Situating Circatidal

"Water of the great sea – emerges twice a day respectively as morningtide and nighttide."  

Humans live by solar time, from dawn to dusk, a 24-hour cycle. Coastal organisms, however, live by lunar time, two tidal 'bulges' a day, a 24 hour-and-50-minute cycle.  

Because of the tidal rise and fall, significant differences in temperature, humidity, and wave exposure can be found at different heights on the rocky shore. This gives birth to a colorful gradient of life, from algae growth to organism colonization, an ecosystem zoned from low to high levels. 

The life forms found within compact space, a few meters of height difference along the coastline, sometimes exceed what is found at several hundred meters sprawl on land. 

The lunar time is manifested through the habitats on the rocky shore. The coastline is no longer just a line because of the tides.  

‘Situating Circatidal’ aims to visually explore the biodiversity patterns in the coastal environments of Peng Chau and Mui Wo - at the intersection of co-dependent survival and territorial kinships, to retell the stories of lunar time.

About the organisers:

Joanne Chan is an Architect living in Mui Wo. She is interested in the patterns and disruptions of the 21st century- environmental imperative.

Fok Chun-wing is a Landscape Designer living on Peng Chau. Besides Landscape Architecture, he also studied Geography and Space Syntax. He enjoys popular science books and documentaries.  

Tommy Hui is currently a Research Assistant Professor at the Science Unit of  Lingnan University. He is an intertidal ecologist with broad interest in behavioural ecology, physiology and biodiversity patterns.  

Acknowledgement: Science Unit, Lingnan University & HKU Tropical Intertidal Ecology Group.