CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The knowledge and modelling of the fine sediment fluxes in the Río de la Plata is of scientific and practical importance because of the relationship between sediments dynamics and water quality and primary production, so as navigation channels dredging.Nevertheless, studies have been limited because of the lack of enough direct observations. In a cooperative project between several Argentinean and Uruguayan institutions and IFREMER from France, funded by the French Environment Fund, an intensive study is being done. The study is based on 1) the development of a hydro-sedimentological numerical model; 2) the acquisition of in situ data during more than one year; and 3) satellite image processing to obtain a synoptic view of the surface concentration of inorganic particles and chlorophyll-a. Three fixed monitoring stations were installed. Two of them, located in the upper and intermediate estuary, measured high frequency time series of pressure (waves), salinity, temperature and turbidity. The other one, anchored at the salinity/turbidity front, is an oceanic buoy which also measured oxygen, chlorophyll-a, atmospheric variables and ADCP currents. Seven oceanographic cruises were done with the aim of deploying the instruments andretrieving the data. During them, conductivity, temperature, turbidity and fluorescence profiles and bottom sediments and water samples were collected at 26 sites along the estuary. These data are being used to identify the main processes and their scales of variability and for the calibration of the model and the satellite images. During the talk field tasks results and the implementation of the numerical application will be discussed.

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