IADO   05364
INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE OCEANOGRAFIA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Physicochemical variables and biological elements to assess climate change impacts within a north Patagonia estuarine ecosystem (south Atlantic): perspectives after 30 years of data
Autor/es:
ARIAS, A.H.; PICCOLO, C.M.; SPETTER, C.V.; FREIJE, R.H.; MARCOVECCHIO, J.H.
Lugar:
Portugal, Figueira da Foz "Centro de Artes e Espectáculos (CAE)"
Reunión:
Congreso; ECSA 47 (Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association) congress; 2010
Institución organizadora:
Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association
Resumen:
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Climatic change will generate an increase in temperature around the
globe, ice melting, a sea level rise, an increase in precipitation in the
global mean, among other alterations of the environment. While the expected
consequences of climate change are global, the occurrence of extreme events and
specific environmental problems are usually local or regional phenomenon. In
particular, coastal ecosystems are vulnerable zones to early climate impacts.
The Bahia Blanca estuary, Argentina, is located at 38º 40´ S and 62º 09´ W
in the north Patagonia, with an area of 2300
km2. Based on more than thirty years historical oceanographic and
meteorological data of the Bahia
Blanca estuary, an outline of present and future
climatic impacts is presented.
Water temperature showed -in average- a consistent warming in the last
four decades, with an increase in the values of maximum temperature and strong
interannual variations. The water pH trend matched the globally observed
acidification trend, although it was climatically altered during ENSO events in
the present decade. On the other hand, great precipitation variability was found
in the study region: during the last two decades, the area presented extreme
droughts (i.e., 1995) and extreme precipitation amounts (2001). Long term
physical-chemical variability (water temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved
oxygen) was linked to observed effects on the ecosystem, namely, phytoplankton
and zooplankton communitys changes and commercial crustaceans and fisheries
decrement. Finally, following the sea level rise IPCCs predictions due to
water expanding and melting from land-based glaciers and ice caps, a modeled evaluation
of potential coastal impacts was approached, showing that the area of study is
one of the most vulnerable areas of the North Patagonia coasts: predictive
models showed that the extensive intertidal area and all the islands would be
covered -reaching an area of about 1463 Km2-, consequently changing
the ecosystem functioning and baseline conditions.