A method to integrate the environmental risk of the multiple effects from uses and activities dev... more A method to integrate the environmental risk of the multiple effects from uses and activities developed in harbor areas is presented. Consequences are considered as the effects derived from all identified hazards. Vulnerability is expressed in terms of functional relations between environmental susceptibility against a disturbance and the state of protection of the receptors at risk. Consequences and vulnerability are integrated obtaining a spatial variation of risk: prioritization maps. The maps are developed by 4 main stages: (1) environmental hazard identification; (2) estimation of the consequences; (3) estimation of vulnerability and, (4) integration of environmental risks. To adapt prioritization maps to the peculiarities of the study area, three different methods for the integration of the effects are proposed: average-value, worst-case and weighted methods. The implementation to a real case (Tarragona harbor, NE Spain) confirms its usefulness as a risk analysis tool to communicate and support water quality management in harbors.
Diffuse pollution from oil spills is a widespread problem in port areas (as a result of fuel supp... more Diffuse pollution from oil spills is a widespread problem in port areas (as a result of fuel supply, navigation and loading/unloading activities). This article presents a method to assess the environmental risk of oil handling facilities in port areas. The method is based on (i) identification of environmental hazards, (ii) characterization of meteorological and oceanographic conditions, (iii) characterization of environmental risk scenarios, and (iv) assessment of environmental risk. The procedure has been tested by application to the Tarragona harbor. The results show that the method is capable of representing (i) specific local pollution cases (i.e., discriminating between products and quantities released by a discharge source), (ii) oceanographic and meteorological conditions (selecting a representative subset data), and (iii) potentially affected areas in probabilistic terms. Accordingly, it can inform the design of monitoring plans to study and control the environmental impact...
ABSTRACT Coastal lagoon hydrodynamics are strongly influenced by sea water exchange, especially w... more ABSTRACT Coastal lagoon hydrodynamics are strongly influenced by sea water exchange, especially when the connection between the lagoon and the sea is artificially regulated. These situations increase the complexity of the hydrodynamic regime, requiring the use of numerical models to understand their behaviour. Traditionally, one-dimensional models have been used, although in recent years, the development of two-dimensional shallow water models and advanced numerical techniques have increased notably. However, most of the existing bi-dimensional models consider the connection to the sea as a boundary condition, and they do not take into consideration the sea-lagoon exchange. In this paper, a fully two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of a heavily regulated coastal lagoon, which includes the artificial connection with the sea, is presented. The model allows the characterization of water level variation in the lagoon, taking into account the combined effect of different forcings. This model consists of two hydrodynamic modules: a long wave module (two-dimensional depth-averaged) which includes the analysis of a system of sluice gates, and a wind module (quasi three-dimensional). The model was successfully calibrated and validated with real data, showing its ability to accurately describe the hydraulic dynamics of regulated coastal lagoons.
Susceptibility to pollution can be related to the flushing capacity of aquatic systems. Transport... more Susceptibility to pollution can be related to the flushing capacity of aquatic systems. Transport time scales constitute a useful tool for representing the water exchange and transport processes. A new transport time scale, recovery time, and a methodology to estimate it by means of numerical models is hereby developed. Recovery time, calculated in Gijon, Santander and Tarragona harbours, is significantly related to physical, chemical and biological water quality indicators. Susceptibility, assessed through recovery time values, provides spatial patterns of expected flushing capacity, being sensitive to physical and hydrodynamic characteristics. The developed method is appropriate to estimate recovery time and assess susceptibility against pollution in littoral waters having great potential to be applied to different disciplines. Recovery time could be used in littoral waters as a surrogate of water quality indicators, to establish efficient monitoring programs, to define and characterize modified water bodies or to improve the design of marine infrastructures.
Physical descriptors that characterize Heavily Modified Water Bodies (HMWB) based on the presence... more Physical descriptors that characterize Heavily Modified Water Bodies (HMWB) based on the presence of ports should assess the degree of water exchange. The main goal of this study is to determine the optimal procedure for estimating Transport Time Scales (TTS) as physical descriptors in order to characterize and manage HMWB near ports in coastal zones. Flushing Time (FT) and Residence Time (RT), using different approachesdanalytical and exponential function methodsdand different hydrodynamic scenarios, were computed using numerical models. El Musel (Port of Gijon) was selected to test different transport time scales (FT and RT), methods (analytical and exponential function methods) and hydrodynamic conditions (wind and tidal forcings). FT, estimated by the exponential function method while taking into account a real tidal wave and a mean annual regime of wind as hydrodynamic forcing, was determined to be the optimal physical descriptor to characterize HMWB.
