Abstract
The Tagus Estuary is the largest estuarine system in the Iberian Peninsula. Located in a heavily populated metropolitan area (Lisbon), the estuary-coastal continuum is subject to significant natural variability (e.g., tidal variations, winds, river inflow, etc.) and human pressures (e.g., sewage outflow, infrastructures, coastal reclamation, dredging, etc.). Since the 1980s, the estuary has been a natural laboratory for a great number of multidisciplinary studies, but also a numerical laboratory to test models and to develop new ideas and numerical methodologies. Hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models have been used ever since to ascertain the main spatial and temporal features of the Tagus system, connecting its dynamic to its biogeochemical cycles, providing numerical tools used to increase knowledge and to manage the estuary and nearby coastal waters. The main objective of this paper is to present a synopsis of the scientific output related to numerical studies in the Tagus system, by reviewing more than fifty papers published over the past four decades. Our work provides a historical background and description of the numerical models implemented to address estuarine hydrodynamics, nutrient uptake, primary production, light availability, seasonal and annual cycles and the link between physical, biological and chemical estuarine oceanography.
Highlights
Estuaries are natural buffers between two rather different environments, land and ocean, constituting the mixing zone between freshwater coming from inland and the open ocean.Estuaries are complex systems in which matter, energy and information are exchanged between terrestrial and marine ecosystems [1]
This review provides a general overview of the methodologies used to simulate a wide range of processes and scales that characterize the dynamic of estuarine systems with focus on the Tagus-Coastal continuum
The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 provides a description of the main features of the study area; Section 3 offers a generic description of the evolution of estuarine hydrodynamic and biogeochemical modeling; Section 4 contains a synopsis of the modeling studies performed in the estuary since the 1980s; Section 5 provides a brief discussion on future modeling work that will provide additional understanding on the dynamics of the system
Summary
Estuaries are natural buffers between two rather different environments, land and ocean, constituting the mixing zone between freshwater coming from inland (rivers) and the open ocean. Estuaries have been considered as unique ecosystems [6], but such acknowledgement has not prevent their constant degradation [7] Managing such systems poses serious challenges, as it frequently requires maintaining their natural structure and functioning, while preventing negative impacts of human actions, or even reversing some, keeping a balance between conservation and restoration, and socio-economic benefits associated with present and future developments [3]. Numerical models have become fundamental tools to understand the intricate functioning of estuarine ecosystems, and their outputs have been pivotal in the integration of physical, ecological and socio-economic factors in the design and implementation of management policies [8,9,10,11] In this context, numerical modeling has evolved in time, with increased model sophistication and complexity, mostly due to the rapid development of new mathematical methods to discretize the formulations that describe the processes and the increase in computational power. The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 provides a description of the main features of the study area; Section 3 offers a generic description of the evolution of estuarine hydrodynamic and biogeochemical modeling; Section 4 contains a synopsis of the modeling studies performed in the estuary since the 1980s; Section 5 provides a brief discussion on future modeling work that will provide additional understanding on the dynamics of the system
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