Advanced monitoring of South Portugal water bodies towards WFD

摘要

The challenge on implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) fosters thedevelopment of new monitoring methods and approaches. It is now commonly accepted thatthe use of classical monitoring campaigns in discrete point is not sufficient to fully assess anddescribe a water body. Due to this the WFD promote the use of modelling techniques insurface waters to assist all phases of the process, from characterisation and establishment ofreference conditions to identification of pressures and assessment of impact. The workpresented in this communication is based on these principles. A classical monitoring of thewater status of the main transitional water bodies of Algarve (south of Portugal) is combinedwith advanced in situ water profiling and hydrodynamic, water quality and ecologicalmodelling of the systems to build a complete description of its state. This approach extendsspatially and temporally the resolution of the classical point sampling. The methodology wasapplied during a 12 month program in Ria Formosa coastal lagoon, the Guadiana estuary andthe Arade estuary. The synoptic profiling uses an YSI 6600 EDS multi-parameter systemattached to a boat and a GPS receiver to produce monthly synoptic maps of the systems. Thisdata extends the discrete point sampling with laboratory analysis performed monthly inseveral points of each water body. The point sampling is used to calibrate the profiling systemand to include variables, such as nutrients, not measured by the sensors. A total of 1427samplings were performed for physical and chemical parameters, chlorophyll andmicrobiologic contamination in the water column. This data is used to drive thehydrodynamic, transport and ecological modules of the MOHID water modelling system(www.mohid.com), enabling an integrate description of the water column.