Publications

The economical and ecological importance of tidal inlets has fostered the development of empirical tools forinlet management during the last century. This study aims at confronting these empirical theories with resultsobtained with a process-based numerical model, MORSYS2D. This 2DH morphodynamic modeling system isapplied to an idealized tidal inlet/lagoon system with different combinations of significant wave height,tidal range and tidal prism. The numerical model predictions are compared to the empirical models ofHayes, Bruun, O'Brien and FitzGerald and to morphologies observed at natural tidal inlets. The results presentgood accordance with observations as well as with some key behaviors predicted with the empirical theories.The predicted morphologies satisfy the relation of O'Brien between the tidal prism and the cross-sectionalarea, the model reproduces the conceptual model of sand by-passing by ebb-tidal delta breaching of FitzGeraldand the classifications of Hayes and Bruun are generally respected. However, some inconsistencies betweenmodel results andHayes classification highlight the limitations of applying this classification,which only considersthe yearly-averaged significant wave height and tidal range, to a single tidal inlet case.

The patterns of water quality and ecological dynamics in estuaries vary at different time scales. Characterizing thisvariability at short (diurnal and seasonal) time scales is a pre-requisite to investigate the effects of long-term climatechanges. Seasonal scales depend mostly on the natural climatic variability, while diurnal scales are generallyassociated with the tidal cycle and wind events. In order to study the role of these superimposed scales in the Aveirolagoon, an integrated approach, which combines data acquisition and numerical modelling, was followed. Theanalysis was conducted with the three-dimensional, fully coupled hydrodynamic and ecological numerical model,ECO-SELFE, extended to account for the oxygen cycle. For data acquisition three field campaigns were performedalong a salinity gradient (Mira channel), covering different seasonal situations: March 2009, September 2009 andJanuary 2010. These campaigns, each lasting 24 hours, included the measurement of physical, chemical andbiological parameters (river flow, water levels, currents velocities, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen,nutrients and chlorophyll a). Results show the ability of the model to represent both the spatial and temporal patternsobserved for the different variables. Chlorophyll a and nutrients tend to present larger concentrations upstream thandownstream, with the largest values observed in spring. The distribution patterns are significantly influenced by thetidal dynamics.

ABSTRACT: This study investigates sediment transport at a very low-energy backbarrier beach in southern Portugal, from aspring-to-neap tide period, during fair-weather conditions. Rates and directions of transport were determined based on the applicationof fluorescent tracer techniques. Wind and currents were collected locally, whereas the dominant small and short-period wind waveswere characterized using a morphodynamic modelling system coupling a circulation model, a spectral wave model, and a bottomevolution model, well validated over the study area.For the recorded conditions sediment transport was small and ebb oriented, with daily transport rates below 0.02m3 day-1. Tidalcurrents (mainly ebb velocities) were found to be the main causative forcing controlling sediment displacements. Transport rateswere higher during spring tides, tending towards very small values at neap tides. Results herein reported points towards thedistinction between tracer advection and tracer dispersion in this type of environment. Transport by advection was low as a consequenceof the prevailing hydrodynamic conditions (Hs<0.1 m, and max. current velocity of 0.5ms-1) and the tracer adjustment tothe transport layer, whereas dispersion was relatively high (few metres per day). Tracer techniques allowed distinguishing the broadpicture of transport, but revealed the need for refinement in this type of environments (bi-directional forcing by ebb and flood cycles).

Tidal asymmetry is a key factor in the geomorphology of many coastal lagoons. Whilst tidal asymmetry insemi-diurnal tidal regimes has been extensively studied, its occurrence in mixed tidal regimes is less wellunderstood, and has a number of unique causes and characteristics. Tidal phase duration analysis andleast squares harmonic analysis have been used to study the temporal and spatial nature of asymmetryin both offshore and coastal lagoon tides at the Murray Mouth in south-eastern Australia. GIS analysis ofbathymetric survey data has been used to study the roles of lagoon bathymetry on tidal distortion.Tidal asymmetry in the Murray Mouth coastal lagoon results from frequency relationships between majorastronomical driving tides as well as bathymetry-induced tidal transformations. The frequency differencebetween the K1 and S2 tides produces an important 6-monthly ebb/flood-dominant asymmetry cycle in theincoming oceanic tides, whilst phase relationships between the K1 and K2 tides contribute to persistentasymmetry. The use of standard relationships between theM2 andM4 tides as asymmetry indicators is shown tobe invalid for this mixed tidal regime. In this shallow, microtidal system, the impacts of bathymetry on tidalasymmetry within the lagoon are profound, with inlet and channel configurations identified as the mostimportant controlling factors.The results of this study may inform the strategic management of tidal inlets in mixed tidal regimes, suchas the Murray Mouth, that are subject to intermittent or long-term constriction.

