Mathematical modelling of hydrodynamics and water quality in a tropical reservoir, northeast Brazil

Araujo, Moacyr; Costa, Maria Francisca Monteiro da; Aureliano, Joana; Silva, M. A.

doi:10.14210/bjast.v12n1.p19-30

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…Both rivers suffer the impact of domestic and agricultural effluents, mainly from the sugarcane agro-industry, under the form of high Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), especially between November and March (dry season). During the rainy season, the higher freshwater discharge is the product of increased precipitation throughout the hydrographic basin (Araujo et al 1999, Noriega et al 2005a) and the controlled outflow from Pirapama Dam (Araujo et al 2008).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient budgets (C, N and P) and trophic dynamicsof a Brazilian tropical estuary: Barra das Jangadas

Noriega

Araújo

2011

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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This paper focuses on the nutrient dynamics of a tropical estuary on the northeastern Brazilian coast, studied using the LOICZ biogeochemical budgeting protocol. We describe the methodology and assumptions underlying this model. Input data (monthly for rainfall, evaporation, river discharge, and concentrations of salt, phosphorus and nitrogen) were obtained during field campaigns in the Barra das Jangadas Estuary (BJE) over a 5 years period (1999 to 2003). Mass balance results indicate large inputs of nutrients to the system. The model shows that the seasonal variation of the Net Ecosystem Metabolism (NEM) indicates that the system passes from a stage of organic matter liquid production and mineralization during the dry season (-0.5 mmoles C m −2 d −1 ) to liquid mineralization during the rainy season (-19 mmoles C m −2 d −1 ). We suggest that the system varies slightly between autotrophy and heterotrophy during the year due to the rainfall regime, human activities in the basin (density population and sugarcane plantations), and associated DIP riverine loads. High per capita loads of N and P indicate a high population density and high runoff. The application of flux balance modeling was useful to understand the nutrient dynamics of this typical small tropical estuary.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient budgets (C, N and P) and trophic dynamicsof a Brazilian tropical estuary: Barra das Jangadas

Noriega

Araújo

2011

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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“…With specific focus on river water quality, changes in the operation rules of reservoirs can indeed alleviate downstream alterations (Richter et al., 2010); for example selective withdrawal strategies, although implemented at only few hydropower facilities, can tune downstream river water temperature and quality and thus also be used for climate adaptation (Rheinheimer et al., 2015). However, previous studies assessing how downstream thermal and oxygen regimes can be manipulated with selective withdrawal mainly focused on temperate regions (Hipsey, Bruce, et al., 2019; Weber et al., 2017), and only few examples exist for the low latitudes (Araújo et al., 2008; Chanudet et al., 2016; Kunz et al., 2013). One of the main reasons for this imbalance is the lack of data to calibrate and feed management and physical models.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lake Modeling Reveals Management Opportunities for Improving Water Quality Downstream of Transboundary Tropical Dams

Calamita

Vanzo

Wehrli

et al. 2021

Water Resources Research

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Sustainable solutions to meet the growing food, water and energy needs of the human population are urgently required, especially in developing countries. Demand for hydropower and irrigation water threatens large river systems with potentially irreparable environmental effects (Best, 2019). More than 3,700 dams are proposed in tropical and subtropical countries (Winemiller et al., 2016;Zarfl et al., 2015). The African continent still has a largely untapped hydropower potential: Only 10% of this potential has been exploited, the lowest of any of the world's regions (The World Bank, 2015). The imminent growth of hydropower projects at low latitudes calls for an examination of the environmental effects of tropical dams (Anderson & Veilleux, 2016).Dams disrupt the continuum of rivers, altering natural hydrological regimes . By storing water, dams inevitably increase water residence time. As a consequence, thermal stratification and, subsequently, chemical stratification can develop in a reservoir (Friedl & Wüest, 2002). Hence, downstream water temperature and chemistry depend on the withdrawal depth, and dams thus modify not only downstream water quantity, but also water quality (e.g., Moran et al., 2018;Winton et al., 2019).The alteration of river water quality might have cascading effects and implications for the entire river ecosystem. Water temperature and oxygen concentration, for instance, are key parameters for aquatic species (Caissie, 2006). Water temperature affects growth, metabolism, reproduction, emergence, and the distribution of aquatic organisms, including insects and fish (e.g., Schulte, 2015;Vannote & Sweeney, 1980). Thus, water temperature changes may lead to changes in community composition or even to extinction of some species (Best, 2019). Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration is also a key parameter for aquatic life (e.g., Kramer, 1987). Low oxygen concentrations alter lifecycle performance, growth capacity, reproductive success and disease vulnerability of fish, whilst hypoxia leads to higher fish mortality (Winemiller et al., 2008).

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“…Models could provide insight, but unfortunately, most available hydrologic models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model (Arnold et al, 1996;Easton et al 2010), MIKE-SHE, Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) model (Jenícek, 2009) and the FRIER rainfall-runoff model (Horvat et al, 2009), need detailed landscape and rainfall information that is not available in Latin America. Moreover, the rainfall-runoff relationships in these models are based on temperate climate for which these models were validated (Bruijnzeel, 2004;Araujo et al, 2008;Steenhuis et al, 2009) and application of these models to a monsoonal climate with a unique hydro biological characteristics remains problematic (Kovacs, 1984;Falkenmark and Chapman, 1993;Musiake, 2003;Peel et al, 2004 andSivapalan, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the bio-hydrological impact of a cloud forest in Central America using a semi-distributed water balance model

Caballero¹,

Easton²,

Richards³

et al. 2013

Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics

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Water scarcity poses a major threat to food security and human health in Central America and is increasingly recognized as a pressing regional issues caused primarily by deforestation and population pressure. Tools that can reliably simulate the major components of the water balance with the limited data available and needed to drive management decision and protect water supplies in this region. Four adjacent forested headwater catchments in La Tigra National Park, Honduras, ranging in size from 70 to 635 ha were instrumented and discharge measured over a one year period. A semi-distributed water balance model was developed to characterize the bio-hydrology of the four catchments, one of which is primarily cloud forest cover. The water balance model simulated daily stream discharges well, with Nash Sutcliffe model efficiency (E) values ranging from 0.67 to 0.90. Analysis of calibrated model parameters showed that despite all watersheds having similar geologic substrata, the bio-hydrological response the cloud forest indicated less plantavailable water in the root zone and greater groundwater recharge than the non cloud forest cover catchments. This resulted in watershed discharge on a per area basis four times greater from the cloud forest than the other watersheds despite only relatively minor differences in annual rainfall. These results highlight the importance of biological factors (cloud forests in this case) for sustained provision of clean, potable water, and the need to protect the cloud forest areas from destruction, particularly in the populated areas of Central America.

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Mathematical modelling of hydrodynamics and water quality in a tropical reservoir, northeast Brazil

Cited by 7 publications

References 21 publications

Nutrient budgets (C, N and P) and trophic dynamicsof a Brazilian tropical estuary: Barra das Jangadas

Nutrient budgets (C, N and P) and trophic dynamicsof a Brazilian tropical estuary: Barra das Jangadas

Lake Modeling Reveals Management Opportunities for Improving Water Quality Downstream of Transboundary Tropical Dams

Evaluating the bio-hydrological impact of a cloud forest in Central America using a semi-distributed water balance model

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