Residual currents and transport pathways in the Tagus estuary, Portugal: the role of freshwater discharge and wind

Abstract

ABSTRACT Vaz, N.,Dias, J.M., 2014. Residual currents and transport pathways in the Tagus estuary, Portugal: the role of freshwater discharge and wind. In: Green, A.N. and Cooper, J.A.G. (eds.), Proceedings 13th International Coastal Symposium (Durban, South Africa), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 70, pp. 610–615, ISSN 0749-0208. Estuaries are interface areas between rivers and the coastal sea. They also receive point discharges of contaminants which can affect estuarine biogeochemistry. The study of residual circulation in estuaries is a key issue since it is related to the transport and dispersal of dissolved and non-dissolved substances. This study investigates the residual flows in a coastal plain estuary (the Tagus estuary, Portugal) taking into account the major forcing factors: tide, river discharge and wind stress. The methodology used is the implementation of a high resolution estuarine model in a 2D mode to simulate the tidal dynamics of the estuary. Tidal flows were calculated by...