A study on seaweed bed restoration using deep ocean water

The phenomenon when a seaweed bed changes into barren seabed is called isoyake in Japanese. It has been reported that deep ocean water discharge may restore the seaweed bed from the isoyake condition at Muroto coastal area in Shikoku Island. In this study, a field survey, a biological experiment and ecosystem modeling are performed to clarify the mechanism of the recovery of the seaweed bed. The results of these investigations show that the nutrient concentration and grazing pressure, which depend on the deep ocean water content, are the important factors for the seaweed bed recovery.