The generation of unstructured triangular grids for coastal applications requires extensive manual tunning, in order to improve the stability, accuracy and efficiency of the model simulations. As current grids reach 105-106 nodes, this manual tunning is no longer feasible. This paper presents a new post-processor that aims at optimizing the local distribution of nodes and elements by adding and deleting nodes and by changing the connections between nodes. The algorithms target a smooth transition between elements sizes by making the number of connections of each internal node as close to 6 as possible.An application of the post-processor to various grids shows that the grid roughness is reduced by 10-30%, while decreasing marginally the number of nodes and maintaining the global nodal distribution. To illustrate the benefits of the post-processor, a grid with 130.000 nodes of the maritime zone under Portuguese jurisdiction is used to simulate tides with a good accuracy (root mean square errors below 10 cm) and without numericaloscillations. The model results provide an extensive database of tidal elevations that can feed boundary conditions to local estuarine models.

The Portuguese southern coast national and international appeal turns it into a highly relevant area concerning the country's economy. Vale do Lobo is a resort located in the centre of this coast, where the beach has been suffering from erosion problems for several years now. Local interventions have been executed in order to prevent the erosion of the beach, yet the efficiency of such strategy has not been verified.This study's main purpose is to enable a better understanding of the evolutionary trends of the coastline between Quarteira and Ancão inlet and to analyse the efficiency of the beach nourishment interventions as a protection technique for a coastal environment with the wave energy exposure and geomorphologic characteristics of the present one.The study focussed on a 10-year period, during which, 700x103 and 370x103 m3 of sand with D50=0.76 mm (slightly larger than the D50 of the native beach) were extracted from offshore, and deposited in the foreshore. The wave climate in the study area was processed, analysed and used as input for modelling the nearshore processes. In addition, beach profiles measured alongshore have been analysed to obtain the representative beach profile. Coastlines of different dates have been derived from aerial photographs.The longshore transport model Litdrift and the coastline model Litline were applied to study the sediment dynamics. Litdrift was used to estimate the longshore transport capacity of the beach for the hydrodynamic series considering the representative beach profile previously obtained. These results were then used to calculate the evolution of the coastline due to the incident wave climate with Litline model. Aerial photographs were used to verify the model. The analysis of the two beach nourishments performed allowed to infer on the efficiency of this coastal protection technique to delay the erosion process.

This article addresses the problem of sedimentation at the entrance of a harbour by evaluating and understanding thesediment dynamics in the adjacent beaches. The results of the methodology applied to acknowledge the beaches

In the past decade, two-dimensional (2DH) morphodynamic modeling systems were developed to simulate the morphological changes due to the combined action of waves, tides and winds. In spite of some significantsuccesses, they are unable to predict complex morphological behaviors, such as inlet infillings in highly dynamicenvironments during winter energetic wave conditions. For these reasons, the state of the art in morphodynamic modeling tends to evolve towards three-dimensional (3D) modeling systems. In this context, the present study focuses on the development of an unstructured 3D coupled wave-current model taking into account the verticalstructure of radiation stresses based on recent theoretical developments. The model is applied to the common breakwater test case and succeeds efficiently to reproduce the wave-driven circulation behind the breakwater.The study investigates also the vertical structure of the flow and the wave-induced setup along a cross-shore profile. The undertow is well-predicted by the model in the surf zone and the wave-induced setups predicted by the 3D model are about 30-40% greater than those simulated by a 2DH approach. This important aspect could berelevant in storm surge and inundation studies for which the quality of the predictions could be strongly improved by using a 3D fully coupled wave-current model.

A extracção de sedimentos nas zonas costeiras é uma actividade de importância e prática crescentes há já vários anos e em diversos países. A evolução de uma zona de extracção depende essencialmente do tipo de sedimento e das características hidrodinâmicas do local. No presente trabalho pretendeu-se estudar a evolução morfológica e sedimentar de uma escavação ao largo de Vale do Lobo (Algarve, Portugal) com base em 3 campanhas batimétricas realizadas entre 2006 e 2008, antes e após a extracção, assim como numericamente, através da aplicação de um modelo morfodinâmico

Presently, conceptual and numerical sediment concentration modelling is largely based on the diffusionapproach. However, several works have shown that this approach is, frequently, unsuitable to model the profiledistribution of different grain size particles in the same flow. In order to understand the grain size effects onsuspended sediment concentration profiles under breaking wave conditions, a new data set was collected at threewest coast Portuguese beaches (Almagreira, Caparica and Comporta beaches). As expected, the relativeconcentration for the entire grain-size spectrum shows a systematic decrease with distance to the bed, thoughwith different profile shapes (exponential and power law). The analysis of the relative concentration profiles foreach sediment fraction show similar profile patterns; however, as expected, the decrease in the relativeconcentration with height strongly depends on particle size and assumes a different behaviour at each site. In thiscase, diffusion approach was unable to explain all the observed profile patterns, namely the overlapping ofcoarse sediment profiles and the different profile shapes in the same flow. These deficiencies were overcome bythe use of the convection-diffusion approach.

