INVESTIGADORES
PICCOLO Maria Cintia
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Coastal morphology of the Bahíía Blanca Estuary, Argentina.
Autor/es:
MELO, W.D.; SCHILLIZZI, R; PERILLO, G.M.E.; PICCOLO, M.C.
Lugar:
Mar del Plata
Reunión:
Congreso; 2001. IAPSO -IABO Meeting. The 2001 Ocean Odyssey; 2001
Institución organizadora:
IAPSO-IABO
Resumen:
The Bahía Blanca Estuary, located in the Southwest of the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, covers a
surface of 2500 km2. Its reception basin of has a total surface of 19000 km2 which extends from the
Sierra de la Ventana range to the northern border of the Colorado River. The objective of this work is to
characterize the coastal morphology of the of Bahía Blanca Estuary in relation with its reception basin.
Several small rivers and creeks reach the estuary along the northern coast of the Canal Principal that have
generated extensive alluvial deposits in the coastal sector, originating wide tidal flats and salt marshes.
On the northeast, the marine dynamics acting since the last higher stand of the sea level, conformed
diverse morphologic units composed by spits, cliffs and sandy beaches backed by coastal dunes. At the
head of the Canal Principal a salt flat has developed in connection with the former fluvial channels that
originated the old delta. At the present time it became a lagoon and, in turn, as an area of reception for a
limited river basin without direct connection with the estuary. On the southern sector of the estuary the
basin is conformed by an alluvial plain originated by the contributions of the Colorado River which no
longer discharge into the estuary. The coastal line is interrupted abruptly due to the presence of extensive
erosion areas surrounded by wide tidal flats.