A methodology for defining homogeneous water bodies in estuaries – Application to the transitional systems of the EU Water Framework Directive |
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| Authors: | JG Ferreira AM Nobre TC Simas MC Silva A Newton SB Bricker WJ Wolff PE Stacey A Sequeira |
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| Institution: | 1. IMAR-DCEA – Institute of Marine Research-Departamento Ciencias e Eng Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Qta Torre, 2829-516 Monte de Caparica, Portugal;2. LNEC – Laboratório de Engenharia Civil, Av. do Brasil 101, 1700-066 Lisboa, Portugal;3. IMAR – Institute of Marine Research, IMAR-UALG, Gambelas Campus, Universidade do Algarve, 8000-117 Faro, Portugal;4. NOAA – National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, 1305 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA;5. University of Groningen, Biological Center, Department of Marine Biology, Kerklaan 30, P.O. Box 14, 9750 AA Haren (Gn), The Netherlands;6. Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Management, Hartford, CT, USA |
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| Abstract: | A methodology is developed and tested for division of estuarine and coastal systems into water bodies for monitoring and management purposes. This division is often implicit in the choice of sampling stations and in pollution abatement measures applied to different locations – it is now an explicit requirement of European Union Directive 2000/60/EC (Water Framework Directive) and recommended by United States Agencies such as EPA and NOAA. The approach considers both natural characteristics and the human dimension, by means of a stepwise methodology, which considers, on the one hand, morphology and salinity distribution, and, on the other, appropriate indicators of pressure and state. In the present application, nitrogen and phosphorus loading was used as the pressure component and chlorophyll a and dissolved oxygen as indicators of state. The criteria for system division were defined based on (1) an adimensional shape factor and salinity classes for the natural component; and (2) a normalised pressure index and (ASSETS) eutrophication symptom classes for the human dimension. Water quality databases and GIS were used to develop spatial distributions for the various components, and the results were aggregated into a final water body division, using tidal excursion as a “common sense” test. The methodology was applied to three well-studied systems in Portugal, a tubular estuary (Mondego), a wide lagunal estuary (Sado) and a coastal barrier island system (Ria Formosa). Although a final definition of water bodies will usually be a policy decision, this type of approach for the division of coastal systems into management units scientifically informs the decision-making process. |
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| Keywords: | estuary transitional waters classification water body EU Water Framework Directive management |
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