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Large-scale physical model tests are ongoing at CIEM wave flume of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. This paper presents some aspects of the study aimed to analyze the effect of wave storm events on dune erosion and overwash processes. Two different regimes of storm attack on the sandy beach/dune system are investigated: a collision regime with swash and runupto the dune face and an overwash regime with wave run-up overtopping the dune crest (Sallenger et al. 2003). Eight run tests are performed with a combination of four irregular wave conditions and two different water depths. Detailed measurements in time and space of profile evolution, hydrodynamics, sediment concentration, overtopping rate and photogrammetric surveyare carried out.

The economical and ecological importance of tidal inlets have fostered the development of empirical tools for inlet management during the last century. This study aims at confronting these empirical theories with recent process-based numerical models. The 2DH process-based morphodynamic modeling system MORSYS2D is applied to an idealized tidal inlet/lagoon system with six different combinations of significant wave height, tidal range and tidal prism. The model predictions are compared to natural morphologies and then to the empirical models of Hayes, O

The European Water Framework Directive requires that surface water bodies (both fresh andsaline) reach a good ecological status by 2015. Dissolved oxygen is one of the indicators forthe evaluation of the quality of water bodies, because it is essential for the aquatic community.Therefore, integrated tools that allow the study of the oxygen dynamics are useful to supportthe sustainable management of these water bodies. This study aims at extending an existingmodel (ECO-SELFE

Recently, a new set of experiments (Silva et al., 2008) addressed the dynamics of movable beds under oscillatory skewed waves, in the sheet-flow regime. When this sediment mobility regime is attained, most of the transport takes place in a thin layer at the top of the bed-level, and sediment velocities (and fluxes) are quite difficult to measure and estimate. In the present paper we apply a methodology for the estimation of the grain velocity inside the sheet-flow layer, combining cross-correlation techniques with wavelet multilevel decomposition, from measurements of two conductivity concentration meter probes. The results from the new methodology improve significantly the estimates from the simple cross-correlation technique, and yield quite consistent velocity measurements over the entire sheet-flow and for most of the wave phases.

Neste trabalho apresentam-se os principais resultados da evolução morfológica do perfil de praia, a duas escalas em modelo reduzido, com enfoque para as condições de agitação marítima do tipo erosivo. Discutem-se as analogias e discrepâncias observadas, à luz das leis de semelhança adoptadas. Conclui-se ainda, sobre a importância da cota do sopé da defesa longitudinal aderente em relação ao nível de água, com base na significância do efeito da estrutura na evolução do perfil transversal na zona adjacente à obra.

Following the artificial opening of Santo André inlet a long ebb occurred with urrents peaking to 6m/s and excavating a linear V-shaped channel. Sediment eroded from the barrier formed an ebb delta. In the following 1.5 days the channel deepened to -1m (msl), while a flood delta started to accrete. 11 days after breaching the ebb-delta migrated shoreward and partly changed into a swash-bar, inducing southwardrotation of the inlet channel, which became flat-bottomed but remained linear, further incising to -3m. In the following week it accreted and extended southward, inducing meandering and extension of the channel,which started silting up. 25 days after breaching, the swash-bar offset the inlet, the channel became sandchoked,and swash accretion reshaped most of the bar into a berm. During the next 5 days the inlet closed and the berm rapidly accreted to an equilibrium height, with no other significant changes until September.

Under large near-bed oscillatory velocities, sediment transport mainly occurs within a thin layer, known as the sheet flow layer. The structure of the sheet flow layer changes along the wave cycle, with maximum thickness around maximum onshore and off-shore velocities and minima at flow reversals. These changes are intimately related to the lower and upper bounds of the sheet flow layer. In the present work, the intra-wave changes of the sheet flow thickness for oscillatory flows, with acceleration and velocity skewnesses, are analysed based on detailed measurements of the sediment concentration within the bed layer and the backscattered signal of an Acoustic Doppler Velocity Profiler, located above. The results from both measurements are compared and discussed as a function of the physical forcing parameters: net current, flow acceleration and velocity skewnesses.

