Distribution of physical and chemical variables in the water column and characterization of the bottom sediment in a macrotidal estuary on the Amazon coast of the state of Maranhão, Brazil

• Published in: Revista ambiente & água Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 1 - 20
• Main Authors: Machado, Adilson Matheus Borges, Eschrique, Samara Aranha, Lima, Leonardo Gonçalves de, Parise, Claudia Klose, Soares, Leonardo Silva, Azevedo, James Werllen Jesus, Silva, Marcelo Henrique Lopes, Castro, Antonio Carlos Leal de
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Taubaté Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais em Bacias Hidrográficas 2022; Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais em Bacias Hidrográficas (IPABHi)
• Subjects: Bottom sediments; Canals; dissolved nutrients; Dissolved oxygen; Distribution; Diurnal variations; Dry season; ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL; Estuaries; Estuarine dynamics; estuarine environment; Fishing dredges; Fluid mechanics; Fluvial sediments; Grain size; Hydrodynamics; Mineral nutrients; Nutrient concentrations; Nutrients; Particle size; Rain; Rainfall; Rivers; Salinity; Salinity effects; Sampling; Sand; Sediment; sedimentology; Sediments; Surface water; Tidal currents; Tropical climate; Turbidity; Water circulation; Water column; Water currents; Water temperature; Brazil; sedimentology; nutrientes dissolvidos; estuarine environment; sedimentologia; ambiente estuarino; dissolved nutrients
• ISSN: 1980-993X; 1980-993X
• DOI: 10.4136/ambi-agua.2798

The objective of this research was to characterize the distribution of dissolved nutrients at six sampling stations in the estuary of the Anil River (ARE) and characterize the bottom sediment. The study area is influenced by a tropical climate and semidiurnal macrotidal regime. Sampling of the surface water and sediment was performed in the main channel at six sampling stations distributed along the estuary in the rainy period (May 9th) and dry period (October 5th) during the spring. Physical variables were collected with the aid of a HANNA HI-8424 multi-parameter probe (water temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity) and YSI CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) probe. A van Veen dredge was used for the collection of bottom sediment from the main channel. The sedimentological results were heterogeneous. Grain size ranged from very fine to medium sand. Dissolved nutrients in the ARE had different sources depending on the season. Continental and fluvial inputs, evidenced by salinity values, governed the distribution of nutrients in the rainy period (January to June), whereas nutrient concentrations were related to the recycling of organic material in the estuary in the dry season (July to December). The considerable presence of sand in the main channel indicates that the sediments available in ARE are exposed to intense hydrodynamics. The distribution of nutrients and the grain size revealed the occurrence of different sources in the estuary according to the rainfall regime and the intense hydrodynamics of tidal currents (semidiurnal macrotidal). Keywords: dissolved nutrients, estuarine environment, sedimentology.