El mar como personaje en cuatro obras de Manuel Vicent

En el siguiente artículo se pretende desarrollar la hipótesis del mar como personaje en cuatro obras de Manuel Vicent: Contra Paraíso, Tranvía a la Malvarrosa, Del Café Gijón a Ítaca y Son de Mar. A su vez se propone analizar la particular vinculación del autor con el mar Mediterráneo, su carácter de escenario vertebrador, y contemplar el tópico de la alteridad del mar como característica relevante dentro de las novelas mencionadas. Por ende, se pretende indagar en la consideración del mar como personaje, principalmente pensándolo como metáfora del hombre, junto con su constante presencia física y espiritual, su carácter de espacio interior (mar interior), sus diferentes relaciones con los sentidos y fundamentalmente desde su consistencia de personaje demiúrgico: en su calidad de posibilitador y develador de narraciones e historias y de compañero de otros personajes en las etapas clave de la vida

Multibeam and seismic survey, physical oceanography, and sea-bottom videos from the Bay of Biscay

We report the northernmost and deepest known occurrence of deep-water pycnodontine oysters, based on two surveys along the French Atlantic continental margin to the La Chapelle continental slope (2006) and the Guilvinec Canyon (2008). The combined use of multibeam bathymetry, seismic profiling, CTD casts and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) made it possible to describe the physical habitat and to assess the oceanographic control for the recently described species Neopycnodonte zibrowii. These oysters have been observed in vivo in depths from 540 to 846 m, colonizing overhanging banks or escarpments protruding from steep canyon flanks. Especially in the Bay of Biscay, such physical habitats may only be observed within canyons, where they are created by both long-term turbiditic and contouritic processes. Frequent observations of sand ripples on the seabed indicate the presence of a steady, but enhanced bottom current of about 40 cm/s. The occurrence of oysters also coincides with the interface between the Eastern North Atlantic Water and the Mediterranean Outflow Water. A combination of this water mass mixing, internal tide generation and a strong primary surface productivity may generate an enhanced nutrient flux, which is funnelled through the canyon. When the ideal environmental conditions are met, up to 100 individuals per m² may be observed. These deep-water oysters require a vertical habitat, which is often incompatible with the requirements of other sessile organisms, and are only sparsely distributed along the continental margins. The discovery of these giant oyster banks illustrates the rich biodiversity of deep-sea canyons and their underestimation as true ecosystem hotspots.