Since Water Policies around the world establish the need to manage the aquatic systems through th... more Since Water Policies around the world establish the need to manage the aquatic systems through the use of water bodies, a hydromorphological descriptor such as the flushing time may be utilized as a good homogeneity and water quality criterion to distinguish between different types of water bodies. In order to achieve this task, a methodological procedure has been proposed involving a hydrodynamic forcing analysis, an approach to calculate flushing time and a sensitivity analysis of the results applied to the Suances Estuary. This method allows taking into account the different spatial regions on an estuary and the temporal variations of the main forcing. Consequently, the role of bathymetry, freshwater river inflows and oceanic tides on the flushing time is investigated using a two-dimensional numerical model. The hydrodynamic module integrates the depth-averaged mass and momentum equations in the time and space domains as well the transport module solves the depth-averaged advection-diffusion equation. Both modules were calibrated and validated using field data collected during spring and neap tidal cycles. Water levels and current velocities were used in the hydrodynamic module while salinities were compared in the transport module. In order to characterize the spatial variation in water renewal conditions, several boxes were selected along the estuary to evaluate the flushing time. The mass reduction is monitored in time and the flushing time at each part of the estuary was computed for several scenarios and analyzed with a multi-sensitivity analysis.
Coastal lagoons with agricultural uses can be considered socio-ecological systems. These systems ... more Coastal lagoons with agricultural uses can be considered socio-ecological systems. These systems require methodologies to assess the sustainable management of water resources in terms of human and environmental requirements. A prompt and up to date methodology, which takes into account the main environmental problems and human activities using ecosystem attributes of ecological and/or social importance (endpoints), has been developed. The overall methodology has been applied to the Albufera of Valencia (Eastern Spain), a littoral lagoon with intensive agricultural practices (rice crops) and where management alternatives to reduce nutrient loads have been implemented, but they have been not enough to achieve environmental goals. An aggregate model has been adapted, calibrated and validated to estimate these key endpoints in that application. The integration of endpoints by means of an overall susceptibility index (OSI) is used to assess the system management. The study concludes that it is possible to use key endpoints to quantify the susceptibility to eutrophication, salinization and water deficit in aquatic systems for agricultural uses. Therefore, the effects on water quality and its availability can be used to establish the influence to achieve environmental and society goals, as a consequence, the system sustainability.
A method to integrate the environmental risk of the multiple effects from uses and activities dev... more A method to integrate the environmental risk of the multiple effects from uses and activities developed in harbor areas is presented. Consequences are considered as the effects derived from all identified hazards. Vulnerability is expressed in terms of functional relations between environmental susceptibility against a disturbance and the state of protection of the receptors at risk. Consequences and vulnerability are integrated obtaining a spatial variation of risk: prioritization maps. The maps are developed by 4 main stages: (1) environmental hazard identification; (2) estimation of the consequences; (3) estimation of vulnerability and, (4) integration of environmental risks. To adapt prioritization maps to the peculiarities of the study area, three different methods for the integration of the effects are proposed: average-value, worst-case and weighted methods. The implementation to a real case (Tarragona harbor, NE Spain) confirms its usefulness as a risk analysis tool to communicate and support water quality management in harbors.
Diffuse pollution from oil spills is a widespread problem in port areas (as a result of fuel supp... more Diffuse pollution from oil spills is a widespread problem in port areas (as a result of fuel supply, navigation and loading/unloading activities). This article presents a method to assess the environmental risk of oil handling facilities in port areas. The method is based on (i) identification of environmental hazards, (ii) characterization of meteorological and oceanographic conditions, (iii) characterization of environmental risk scenarios, and (iv) assessment of environmental risk. The procedure has been tested by application to the Tarragona harbor. The results show that the method is capable of representing (i) specific local pollution cases (i.e., discriminating between products and quantities released by a discharge source), (ii) oceanographic and meteorological conditions (selecting a representative subset data), and (iii) potentially affected areas in probabilistic terms. Accordingly, it can inform the design of monitoring plans to study and control the environmental impact...
ABSTRACT Coastal lagoon hydrodynamics are strongly influenced by sea water exchange, especially w... more ABSTRACT Coastal lagoon hydrodynamics are strongly influenced by sea water exchange, especially when the connection between the lagoon and the sea is artificially regulated. These situations increase the complexity of the hydrodynamic regime, requiring the use of numerical models to understand their behaviour. Traditionally, one-dimensional models have been used, although in recent years, the development of two-dimensional shallow water models and advanced numerical techniques have increased notably. However, most of the existing bi-dimensional models consider the connection to the sea as a boundary condition, and they do not take into consideration the sea-lagoon exchange. In this paper, a fully two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of a heavily regulated coastal lagoon, which includes the artificial connection with the sea, is presented. The model allows the characterization of water level variation in the lagoon, taking into account the combined effect of different forcings. This model consists of two hydrodynamic modules: a long wave module (two-dimensional depth-averaged) which includes the analysis of a system of sluice gates, and a wind module (quasi three-dimensional). The model was successfully calibrated and validated with real data, showing its ability to accurately describe the hydraulic dynamics of regulated coastal lagoons.
