Long-term observational programme for environmental studies: the case of Bahía Blanca estuary (Argentina)

MARCOVECCHIO JORGE EDUARDO; BOTTÉ SANDRA ELIZABETH; ARIAS ANDRÉS HUGO; SPETTER CARLA VANESA; FERNÁNDEZ SEVERINI MELISA DAIANA; DELUCCHI FEDERICO; NEGRÍN VANESA; BUZZI NATALIA SOL; MARTÍNEZ ANA MARÍA; FREIJE RUBEN HUGO

Salvador

Conferencia; Environmental Health 2011; 2011

Elsevier, Environmental Research and Science of the Total Environment in association with Science Direct.

Bahía Blanca Estuary is a large coastal system located in the south-eastern Buenos Aires Province littoral, close to Northern Patagonia area. It is an anthropogenically impacted system, which includes cities and harbors, industrial conglomerates, dredging operations for navigational purposes, intensive agriculture and livestock production, artisanal fisheries, etc. The development of both oceanographic and environmental studies within this framework is of great concern, and consequently a long-term observational programme on the basis of physical-chemical, biological and oceanographical data gathering was carrying out since 80s and up to present, on a fortnightly, monthly or bimonthly basis. The programme includes the collection of data on water temperature, conductivity / salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, inorganic nutrients (NO2, NO3, NH4, PO4, SiOx), photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, phaeopigments), and several potentially toxic substances (i.e. heavy metals, hydrocarbons). Considering this three-decadal analysis it was possible to understand the usual patterns of the studied parameters within the estuary, and consenquently to identify disturbances or anomalies along this period. In addition this database has been an adequate support for numerous studies as developed for different research groups as well as to produce an updated diagnosis on the environmental condition of the estuary. In the near future, and keeping in mind the topics concerning with global climate change, it is necessary to properly manage this information to highlight its significance not only as a tool for environmental diagnosis but also to forecast potential occurrence of toxicity events within the system.