Geophysical Approach to Marine Coastal Ecology

- Iriomote Island, Japan.- Observational method.- Numerical simulation method.- Dynamical properties of coastal currents in the northwestern part of Iriomote Island Part 1 - Sakiyama and Amitori bays.- Dynamical properties of coastal currents in the northwestern part of Iriomote Island Part 2 - Funauki and Shirahama bays.- Sediment monitoring in Sakiyama and Amitori bays.- Transport properties of soil particles in Sakiyama and Amitori bays.- Underwater three dimensional measurements.- Coral distributions and physical environments in Amitori Bay.- Coral distributions and physical environments in Sakiyama Bay.- Estimation technique for horizontal distribution of coral.- Distribution of Enhalus acoroides according to waves and currents.- Numerical analysis of initial dynamic state of bundle of Acroporidae spawning in Amitori Bay.- Numerical analysis of dispersals of Enhalus acoroides seeds and fruits in the northwest sea area of Iriomote Island.- Coral recruitment on a local scale in Amitori Bay, Iriomote Island, estimated by filed surveys and numerical analyses.- Numerical analysis of dynamic state of Coenobita brevimanus's larvae in Amitori Bay.

Shinya Shimokawa is a senior principal researcher in the Storm, Flood and Landslide Research Division, National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, in Tsukuba, Japan. He graduated from Nagoya University in 1989 and obtained his Ph.D. from The University of Tokyo in 2002. He had worked at Shimadzu Corporation until 1994 and then moved to his present institute. He was a visiting scientist at the Institute for Atmosphere and Climate Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 1998 and 1999. His research interests include nonlinear and non-equilibrium phenomena in ocean and climate systems, typhoon coastal disaster and its prediction, the relationship between the marine coastal ecosystem and the physical environment, and natural disaster education for the general public. He is currently also a professor in the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Cooperative Graduate School Program), Tsukuba University.

Tomokazu Murakami is a senior researcher in the Storm, Flood and Landslide Research DivisionNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience in Tsukuba, Japan. He graduated and was awarded a Ph.D. from Gifu University in 2005. He had worked at Nagoya University, Gifu University, and Toyohashi University of Technology until 2009 and then moved to his present institute. His research interests encompass numerical simulation of storm surge and modeling of the marine coastal ecosystem. He is currently also an associate professor in Iwate University.