Novel extrapolation of natural air exposure scenarios in temperate marine intertidal aquaculture using advanced...

Air exposure influences the physiology and survival of marine intertidal organisms. This study presents a novel, efficient method for quantifying air exposure period using readily available temperature loggers. By leveraging the differential heat capacities of water and air, we developed a thermodynamics-based approach that translates temperature data ( °C) into air exposure estimates (minutes and hours) in a reproducible R Studio workflow. Validation using field data demonstrated successful differentiation of air exposure between low intertidal (1372.6 h, 14 % of culture period) and high intertidal (4157.5 h, 41 %) oyster culture scenarios over a 425-day period (March 2023 - April 2024). Daily and monthly variations in air exposure results further demonstrate our method's sensitivity to changes in tidal cycles and potentially, logger positioning. This approach offers a valuable tool for production management and biological/ecological studies on sessile intertidal marine organisms by providing high-resolution air exposure data.•Time-stamped temperature log data efficiently extrapolates air exposure period based on perpetually submerged subtidal control, and intertidal logger deployments.•Temperature log verification is critical for achieving accurate air exposure estimates.•R Studio programme enables a reproducible workflow for extrapolating air exposure from temperature log data.