The effects of a presumed climate scenario on the hydrography of the Weser estuary between Bremen (weir) and Robbensüdsteert (~10 km downstream of Bremerhaven) were investigated using numerical modeling. The results provide a basic approach for further studies addressing, for example, the utilization and ecology of the Weser estuary and the adjacent areas within the bounds of the winter dike. Morphological aspects are not considered in this paper. A rise in water level at the seaward boundary (high water + 70 cm, low water + 40 cm) propagates upstream only with some slight deviations. In the climate scenario, the subtidal volume and sublittoral for the section between the weir and Bremerhaven increase by about 6 and 7% respectively, while the tidal prism and eulittoral increase by about 16 and 52% respectively. Residence times of conservative water constituents are prolonged for fixed runoffs. These times also affect the water quality. The location of the upstream boundary of the brackish-water zone is located on average 2 km further upstream for fixed runoffs, possibly causing problems with marsh irrigation.
KEY WORDS: Weser estuary · Hydrography · Climate scenarioResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher
The transport of suspended particulate matter and of heavy metals in tidal rivers is of both ecological and economic relevance. But temporal variabilities and spatial heterogeneities considerably complicate its quantitative treatment by numerical simulation and the acquisition of representative field data for systematic investigations. As a contribution to the potential solution of this problem, a methodology has been developed at the GKSS Research Centre which combines theoretical and experimental techniques in an effective way. A novel measuring system on board a ship allows the fast determination of hydrographie parameters, and water samples are taken in parallel from different depths. Various analytical techniques are applied for quantitative trace-element detection. The experimental data are used as boundary conditions in hydrodynamic and transport model calculations. In the paper, the experimental equipment, techniques, and numerical models are described. Some results of first promising investigations are presented: Lateral distribution of water transport, tidal variation of vertical turbidity profiles, settling velocities, cumulative transp.ort of suspended matter and heavy metals, dissolved and particulate heavy-metal contents and, in part, their tidal variations.
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