The intertidal zone, also called the littoral zone, is the narrow coastal biome lying between the highest reach of a normal high tide and the lowest reach of a normal low tide, so that it is alternately submerged in seawater and exposed to open air, sun and wind twice in most tidal cycles. Rocky-shore, sandy-beach and mudflat intertidal habitats each support their own characteristic communities, from barnacles, mussels and anemones anchored to bare rock to burrowing worms and clams hidden beneath sand or mud, and the zone's residents must tolerate a daily swing between marine and near-terrestrial conditions that few other biomes demand of their species. Its accessibility on foot at low tide has made the intertidal zone one of the most closely studied marine biomes, foundational to the field of marine ecology.
Facts
Disputed
Typical High Temperature (C)38C (100F) is a repeatedly measured rocky-shore surface temperature from a documented Boston-area heat wave, used as representative; the same event recorded a one-off spike over 120F (49C) at one cove, and exposed intertidal rock in the tropics can run hotter still. The defining feature of this biome is extreme swings between the submerged and exposed phase of each tide, not a single stable range. Climate
Typical Low Temperature (C)-2C is the freezing point of seawater at typical ocean salinity, the coldest liquid water an intertidal organism is submerged in at high tide in a cold climate. Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. How Does the Temperature of Ocean Water Vary? (NOAA Ocean Exploration)
NOAA Ocean ExplorationNOAA Ocean Exploration, How Does the Temperature of Ocean Water Vary?, by-location sectionQuote, NOAA Ocean Exploration, How Does the Temperature of Ocean Water Vary?, by-location section
These variations in solar energy mean that the ocean surface can vary in temperature from a warm 30C (86F) in the tropics to a very cold -2C (28F) near the poles.
2. Intense Intertidal Temperatures (Stone Living Lab)
Stone Living LabStone Living Lab, Intense Intertidal Temperatures, findings sectionQuote, Stone Living Lab, Intense Intertidal Temperatures, findings section
The highest temperature overall was at Savin Hill Cove in Dorchester, which was over 120 F on July 20th
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica
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