Dynamics of Mangueira Bay, Brasil

HILLMAN G; RODRIGUEZ A; PAGOT M; TYRREL D; CORRAL M; ORONA C; MOLLER O

JOURNAL OF COASTAL RESEARCH

Coastal Education & Research Foundation

Lugar: Florida; Año: 2007 vol. 47 p. 107 - 114

0749-0208

A bidimensional hydrodynamic modelling of Los Patos Lagoon under the framework of the research project financed by the European Community: ?Ecosud? (Estuaries and Coastal Areas Basis and Tools for a more Sustainable Development.) is presented in this work. The lagoon is located in the south of Brazil, between the cities of Rio Grande and Porto Alegre, in the Estate of Rio Grande do Sul. It has an extension of approximately  250 Km parallel to the coast and a surface of 10.360 km2. The estuarine area has an extension of 60Km and receives important tributaries which bring pollutants from farming and industrial activities and also from  the effluents of nearby cities such as Pelotas y Rio Grande. The magnitude of this system make it an important resource for the development of economic and recreational activities; that is why, it is important to study the hydrodynamic behavior of different areas which are potentially productive, such as Mangueiras Bay Different simulations with a bidimensional model RMA-2 have been made (USACE) to characterize the hydrodynamics of the lagoon under the combination of several forcing agents which provide the elements to analyze the lagoon and the estuary behavior during the specific periods of interest in accordance with data availability. The characterization of these hydrodynamics is complementary of water quality studies in this area, and both are inputs for aquiculture and water resources planning.