographic, biogeochemical and fisheries features

“…In the Gulf of Gabes, the tide is predominantly semi-diurnal with diurnal inequality (O1+K1)/(M2+S2) < 0.1 (Abdennadher et al 2006;Othmani et al, 2017). The M2 and S2 semidiurnal components are well developed in the Gulf (coastal areas and central part) but are reduced in the offshore regions.…”

“…The M2 and S2 semidiurnal components are well developed in the Gulf (coastal areas and central part) but are reduced in the offshore regions. The other semidiurnal components, N2 and K2, are of reduced amplitude, < 3 cm (Tsimplis et al, 1995;Gasparini et al, 2004;Othmani et al, 2017). The Gulf has the highest tidal range in the Mediterranean Sea (maximum > 2 m) essentially due to the low slope of the continental shelf and the shallow depth, which maintains its horizontal dimensions close to the resonance condition Béjaoui, et al Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 219 (2019) 395-408 (1/4 of the wavelength of the semi-diurnal tidal wave incidence) (Othmani et al, 2017).…”

“…The other semidiurnal components, N2 and K2, are of reduced amplitude, < 3 cm (Tsimplis et al, 1995;Gasparini et al, 2004;Othmani et al, 2017). The Gulf has the highest tidal range in the Mediterranean Sea (maximum > 2 m) essentially due to the low slope of the continental shelf and the shallow depth, which maintains its horizontal dimensions close to the resonance condition Béjaoui, et al Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 219 (2019) 395-408 (1/4 of the wavelength of the semi-diurnal tidal wave incidence) (Othmani et al, 2017). The tide produces a stationary wave whose amphidromic points are distributed around the island of Pantelleria and that resonates in the Gulf of Gabes (Sammari et al, 2006).…”

“…Parallel to the coast, tides induce periodic currents whose intensity can be high in some places, as shown in Fig. 5 (Othmani et al, 2017). Based on the geographic distribution of the maximum amplitude and the phase of the M2 wave (Molines, 1991), Tounsi (1998), the surface current is approximately 10-30 cm s −1 in shallow areas and can reach 50 cm s −1 in topographic shallow corridors during spring tides, as confirmed by in situ measurements (Sammari et al, 2006;Hattour et al, 2010).…”

Living (stained) foraminifera in the Lesser Syrtis (Tunisia): influence of pollution and substratum

“…On the contrary it is relatively abundant in samples from the Djerba transect with a maximum of 104.75 ppm at DJB-15. El propose that the low concentrations at Gabes could be related to the precipitation of Zn from the water into sphalerite (El Kateb et al, 2018b) and the subsequent transport of part of the remaining Zn off-shore during low tides (Othmani et al, 2017), while the high concentrations at Djerba could be related to the decay of plankton, which releases dissolved Zn into the seawater (Moore & Ramamoorthy, 1984).…”