CARACT?RISTIQUES HYDRO S?DIMENTAIRES DE LA BAIE DE CINTRA (SUD - MAROC).

The South Atlantic region of Morocco Dakhla-Oued Eddahab is characterized by a permanent upwelling favouring an abundance of fishery resources and the presence of the Bay of Cintra favourable to aquaculture development. The proximity of these two systems allows them to be permanently influenced by the spatial variability of their marine hydrodynamics. The South zone is a retention area for mineral enriched waters allowing for high primary productivity of its marine ecosystem. However, intakes of dissolved oxygen-deficient hot water from the south occur exceptionally from one year to the next due to the effect of global warming of the oceans and may have an impact on the ecosystem state of this area. The marine waters of the Atlantic coast are located at the entrance to the Bay of Cintra and can approach the coast at the heart of the bay and to the south by the tidal currents favouring the entry of mineral-rich waters producing an important planktonic richness of the bay. Thus, the Bay of Cintra is described as a highly potential site for aquaculture regarding its important marine hydrodynamics on the one hand and its enrichment by very productive waters of the Moroccan South Atlantic zone.