This work examines the results of a sensitivity analysis of the morphodynamic modeling system MORSYS2D to someimportant parameters, when applied to the Ria de Aveiro lagoon inlet. The sensitivity analysis is performed by tuningthe various formulae used to compute the sediment fluxes and the sediment characteristics (d50). The median sedimentdiameter used in the simulations is assumed uniform over the whole domain (0.5 mm and 1 mm) or specified through avariable grain size grid. This work addresses the implications of these input parameters on the simulation of theevolution of the Ria de Aveiro inlet

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The hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics of a low energy estuarine beach was analysed. The beach is subjected to local wind waves generated in an area of restricted fetch, wake waves generated by catamarans and a semi diurnal meso-tidal regime. Only storm events of short duration modify the beach profile, which, once the normal hydrodynamic conditions are restored, naturally recovers its initial shape. The beach is characterised by having a steep upper slope until mean sea level, followed, seaward, by a low gradient terrace, and a bimodal sediment distribution. To investigate the hydro sedimentologic beach behaviour, wind, topo-hydrographic and sedimentologic data were used as input and validation of process based numerical modelling. Wave generation and transformation in an area of restricted fetch, nearshore circulation, sediment transport and morphological evolution were simulated for average annual conditions and storm conditions. The statistical analysis of a six-year wind data series allowed to derive the average wind regime, based on which, the average annual wave regime and the average annual longshore sediment budget, 14.5x103 m3year-1, were calculated. The contribution of the individual components of the representative wave regime, discretised by directional sector and height class of incidence, was evaluated as well as the spatial distribution of the longshore sediment transport in the active part of the beach profile. The characteristics of the wave groups generated by the passage of catamarans at different speeds were estimated and their action on the beach morphology was simulated. Although when the catamarans travel at 20 knots speed the average annual wake wave energy dissipated at the beach is 2.5 times higher than the average annual wind wave energy, the erosion effect on the beach profile is still not relevant for the present traffic. In opposition, short duration storm events generate the formation of an erosion scarp at the upper part of the beach face. The numerical modelling of this phenomenon allowed to acknowledge on the protective effect that the low gradient terrace has on the beach face.

A presente tese tem como objetivo melhorar a gestão dos sistemas de distribuição de água através da utilização de métodos probabilísticos e estatísticos para analisar os dados de contadores inteligentes. Assim, é proposta uma metodologia para avaliação da incerteza em medições de caudal dinâmicas, baseada apenas nas próprias medições, no método de bootstrap por blocos e no ajustamento de um modelo adequado aos dados em estudo. De seguida, é desenvolvida uma metodologia de amostragem probabilística estratificada dos clientes para identificação de uma amostra representativa onde deverão ser instalados contadores inteligentes, sendo os estratos definidos pelos grupos obtidos numa análise de clusters baseada em dados de faturação. É ainda apresentada uma metodologia para a decomposição¸ de séries temporais de caudal em consumo autorizado, consumo não autorizado, roturas e perdas, utilizando técnicas de suavização de séries temporais e análise do espetro singular (singular sprectum analysis). Por último, são testados alguns métodos robustos e de analise funcional para deteção de valores anómalos em series temporais de caudal.

A compreensão dos impactes das alterações climáticas é fundamental para agestão a longo do prazo dos ecossistemas estuarinos. Esta compreensão sópoderá ser efectiva considerando a variabilidade climática natural e o papelrelativo das intervenções antropogénicas nestes ecossistemas. Assim, apresente dissertação analisa a influência das alterações climáticas e pressõesantropogénicas na qualidade da água e dinâmica ecológica da Ria de Aveirocom base numa abordagem integrada, que combinou a análise de sériestemporais dos últimos 25 anos e a modelação numérica de elevada resoluçãode cenários futuros de alterações climáticas e intervenções antropogénicas.A componente de modelação de qualidade da água e ecológica foi melhoradaa vários níveis. A análise de sensibilidade do modelo 3D hidrodinâmicoecológicoECO-SELFE aplicado à Ria de Aveiro e a revisão das constantes desemi-saturação para absorção de nutrientes pelo fitoplâncton contribuírampara a precisão e robustez das aplicações. A concentração do fitoplâncton foisignificativamente influenciada pelas taxas de crescimento do fitoplâncton e demortalidade e excreção do zooplâncton, e apresentou uma sensibilidadereduzida à variação das constantes de semi-saturação na gama identificadapara as diatomáceas. O acoplamento do ECO-SELFE a um modelo de campopróximo e a integração do ciclo do oxigénio aumentaram a sua capacidade derepresentação dos processos e das escalas espaciais relevantes. A validaçãodo ECO-SELFE foi realizada com base num conjunto de campanhasespecíficas realizadas no canal de Mira. Os padrões espaciais e temporaisobservados para as várias variáveis (clorofila a, nutrientes, oxigénio dissolvido,salinidade, temperatura da água, correntes e níveis) foram simulados comerros menores ou semelhantes aos obtidos neste tipo de aplicações.A análise dos padrões de variabilidade espacial e temporal da qualidade daágua e ecológica na Ria de Aveiro a diferentes escalas, efectuada com basenos dados históricos de 1985 a 2010 complementados pelas campanhasrealizadas, sugeriu uma influência combinada da variabilidade climática e dasacções antropogénicas. Os cenários futuros de alterações climáticas eintervenções antropogénicas simulados evidenciaram uma influência maissignificativa das alterações climáticas quando comparadas com os efeitos dasacções antropogénicas analisadas. As variações mais significativas sãoprevistas para os cenários de subida do nível do mar, seguidos dos cenáriosde alterações dos regimes hidrológicos, evidenciando o papel da circulação(maré e caudal fluvial) no estabelecimento da qualidade da água e dinâmicaecológica na laguna. Para os cenários de subida do nível do mar são previstosdecréscimos significativos da clorofila a e dos nutrientes a jusante e nas zonasintermédias do canal, e um aumento significativo da salinidade a montante.Estas alterações poderão favorecer modificações da composição e distribuiçãodas comunidades, afectando a cadeia alimentar e causando uma progressãopara montante de espécies marinhas. Os resultados sugerem ainda que osefeitos poderão ser mais significativos em estuários pouco profundos.

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A temática dos derrames de hidrocarbonetos continua a ser um assunto de extremaimportância dados os graves impactes continuadamente causados no meio marinho. O desenvolvimentode ferramentas para auxilio às autoridades responsáveis pela gestão costeirano combate e mitigação deste tipo de acidentes é prioritário nos planos estratégicos governamentais.Neste trabalho propõe-se um novo sistema integrado de análise de hidrocarbonetos desenvolvidopara aplicação a derrames em zonas costeiras, portuárias e oceânicas. Desenvolveuseuma nova metodologia baseada na sinergia da modelação numérica com a detecção remotapor satélites. Este sistema integra uma componente de modelação numérica flexível(2D/3D) e um novo algoritmo de segmentação de manchas de hidrocarbonetos observadasem imagens SAR. O algoritmo de detecção remota foi concebido para validar os resultadosdo sistema de modelos. O sistema de modelação baseia-se numa abordagem Euleriana-Lagrangeana para a resolução dos processos de evolução dos hidrocarbonetos, utilizandomalhas não-estruturadas para a representação dos domínios de estudo numa perspectivamulti-escala. O modelo de hidrocarbonetos inclui a maioria dos processos relevantes numderrame à superfície e na coluna de água e inclui um novo algoritmo para a retenção costeiraque considera a dinâmica intertidal para aplicação a domínios praias, lagunas e estuários.Realizaram-se diversas aplicações sintéticas e reais que comprovaram a precisão, robustez,fiabilidade e flexibilidade do sistema integrado, com custos computacionais e níveisde complexidade variável. A aplicação do sistema ao caso Prestige permitiu demonstrarque a sinergia entre a modelação numérica e a detecção remota é uma mais-valia para aprevisão de derrames de hidrocarbonetos no mar e serviu como base para uma análise qualitativada influência da precisão da previsão do vento como agente forçador.Futuramente, o sistema poderá ser aplicado na optimização de planos de contingência,sustentando análises de risco, e em sistemas de alerta e aviso para acidentes de poluição.

As margens estuarinas são constituídas por diversos elementos morfo-sedimentares, interdependentes entre si através de processos hidrodinâmicos, sedimentares, morfológicos e ecológicos. Estas características conferem à zona marginal do estuário uma sensibilidade particular a desequilíbrios entre o suporte morfológico e sedimentar e à acção dos agentes hidrodinâmicos, climáticos e antrópicos. A presente tese contempla o estudo da evolução morfo-sedimentar de margens estuarinas, procurando identificar as condições genéticas, caracterizar e quantificar os processos evolutivos actuais e passados. A área em estudo situa-se na margem sul do estuário interno do Tejo, entre Alcochete e Cacilhas, incluindo a restinga do Alfeite e a baía do Seixal. Efectuou-se a caracterização hidrodinâmica, morfológica e sedimentar da região em estudo e a avaliação dos padrões evolutivos à mesoescala e microescala. O estuário do Tejo é caracterizado por extensas zonas intertidais constituídas por rasos de maré e sapais. Estas áreas são alimentadas por sedimento em suspensão de origem fluvial, redistribuído pelas correntes de maré. Contrastando com o predomínio da sedimentação essencialmente silto-argilosa, surgem na margem sul praias e restingas de natureza arenosa que indicam a actividade de ondas de geração local. A morfologia da restinga do Alfeite evidencia a actividade de ondas, quer na sua formação, quer na sua evolução temporal. A sua instalação, há cerca de 500 anos atrás, terá correspondido a um episódio de mobilização considerável de material grosseiro proveniente de fontes sedimentares próximas - as rochas detríticas miocénicas e pliocénicas. A instalação da restinga proporcionou a manutenção de um ambiente de baixa energia, constituído por rasos de maré e sapais (baía do Seixal). O clima de agitação local está sobretudo relacionado com as nortadas, devido às maiores distâncias de fetch associadas e à intensidade mais elevada dos ventos daquele quadrante. O clima de agitação médio, obtido através de um modelo de previsão da agitação, caracteriza-se por alturas significativas de onda entre 0,2 e 0,4 m e por períodos de zero ascendente de 2 s. Em condições extremas a altura significativa de onda pode atingir 1,3 m. As ondas de geração local no estuário interno têm capacidade para causar a ressuspensão, transporte e acumulação de areias na margem sul, virada às direcções de fetch mais longo. Identificaram-se dois domínios principais de transporte longitudinal, envolvendo um caudal sólido semelhante de 20 000 - 30 000 m3/ano. Estes resultados concordam como as direcções de desenvolvimento e de progradação das restingas de areia. O padrão de dispersão de material sedimentar concorda também com a localização de fontes sedimentares potenciais. A restinga do Alfeite mostra uma variação morfológica evidente nos últimos 150 anos, dominada pelos processos de erosão e envolvendo a redução da área da praia em cerca de 15 ha. As modificações mais importantes ocorreram no período 1930-1979, com uma taxa de erosão média de 0,3 ha/ano, que coincidiu com intensa intervenção antrópica no sistema envolvendo alteração dos balanços sedimentares locais. As taxas de erosão obtidas através da análise evolutiva à mesoescala concordam com os volumes sedimentares avaliados para a deriva litoral local. O padrão evolutivo à microescala da praia do Alfeite mostra igualmente um comportamento particular de resposta a alterações hidrodinâmicas locais e à acção antrópica. O padrão de evolução à mesoescala e microescala da baía do Seixal sugere uma diferença acentuada entre o comportamento das zonas subtidal e intertidal inferior, com alguma dominância dos processos erosivos (com uma taxa de erosão média de 1-2 cm/ano), e o da zona supratidal com taxas de sedimentação relativamente elevadas (1cm/ano). O modelo morfo-sedimentar proposto para a baía do Seixal é essencialmente um modelo de redistribuição de sedimentos entre os rasos de maré superiores e sapais e os canais; resulta a selecção natural entre siltes grosseiros e areia e uma fracção mais fina com componente orgânica importante. À macroescala, o modelo evolutivo proposto será interrompido por episódios de entrada excepcional de material, principalmente através da rede hidrográfica local, associados a eventos extremos. As margens estuarinas são particularmente sensíveis a alterações extremas dos balanços sedimentares locais, sendo clara a interdependência entre a evolução morfológica e a interferência antrópica no sistema.

Os estuários são sistemas ricos em recursos naturais e de grande fragilidade ecológica. O seu uso, como suporte de múltiplas actividades, faz com que seja necessário definir planos de gestão destinados a compatibilizar tais utilizações, salvaguardando o equilíbrio ecológico e a saúde pública. Reviram-se os conceitos de estuário, suas características e tipos. Identificaram-se princípios e metodologias para a sua gestão, que requerem o uso de instrumentos, dentre os quais são objecto central do presente estudo os sistemas de indicadores ambientais. O modelo de enquadramento adoptado foi o de Pressão Estado Resposta. As aplicações do conceito de indicador ambiental a estuários são recentes e limitadas, devido à especificidade destes sistemas, em particular, da coexistência de escalas de tempo distintas no controlo dos processos hidrodinâmicos e das suas características bio-geo-químicas. A caracterização ambiental dum estuário requer a aplicação de uma metodologia que inclui, além de informação de contexto, a identificação das zonas homogéneas, definidas com base em critérios morfológicos, de salinidade e de gestão, e das escalas de tempo relevantes, para definir os domínios de integração espacial e temporal das variáveis observadas, que conduzem aos valores significativos. A estes é removida a dimensão, sendo normalizados por aplicação de operadores algébricos e gráficos, inferindo-se a conformidade com a qualidade ambiental a partir dos valores dos indicadores normalizados. A metodologia inclui a definição de classes de qualidade. A metodologia foi ensaiada no estuário do Tejo. A sua caracterização, cobrindo as temáticas da eutrofização e estado de oxigenação, da qualidade estética e da contaminação bacteriológica e por xenobióticos, demonstrou a exequibilidade do método. Os resultados, se bem que de interesse relativo por recorrerem a dados heterogéneos e, por vezes, sem actualidade, revelam um estuário com baixa susceptibilidade à poluição, onde o incumprimento das normas de emissão pelas fontes poluentes era dominante. Porém, o estado do estuário revelou-se, em grande parte da sua extensão, bom ou excelente relativamente a alguns parâmetros, embora tenham sido identificadas situações de não conformidade. A metodologia é, assim, exequível, mesmo quando aplicada a um estuário complexo como o Tejo, e capaz de diferenciar situações de qualidade ambiental distintas. Constitui um instrumento de gestão útil para o apoio ao planeamento de programas de monitorização, para a sistematização da informação e para a comunicação clara com os responsáveis pelas decisões e com o público.

Eulerian-Lagrangian methods (ELMs) are increasingly used to simulate groundwater and surface water transport and water quality, largely due to their ability to use large time steps and to formally decouple processes with distinct time scales. Yet, two severe limitations remain: (1) ELMs do not inherently conserve mass, AND (2) in multiple dimensions, robust implementations of "higher-order" ELMs are expensive. Our research focused on the understanding of the main sources of errors in ELMs. We analyzed systematically the impact and relative importance of tracking errors, integration errors and forcing by non-conservative flow fields, on measures of mass conservation, overall accuracy and stability. From this analysis, we propose new methodologies and general guidelines towards mass conservative, globally accurate and stable multi- dimensional ELM transport simulations in estuarine and coastal regions. We performed a pioneering study of the influence of tracking errors, demonstrating their very strong negative impact on mass conservation, overall accuracy and stability. Low-order tracking methods are strongly discouraged in the presence of complex flow fields, typical of estuaries, because they are too inaccurate to allow overall mass balance and phase preservation, and they lead to potential instability. We show that the evaluation of the integrals at the feet of the characteristic lines is an important source of mass and overall errors, which can be controlled through grid refinement. To avoid such errors, we develop a new method that combines the flexibility and local mass properties of control volume finite element methods (CVFE), with a new quadrature integration technique. Subdivision quadrature overcomes stability constrains of traditional quadratures and allows for easy implementation in multiple dimensions. We find subdivision quadrature CVFE-ELMs to be an attractive alternative to current finite element ELMs in estuaries and coasts. Non-conservative flow fields are the primary concern for estuarine and coastal applications because ELMs cannot mitigate their effect without jeopardizing overall accuracy. We found bathymetric gradients and complex geometry to be the main sources for flow mass errors, and grid refinement to be inadequate to eliminate them. Consequently, mass imbalances in ELM solutions cannot be removed by grid refinement. Control volume finite elements and conservative-equation-based formulations are equally ineffective in the presence of a non-conservative flow. The problem needs to be addressed at the source, i.e., the circulation models that generate the flows. A detailed analysis of residence times illustrates the importance of improving numerical models, and provides new insights on the variability of residence times in estuarine systems. A new methodology is proposed, which emphasizes the importance of local analysis of residence times to understand the fluxing properties of a complex system, while providing an alternative approach to traditional bulk evaluations of residence times. Key Words: Flow mass conservation. Transport Mass conservation. Transport equation. Eulerian-Lagrangian methods. Finite Volumes. Finite elements. Accuracy Analysis. Residence Times.

The thesis deals with the numerical modelling of random wave propagation in the nearshore region. The mathematical modelling is based on the mild - slope equation.The mild - slope equation has been considered in a linear elliptic form in order to take into account wave refraction, diffraction, and reflections, and therefore to allow for the applicability of the model without constraints even to areas like harbours where reflections play an important role. Owing to the fact that we are dealing with a boundary value problem, the mathematical methods for solving the linear system of equations generated after discretising the governing equation and the boundary conditions imposed are fundamental to developing an efficient numerical model. A range of mathematical methods for solving the linear elliptic form of the mild-slope equation as well as a range of appropriate radiation boundary conditions are analysed, implemented and compared. Comparisons with available results, experimental and numerical, for different cases of study, validate the model for monochromatic waves.To overcome the difficulty of applying the linear elliptic model over large areas, a multigrid technique was deployed in a numerical model of a non-linear transformed form of the mild-slope equation in order to accelerate convergence. This technique was applied to a range of iterative solvers and satisfactory results were obtained.A numerical model of a hyperbolic form of the mild-slope equation, an initial value problem, was also developed and extended in order to test a range of radiation boundary conditions. Results show that "sponge layers" provide the best means of dealing with radiation type boundary conditions.The elliptic model was then further developed by extending it to random waves using the concept of superposition of spectral components. The importance of frequency and directional spreading was investigated. Based on the energy balance equation the phenomenon of breaking of irregular waves in the surf zone was incorporated, using two different approaches, in the model which was applied to cases that had been experimentally studied before. The results from this part of the work are unique and demonstrate the practical usefulness of the model.

STERNA é um sistema de modelos matemáticos para a simulação de processos hidrodinâmicos e de qualidade da água em estuários não-estratificados. Este sistema é constituído pelo modelo hidrodinâmico MOHID, previamente existente, e por um modelo de transporte e por um conjunto de módulos de qualidade da água, desenvolvidos no decurso deste estudo. As equações de conservação da massa e de conservação da quantidade de movimento, do modelo hidrodinâmico, e a equação de advecção-difusão, do modelo de transporte, são resolvidas pelo método das diferenças finitas, a partir de uma formulação bidimensional (2D), integrada na vertical.Descreve-se a aplicação do sistema STERNA ao estuário do Tejo. Os resultados são comparados com observações efectuadas em campanhas do "Estudo Ambiental do Estuário do Tejo". Estas observações compreendem: a) séries temporais de correntes, salinidade, temperatura e sedimentos em suspensão, com cerca de 24 horas de duração; b) séries de valores mensais de salinidade, temperatura, clorofila-a, fosfato, amónia, nitrato, CBO e oxigénio dissolvido, com 4 anos de duração. Verifica-se, para a generalidade dos parâmetros, uma concordância satisfatória entre observações e resultados dos modelos.Os dados de campo e o sistema de modelos proposto servem de suporte a uma análise das características do ambiente no estuário do Tejo. Discutem-se, em particular: as trocas de maré entre o estuário e o exterior; a importância da estratificação de densidade; os fluxos de calor através da superfície; os mecanismos de formação da zona de turvação máxima; os factores responsáveis pela limitação da produção primária fitoplanctónica; os processos envolvidos no ciclo do fósforo e do azoto; e a ocorrência de défices de oxigénio. Conclui-se pela importância de uma abordagem integrada no estudo dos processos estuarinos.Palavras-chave: Modelos matemáticos; método das diferenças finitas; hidrodinâmica de estuários; qualidade da água; estuário do Tejo.

Although three-dimensional (3D) modeling of coastal and estuarine flows is becoming common, several limitations remain related to our ability both to describe and to numerically simulate the correct physics. Two key limitations concern vertical resolution: the lack of flexibility of current methods for vertical discretization prevents the optimal use of computational resources, and guidelines for vertical nodal placement are not available.The major contribution of this thesis is the development, analysis and test of an approach that allows for an unprecedented flexibility in the vertical refinement of the domain. This approach, which we refer to as localized sigma coordinates (LSC), is the first to allow the number of nodes per vertical to vary horizontaly, and can therefore be considered a natural extension to the use of unstructured grids in the horizontal.To take advantege of the LSC, we perform the first systematic study for the vertical discretization in barotropic tidal flow simulations. The resulting optimal grid can reduce the errors relative to a uniform grid by over an order of magnitude and compares favorably with non-uniform grids previously proposed. A criterion to guide the horizontal distribution of the total number of nodes is proposed and discussed in the context of simple one- and two-dimensional models, and is then extended to three dimensions. Accounting for advection in three dimenions forces modifications to the criterion, but the overall concept proved to be useful: using a variable number of nodes per vertical reduces the maximum velocity errors by a factor of two.As part of our analysis of the LSC, we investigate the evaluation of the horizontal gradients in sigma-coordinate shallow water models. We show that horizontal gradients should be computed in sigma rather than z-coordinates, and that the so-called hydrostatic inconsistency typically associated with sigma coordinates does not correspond to a numerical inconsistency. The large errors associated with the evaluation of horizontal gradients can be by-passed through appropriate horizontal resolution, and a procedure to define this resolution is proposed based on results from a truncation error analysis.An application to the Tagus estuary demonstrates the enhanced accuracy provided by the LSC, and provides new insights into the estuarys 3D barotropic circulation. Strong residual currents (depth-averaged eulerian residual velocities of up to 0.5 m/s) are generated by advective accelerations and have a major impact on the mixing characteristics at the mouth of the estuary. The assymetry between ebbing and flooding promotes exchanges between marine and estuarine waters, while he interaction between tidal and residual flows leads to strong chaotic stirring.The good performance of the LSC in a complex application establishes this method as an attractive alternative to the traditional sigma- and z-coordinates.

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