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Sabkha Ecosystem

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educational resource
submitted on 2025-01-29, 07:00 and posted on 2025-02-02, 16:11 authored by Dr. Aspa Chatziefthimiou, Ruba Hinnawi, Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata, Sebastien P. Turbot, Dr. Alexandre Amato, Nihal. Mohamed Al-Saleh, Dr. Mona Matar Al-Kuwari, Raviv Cohen

The morphology of the sabkha’s surface (how it looks like) depends on the types and frequency of the waters that run through it, the particles and organisms that tidal-floods deposit on it, and on the atmospheric temperature. The highest salinity edge of the sabkha, usually receives subterranean (underground) seawater flow and low levels of rainwater. It is made out of sediment that, when one walks on it, feels like quick sinking sand. When water gets evaporated by the hot rays of the sun, white salt crystals are left behind, and only the hardiest microbes and no other organisms are able to survive. The Salt Lake in Utah, USA, has a similar look to our white sabkhat in Qatar and the Gulf. In edges that only receive tiny amounts of rainwater, the sabkha is sandy, yellowish, and dry. The Gulf sand gecko may be the only reptile observed in the edges of sabkhat. Its swollen fingers and elongated spiny scales on the underside are thought to be direct adaptations to life in this ecosystem. As we move towards areas that get tidal floods, the sabkha surface becomes darker and wavy but dry most of the time, and as we get close to the intertidal, the sabkha is lined with leathery-to-the-touch microbial mats.

Other Information

Published in: Qatar Marine Ecosystem lesson plans
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
See educational resource on publisher's website: https://www.earthna.qa/publications/educational-materials/qatar-marine-ecosystem-lesson-plans


Project Identifier (PI): EEF-2023-003

History

Language

  • English

Publisher

Earthna in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC)

Publication Year

  • 2023

License statement

This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Institution affiliated with

  • Earthna
  • Qatar Foundation
  • Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
  • Qatar Green Building Council

Geographic coverage

Arabian Gulf