TRANSIT TIME IN ITAJAÍ-AÇÚ RIVER ESTUARY

Abstract

The Itajaí-Açu estuary is classified as a highly stratified and presents most of the time a salt wedge. Considering this characteristic, it was used a box model, based on Knudsen hidrographic teorem, to estimate the salt balance and the transit time of fluvial and marine waters in this estuary. This model enables to verify the steady state of mixture conditions and should not be confused as the mean conditions of the estuary. A positive characteristic of this model is that it needs a small number of parameters such as salinity profiles, the estuary volume and currents data, being the latter estimated from river discharge. Seven days of data were assessed, comprising a half synodical cycle (spring-neap tide). Vertical velocities data, estimated by the model, showed that spring tide condition causes a more effective mixing. It was stated a ratio of content of fluvial water to the content of mixohaline water, which confirmed the early findings of intensification of mixing during spring tide period. The estimation of the transit time of fluvial and marine water in the estuary for medium discharge condition, ~ 215 m3.s-1, were 13.2 and 50.7 hours, respectively. It shows that the marine water spends 3 times more time in the estuary than the fluvial water.