Mechanisms of water exchange at the platform edge of oceanic islands

Abstract

Islands in deep oceanic waters have rather vulnerable ecosystems due both tothe narrowness of their coastal platforms and the presence of very steepslopes. We examine the different mechanisms capable of exchanging water atthe platform edge of oceanic islands, and conclude that the principal ones areturbulent transport in the boundary layers generated by intense deep oceancurrents and wind-induced cross-slope transport at selected coastal sites.