Objectives

The main objective of this project is the parameterisation of sediment biostabilisation and Zn biomobilisation due to the presence of MPB in order to develop submodel formulations and, later, implement both submodels into an estuarine transport model. This advanced model will improve the management of discharges coming from mining or industrial activities in estuaries. Although the Zn dynamics in the Suances estuary is selected as case study, the numerical model will be applicable to any estuary in the world. These aspects are fundamental for the management of water quality in estuaries within the regulatory framework imposed by Directives 2000/60/EC, 2008/105/EC and 2013/39/EU, transposed to Spanish legislation by RD817/2015, being their application a major challenge.

Specific objectives:
• Obtaining rheological properties of estuarine sediment colonized and not colonized by MPB
• Obtaining the critical stresses of erosion and deposition in estuarine sediment with and without MPB
• Development and validation of a morphodynamic model for estuarine sediment taking into account the modification in its behaviour due to the presence of MPB
• Characterization of Zn biomobilisation (diffusion and partitioning) by laboratory tests.
• Development, calibration and validation of a biomobilisation submodel taking into account the presence of MPB, incorporating it into an existing numerical model, D-Water Quality.
• Model implementation, calibration and validation at the study site (Suances estuary).
• Analysis of implications of MPB in the morphodynamics and water quality evolution (related to the Zn concentration in the water column) under different weather conditions (mean hydrological conditions and extreme weather conditions).
• Analysis of the potential consequences of climate change on the MPB effects on estuarine morphodynamics and Zn release to the water column.