Study of river sedimentary flows

The study of sedimentary flows from rivers to estuaries/litoral and, eventually, to the continental shelf is essential to understand aspects related to the evolution of the coastal area. Currently, the Portuguese Coastal presents a downward trend, with about a quarter of its extension in intense erosion. In this context, the quantification and qualification of current sedimentary exchanges between continental sources, be they the supply through estuaries or coastal erosion, and the continental shelf are crucial to determine the real effects of the implementation of management actions. To address this problem, especially those related to the estuarine supply, pragmatic evaluation and monitoring solutions are needed, and the compilation of previously acquired data has become a priority to establish the current sedimentary dynamics regime in these transition areas. Contributing to the study of the processes involved in these coastal systems, and marking the beginning of an innovative line of research in the IH and of utmost importance for the development of the Sea Sciences, were published in the latest international scientific journal of Open Access “Coasts” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/colasts) the two parts of a study that aims to characterize the sedimentary transport patterns between the estuaries of the Minho and Douro Rivers and the Continental/Litoral Platform North Portuguese. These two publications, by Ana Isabel Santos, Anabela Oliveira, Dora Carinhas and José Paulo Pinto of the Hydrographic Institute and Prof. M Conceição Freitas of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, were based on time series of correntometric and sedimentary data collected in both estuaries between 2005 and 2007. The works can be consulted online, under free access, in the following links:

Part 1: Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Patterns in the Minho and Douro Estuaries (NW Portugal) Based on ADCP Monitoring Date: Part 1-Tidal Sediment Exchanges - https://www.mdpi.com/2673-964X/1/3/htm

Part 2: Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Patterns in the Minho and Douro Estuaries (NW Portugal) Based on ADCP Monitoring Date: Part 2—Statistical Interpretation of Bottom Moored Datasets - https://www.mdpi.com/2673-964X/1/4/htm