Susceptibility to pollution can be related to the flushing capacity of aquatic systems. Transport... more Susceptibility to pollution can be related to the flushing capacity of aquatic systems. Transport time scales constitute a useful tool for representing the water exchange and transport processes. A new transport time scale, recovery time, and a methodology to estimate it by means of numerical models is hereby developed. Recovery time, calculated in Gijon, Santander and Tarragona harbours, is significantly related to physical, chemical and biological water quality indicators. Susceptibility, assessed through recovery time values, provides spatial patterns of expected flushing capacity, being sensitive to physical and hydrodynamic characteristics. The developed method is appropriate to estimate recovery time and assess susceptibility against pollution in littoral waters having great potential to be applied to different disciplines. Recovery time could be used in littoral waters as a surrogate of water quality indicators, to establish efficient monitoring programs, to define and characterize modified water bodies or to improve the design of marine infrastructures.
Physical descriptors that characterize Heavily Modified Water Bodies (HMWB) based on the presence... more Physical descriptors that characterize Heavily Modified Water Bodies (HMWB) based on the presence of ports should assess the degree of water exchange. The main goal of this study is to determine the optimal procedure for estimating Transport Time Scales (TTS) as physical descriptors in order to characterize and manage HMWB near ports in coastal zones. Flushing Time (FT) and Residence Time (RT), using different approachesdanalytical and exponential function methodsdand different hydrodynamic scenarios, were computed using numerical models. El Musel (Port of Gijon) was selected to test different transport time scales (FT and RT), methods (analytical and exponential function methods) and hydrodynamic conditions (wind and tidal forcings). FT, estimated by the exponential function method while taking into account a real tidal wave and a mean annual regime of wind as hydrodynamic forcing, was determined to be the optimal physical descriptor to characterize HMWB.
Since Water Policies around the world establish the need to manage the aquatic systems through th... more Since Water Policies around the world establish the need to manage the aquatic systems through the use of water bodies, a hydromorphological descriptor such as the flushing time may be utilized as a good homogeneity and water quality criterion to distinguish between different types of water bodies. In order to achieve this task, a methodological procedure has been proposed involving a hydrodynamic forcing analysis, an approach to calculate flushing time and a sensitivity analysis of the results applied to the Suances Estuary. This method allows taking into account the different spatial regions on an estuary and the temporal variations of the main forcing. Consequently, the role of bathymetry, freshwater river inflows and oceanic tides on the flushing time is investigated using a two-dimensional numerical model. The hydrodynamic module integrates the depth-averaged mass and momentum equations in the time and space domains as well the transport module solves the depth-averaged advection-diffusion equation. Both modules were calibrated and validated using field data collected during spring and neap tidal cycles. Water levels and current velocities were used in the hydrodynamic module while salinities were compared in the transport module. In order to characterize the spatial variation in water renewal conditions, several boxes were selected along the estuary to evaluate the flushing time. The mass reduction is monitored in time and the flushing time at each part of the estuary was computed for several scenarios and analyzed with a multi-sensitivity analysis.
Coastal lagoons with agricultural uses can be considered socio-ecological systems. These systems ... more Coastal lagoons with agricultural uses can be considered socio-ecological systems. These systems require methodologies to assess the sustainable management of water resources in terms of human and environmental requirements. A prompt and up to date methodology, which takes into account the main environmental problems and human activities using ecosystem attributes of ecological and/or social importance (endpoints), has been developed. The overall methodology has been applied to the Albufera of Valencia (Eastern Spain), a littoral lagoon with intensive agricultural practices (rice crops) and where management alternatives to reduce nutrient loads have been implemented, but they have been not enough to achieve environmental goals. An aggregate model has been adapted, calibrated and validated to estimate these key endpoints in that application. The integration of endpoints by means of an overall susceptibility index (OSI) is used to assess the system management. The study concludes that it is possible to use key endpoints to quantify the susceptibility to eutrophication, salinization and water deficit in aquatic systems for agricultural uses. Therefore, the effects on water quality and its availability can be used to establish the influence to achieve environmental and society goals, as a consequence, the system sustainability.
Uploads
Papers by Aina Gómez