Hydrological Impact of the Port Complex of Suape on the Ipojuca River (Pernambuco-Brazil)

A port complex was implanted in the coast region of Suape, PE-Brasil, in 1979–80, which altered the geomorphological and hydrodynamic conditions of the area, mainly in the estuary of the Ipojuca River. Water samples were collected from the surface and the deep layer to determine the salinity, pH, di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of coastal research Vol. 21; no. 5; pp. 909 - 914
Main Authors:	Muniz, Kátia, Neto, Benício de B, Macêdo, Sílvio Joséde, Filho, Walter C. Pinheiro
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Lawrence, KS Coastal Education and Research Foundation (CERF) 01-09-2005 Coastal Education and Research Foundation Allen Press Inc
Subjects:	Animal and plant ecology Animal, plant and microbial ecology Biological and medical sciences Coastal ecology Coasts Dissolved oxygen Earth sciences Earth, ocean, space Ecological effects Ecological impact Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics Environmental conditions Environmental impact Estuaries Evaporation Exact sciences and technology Flow velocity Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Hydrologic data Hydrology Lagoons Marine Marine and continental quaternary Ocean tides Oxygen Pollution, environment geology port Ports Principal components analysis RESEARCH PAPERS River flow River mouth River ports Rivers Salinity Sea water ecosystems Statistics Surficial geology Synecology Tidal currents Water analysis Water depth Water flow Water sampling Brazil Pernambuco Brazil South America impact statements dissolved oxygen human activity principal components analysis Ecological impact pH temperature estuaries dissolved materials oxygen tidal currents rivers salinity estuarine sedimentation hydrology harbors concentration hydrodynamics tides lagoons port ecosystems evaporation landform evolution statistics
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Summary:	A port complex was implanted in the coast region of Suape, PE-Brasil, in 1979–80, which altered the geomorphological and hydrodynamic conditions of the area, mainly in the estuary of the Ipojuca River. Water samples were collected from the surface and the deep layer to determine the salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, transparency, and temperature from three fixed stations in the estuary of the Ipojuca River during the summer and winter before (1978) and after (1986–87) the port's construction, in order to evaluate the effects of the port-induced changes. The data were subjected to a principal component analysis and to individual t tests. The first principal component, the axis of maximum information, alone explained 50% of the total variance, being associated with the generalized increase of the chemical parameters after the port's construction, mainly the salinity. Despite the fact that the results of the t tests presented significant differences only for the dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature, the increased salinity produced the greatest ecological effects in the estuary. The water flow of the Ipojuca River was diverted toward the ocean, decreasing the river-flow velocity at the mouth. This decrease in flow caused a sedimentation in the area, a decrease in the circulation and depth, and a transformation of the mouth of the river into a coastal lagoon with an increase in evaporation and salinity. A delay of more than 2 hours was observed in the dynamic tide in relation to the normal 6-hour cycles. Despite an increase in the concentration of dissolved oxygen and transparency values, effects that theoretically improve environmental conditions, a morphological transformation occurred that caused drastic changes in the estuary's circulation and in the tidal currents.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23
ISSN:	0749-0208 1551-5036
DOI:	10.2112/03-0070.1