No abstract

Abstract. This paper presents the structure and application of a regional scale operational modelling tool for the West Iberian coast, and discusses its potential for products and services for both scientific and coastal management activities. The forecasting suite includes nested hydrodynamic models forced with up-to-date meteorological forecast data and large-scale model results. The present status of the system and its recent upgrades are reviewed, offering a general description of the main components of the system: the forcing data, the circulation model, the model outputs and the validation methodology of model results. Seasonal differences in temperature, salinity and current velocity fields are illustrated and show satisfactory reproduction of the top and deep layer thermodynamics. The system provides boundary forcing for a number of local-scale model applications via downscaling of the solution and enables potential products and services from which civil society will benefit.

Microplastics are widely recognized as a category of emergent pollutants that can cause complex ecotoxicological effects. Synthetic fibers released during the washing of textiles are a relevant source of microplastics, which reach aquatic ecosystems from sewer discharges, even when there is retention in wastewater treatment plants. In this paper, we determined microfiber emissions from washing of textiles in a domestic environment, by collecting wastewater from washings of a mix of clothing from a household of 4 people. It is the first time the characterization of microplastic emission from textiles washing is performed in real household conditions. Results estimated an average emission rate of 18,000,000 synthetic microfibers for a reference load of 6 kg of synthetic fibers. Only 7% of the synthetic fibers found were larger than 500 μm in length, 40% were between 100 and 500 μm, and 53% were between 50 and 100 μm.

No abstract

The spatial distribution of silicate, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, chlorophyll a and dissolved oxygen in Obidos lagoon was obtained by surveying five sites in eight campaigns, between October 2004 and October 2006. A confined inner branch of the lagoon showed higher availability of ammonium (1.2-81 micromol l(-1)), phosphate (1.9-17 micromol l(-1)), silicate (0.85-86 micromol l(-1)) and chlorophyll a (0.30-18 microg l(-1)) than other sites (0.47-25 micromol l(-1), 0.10-3.9 micromol l(-1), 0.47-25 micromol l(-1), 0.25-11 microg l(-1), respectively). According to several trophic classification tools, that branch is considered eutrophic to polytrophic, emphasising its deteriorated conditions, while the rest of the lagoon is of better quality. In autumn/winter nutrients were inversely correlated to salinity (r > 0.93) reflecting the freshwater inputs enriched in nitrogen and phosphorous compounds to the inner branch. In warmer periods, dissolved oxygen concentrations dropped during the night, and sediments of the branch become an important source of ammonium and phosphate. The low DIN:P ratio (median = 10) obtained in the branch, which suggests an excess of phosphate, that increased in warmer periods and changed the limiting nutrient in the entire lagoon. These results emphasize the spatial heterogeneity of water quality in Obidos lagoon, its seasonal variability, and the importance of recognising these distributions before defining homogenous water body on the scope of Water Framework Directive.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract