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- Projections of maximum tidal inundation limits of estuaries and lagoons of the south Algarve, forced by mean sea level rise: RCP8.5 scenarioPublication . Sampath, Dissanayake; Boski, Tomasz; Moura, Delminda; Veiga-Pires, C.In the present study, we adopted the Hybrid Estuarine Sedimentation Model to simulate the estuarine and lagoon evolution in the South Algarve region due to projected mean sea level rise (MSLR) and sediment deficit scenarios during the 21st century. Thus, we forecasted morphological evolution of six large and medium size estuaries (Guadiana Alcantarilha, Arade, Gilão, Quarteira River, Alvor and a coastal lagoon system (Ria Formosa lagoon) due to the imposed scenarios of MSLR. The projected digital elevation models were used to identify the maximum tidal limits of each system by the year 2100. According to the results, in all cases, saltmarsh habitats and sand flats will be affected severely in response to upper-limit of RCP8.5 scenario of MSLR by 2100. The conjugation of the increase of the mud-flat area and the decrease of saltmarshes will result in the reduction of habitats and then of biodiversity. Habitats associated with the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon and the Guadiana estuary are highly vulnerable to the worst case scenario of MSLR (90 cm higher relative to the year 2011). Agricultural and aquaculture areas in all study areas will be affected due to the landward translation limits of the intertidal areas. Accordingly, it would be advisable to adopt measures to minimize the socioeconomic impacts and loss of ecosystem services in the South Algarve due to climate change driven MSLR during the 21st century and beyond while taking adaptation actions to prevent the loss of environmentally sensitive habitats like salt marshes and sand dunes.
- Guadiana estuary: present state, past evolution and prospects for the futurePublication . Boski, T.The Guadiana catchment extends over an area of 66 889 km2, between the catchments of the Tagus and Guadalquivir rivers, of which 11 525 km2 are in Portugal. Its upper part in Spain corresponds to what is called the Western La Mancha province. To the North the watershed is limited by alignments, of the Sierra de Altomira http://www.castillalamancha.es/sites/default/files/documentos/paginas/archivos/altomira_liczepa_fich.pdf ) with heights between 700 and 1,000 meters and the Mancha de Toledo, with profusion of endorheic lagoons between 600 and 800 meters above sea level. The origin of the Guadiana was historically placed in the area of Campo de Montiel under the name Rio Pinilla.
- Fleur de sel composition and production: analysis and numerical simulation in an artisanal salternPublication . Sainz, Noa; Boski, T.; DMR, SampathThis study is a first approach to modelling of fleur de sel production, aimed at increasing its efficiency and contributing to the scarce literature on the topic. Quantitative forecasting of daily production of fleur de sel was applied to an artisanal solar pond unit in the environmentally protected area of Castro Marim, SE Portugal. The numerical model was based on simulations of the evaporation process, taking into account the effect of reduced vapour pressure of the brine solution. The controlling variables chosen as input parameters to the forecast model were brine temperature, brine concentration, harvesting efficiency, albedo, incoming solar radiation, precipitation, air relative humidity, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, day of the year, wind direction, and wind speed. Production predicted by the model was tested against actual production in two crystallisers in the years 2015 and 2017. The statistically evaluated match between the estimated and actual production was highly significant with a mean R-2 of 0.8 and overall error of estimation was 14.5%. The chemical composition of nine samples of fleur de sel was analysed, showing the temporal evolution of several components during the harvesting period. A decrease of NaCl content from 96% to 87% and an increase by one order of magnitude of Mg, S, K, Br, and As were observed. The range of Ca, Si, Al, and Sr contents was 0.12-0.65%, 0.1-0.85%, 0.08- 0.3%, and 0.009-0.013%, respectively. Ba, Fe, Mn, Mo, Pb, and Sn contents had the following ranges: 0.051-0.145, 1.2-5.5, 0.44-1.66, 0.03-0.05, <0.05-0.55, and <0.05-0.1 mg/kg, respectively. The following elements were below the detection limit and below the limits of the Codex Alimentarius: Cd, Th, U, Cu, Cr, Co, Ni, V, Bi, Zn, Rb, and Hg.
- Salt harvestingPublication . Sainz, Noa; Boski, T.Saltworks (other terms: salterns, saltponds, solar ponds) are man-made hypersaline systems where table salt or halite (NaCl, sodium chloride) is harvested. Salt production in the Guadiana River estuary is based on solar evaporation of sea water. In other areas, salt is obtained from solid state or brine mining. Saltworks using sea water are usually located in low coastal areas, allowing gravitational filling of ponds during the high tides. Evaporative salt production is restricted to geographical areas where this process is favoured by combined action of wind, solar radiation, low rain rates, and high temperatures. Hence, the Mediterranean and part of the European Atlantic coastal areas fulfil these conditions, particularly during the summer months where the evaporation greatly exceeds precipitation.
- Aplicação multimédia sobre a Ria Formosa e seus fins educacionais (ForDid)Publication . Oliveira, Sónia; Boski, T.; Moura, Delminda; Mendes da Silva de Sousa, Carlos A; Gomes, Ana; Pereira, LauraNa atualidade torna-se inquestionável a necessidade de integrar a aprendizagem com as novas tecnologias de modo a cativar e facilitar a compreensão dos temas abordados através de aplicações didáticas. Durante a última década o Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIMA) assumiu a responsabilidade de criar meios eficazes de comunicação entre o público em geral e a comunidade científica, através de plataformas multimédia interativas. Foram objecto destas aplicações didáticas as várias vertentes do património natural do Algarve. Após o sucesso das primeiras aplicações GuaDid e MonDid visando o Estuário do Rio Guadiana e a Serra de Monchique respectivamente, o desafio de criar e inovar foi acrescido, resultando numa nova aplicação – ForDid, visando a divulgação do importante sistema lagunar Ria Formosa.
- Mudança do nível do mar no golfo de Cádiz durante o Plistocénico tardio e HolocénicoPublication . Boski, T.; Moura, Delminda; Mendes da Silva de Sousa, Carlos A; Gomes, Ana; Pereira, Laura; Oliveira, Sónia; Santana, PauloThe multiproxy information data set obtained from borehole sequences permitted to establish a robust chronology of events, which led to the post glacial infilling of the terminal stretches of regional river palleovaleys. The paleoecological reconstructions combined with 14C age model of Guadiana Estuary sedimentary record revealed the fast sea level rise period since ca 13.5 kyr cal BP, halted during the Younger Dryas and resuming at ca 11500 yr cal BP. The Holocene history of coastal evolution is also well documented in the Estuary of Arade and in Ria Formoza, pointing to the sea level stabilization at ca 7500 cal BP after a last jump of up to 8 meters in 700 years which corresponds to the Meltwater pulse 1c. Since then, the upwards movement of the sea surface continued at much slower pace, ie with the 1.2 mm yr-1 rate. The integration of the data embracing the period from since ca 13.5 ka cal BP, to the actuality enabled us to propose the sea-level rise curve for the SW Iberian Atlantic margin. When confronted with the current altimetric data from TOPEX/POSEIDON, Jason I and Jason II satellites, the millennial time-scale natural trend enables to estimate the anthropogenic forcing of SLR to be in order of 1.2 – 1.8 mm year.
- Morphological response of the saltmarsh habitats of the Guadiana estuary due to flow regulation and sea-level risePublication . Sampath, DMR; Boski, T.In the context of rapid sea-level rise in the 21st century, the reduction of fluvial sediment supply due to the regulation of river discharge represents a major challenge for the management of estuarine ecosystems. Therefore, the present study aims to assess the cumulative impacts of the reduction of river discharge and projected sea-level rise on the morphological evolution of the Guadiana estuary during the 21st century. The assessment was based on a set of analytical solutions to simplified equations of tidal wave propagation in shallow waters and empirical knowledge of the system. As methods applied to estimate environmental flows do not take into consideration the fluvial discharge required to maintain saltmarsh habitats and the impact of sea-level rise, simulations were carried out for ten cases in terms of base river flow and sea-level rise so as to understand their sensitivity on the deepening of saltmarsh platforms.Results suggest saltmarsh habitats may not be affected severely in response to lower limit scenarios of sea-level rise and sedimentation. A similar behaviour can be expected even due to the upper limit scenarios until 2050, but with a significant submergence afterwards. In the case of the upper limit scenarios under scrutiny, there was a net erosion of sediment from the estuary. Multiplications of amplitudes of the base flow function by factors 1.5, 2, and 5 result in reduction of the estimated net eroded sediment volume by 25, 40, and 80%, respectively, with respect to the net eroded volume for observed river discharge. The results also indicate that defining the minimum environmental flow as a percentage of dry season flow (as done presently) should be updated to include the full spectrum of natural flows, incorporating temporal variability to better anticipate scenarios of sea-level rise during this century. As permanent submergence of intertidal habitats can be significant after 2050, due to the projected 79 cm rise of sea-level by the year 2100, a multi-dimensional approach should be adopted to mitigate the consequences of sea-level rise and strong flow regulations on the ecosystem of the Guadiana Estuary. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Sea-level rise and anthropogenic activities recorded in the late Pleistocene/Holocene sedimentary infill of the Guadiana Estuary (SW Iberia)Publication . Delgado, J.; Boski, T.; Nieto, J. M.; Pereira, L.; Moura, Delminda; Gomes, A.I.; Mendes da Silva de Sousa, Carlos A; García-Tenorio, R.This study reviews data on sea-level rise during the last 13000 yr cal. BP (13 kyr) as recorded in the estuarine sediments of the Guadiana River (SE Portugal, SW Spain). We combined new data from a 63 m-long borehole, drilled through the entire postglacial sedimentary sequence, with information on five previously studied cores. By integrating sedimentological, geochemical and palaeontological proxies, we were able to make a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Guadiana terminal palaeovalley during the last 13 kyr and propose a curve of sea-level rise for the SW Iberian Atlantic margin. Our foraminifera-based palaeoecological reconstruction, anchored to a 14C age model, reveals rapid sea-level rise from 13 kyr, interrupted during the Younger Dryas and resuming ca 11.5 kyr. The pace of marine transgression slackened ca. 7.5 kyr and since then has progressed upwards at a rate of 1.2 mm yr 1. HoloceneeAnthropocene sediments from two boreholes were also analysed to assess the timing, levels and sources of trace metals produced by acid mine drainage from the Iberian Pyrite Belt. Study of metal/aluminium ratios through the profiles allowed background metal concentrations to be estimated from lithostratigraphic units older than ca. 5 kyr (i.e. unaffected by anthropogenic activities). Human activities are especially evident from 4.5 kyr (the beginning of the Copper Age), with anthropogenic sources of metal fluxes prevailing over natural sources (especially Pb, Co, Ni, and Mn, and, to a lesser extent, Zn, Cu, and Ni). Mining activities became particularly intensive between the late Bronze Age and the Roman period (3e1.5 kyr), when the highest metal enrichment factors were recorded: EFPb z 2, EFCd > 10, EFCr z 2, EFCu z 3, EFZn ¼ 1.4.This study reveals the utility of postglacial sedimentary records for reconstructing historical changes in regional water-sediment quality and separating natural and anthropogenic sources of geochemical contaminants.
- Downwearing rates on shore platforms of different calcareous lithotypesPublication . Moura, Delminda; Gabriel, Selma; Ramos-Pereira, Ana; Neves, Mário; Trindade, Jorge; Viegas, José; Veiga-Pires, C.; Ferreira, Óscar; Matias, Ana; Jacob, J.; Boski, T.; Santana, PauloVertical lowering (downwearing) of shore platform surfaces is a very important mechanism in their morphological evolution albeit much remains incompletely understood. The efficacy of mechanical and chemical weathering acting on a given substrate, together with erosional processes, influences downwearing rates. In order to determine the relationship between lithotypes and downwearing rates, data collected from a Transverse Micro-erosion Meter were obtained for shore platforms of three different calcareous lithotypes (biocalcarenite, calcarenite and carbonated siltstone) along the central Algarve coast (Southern Portugal). Downwearing rates ranged between 0.096 mm year−1 and 1.676 mm year−1 in biocalcarenite and weakly cemented calcarenite, respectively. In addition, physical properties of the rocks comprising the platforms were measured, including uniaxial compressive strength (as determined by the Point Load Test), porosity, and calcium carbonate content. The results show that downwearing depends primarily on the intrinsic properties of the substrate. Porosity, in particular, acts in two ways: (i) it tends to weaken the substrate; and, (ii) it controls the downward extent of the water percolation and therefore the depth of the weathering mantle subject to erosion by waves and currents.
- Holocene history of Ria Formosa coastal lagoon system (Southern Portugal): borehole evidence and threedimensional paleotopographyPublication . Mendes da Silva de Sousa, Carlos A; Boski, T.; Gomes, Ana; Pereira, Laura; Lampreia, João; Oliveira, SóniaA paleotopographic model of Ria Formosa is presented based on two borehole campaigns and a systematic comparison with previous works, revealing the existence of a complex network of fluvial valleys. Vertical sediment profiles showed a mosaic of changing depositional environments, resulting from local hydrodynamics, sedimentary sources and, to an extent, by the structurally inherited accommodation space. Sedimentological, geochemical and micropaleontological data were put in the context of an age model obtained from 14C datings, pointing to the existence of an estuarine environment subjected to a rapid coastal flooding from ca. 10000 to 7500 cal. years B.P., followed by a period of infilling in an increasingly confined coastal lagoon environment.