The study of sediment fluxes from rivers

The study of sediment fluxes from rivers to estuaries/littoral and eventually to the continental shelf is fundamental to understand the aspects related to the evolution of the coastal area. Presently, the Portuguese coast presents a regressive trend, with about a quarter of its extension in intense erosion. In this context, the quantification and qualification of the current sedimentary exchanges between the continental sources, be it supply through estuaries or coastal erosion, and the continental shelf are crucial to determine the real effects of the implementation of management actions. To address this problem, especially those related to estuarine supply, pragmatic assessment and monitoring solutions are required, and the compilation of previously acquired data has become a priority in order to establish the current regime of sediment dynamics in these transition areas. Contributing to the study of the processes involved in these coastal systems, and marking the beginning of an innovative line of research at the IH and of extreme importance for the development of Marine Sciences, the two parts of a study that aims to characterize the patterns of sediment transport between the estuaries of the Minho and Douro Rivers and the Portuguese Continental Shelf/North Coast were published in the most recent international scientific journal of Open Access "Coasts" (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/coasts). These two publications, by Ana Isabel Santos, Anabela Oliveira, Dora Carinhas and José Paulo Pinto from the Hydrographic Institute and Prof. M Conceição Freitas from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, were based on time series of correntometric and sedimentary data collected in both estuaries between 2005 and 2007. The papers can be consulted online, in free access regime, in the following links:

Part 1: Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Patterns in the Minho and Douro Estuaries (NW Portugal) Based on ADCP Monitoring Data: Part 1-Tidal Sediment Exchanges - https://www.mdpi.com/2673-964X/1/1/3/htm

Part 2: Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Patterns in the Minho and Douro Estuaries (NW Portugal) Based on ADCP Monitoring Data: Part 2-Statistical Interpretation of Bottom Moored Datasets - https://www.mdpi.com/2673-964X/1/1/4/htm