Building a reference prior to Alqueva. Project SIRIA: one-and-a-half year of results

Abstract

Upon its completion, the Alqueva dam system will increase by 50 percent the present storage capacity of the Guadiana river basin. Its operation is likely to induce changes, not only in the river itself, but also in the estuary and adjacent coastal area. A sampling programme devoted to hydrography, marine chemistry and sediment dynamics was devised in order to build up a “reference” against which one may compare future situations over the shelf area. A mosaic of the results obtained during one-and-a-half year of studies is presented in a poster, where the attention is called to the gap filling interdisciplinary approaches