Analysis of Different Protocols for the Artificial Opening of the Laguna de Rocha Inlet
| Published in | Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 958–962 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Teixeira, M. and Solari, S., 2020. |
| Publication year | 2020 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.2112/SI95-186.1 |
| Affiliations | Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad de la Republica. Montevideo, Uruguay |
| IAI Program | CRN3 |
| IAI Project | CRN3038 |
| Keywords | |
 2020 Teixeira et al_CRN3038.pdf |
Abstract
Laguna de Rocha is an intermittent opening and closing lagoon (ICOLL), located on the Atlantic coast of Uruguay. The lagoon closes practically every year during the warm months and, in general, it is artificially opened during the cold months to avoid floods and to facilitate the exchange of water, substances and organism with the ocean. A consensus among stakeholders has been reached recently for a protocol stablishing when to open the lagoon, as previously there was no protocol at all (Conde et al., 2019). However, an analysis of how the possible opening protocols affect the hydrodynamic response of the lagoon and its exchanges with the ocean in the mid and long term is still required. Following previous researches, a simplified, physics-based model was developed for analyzing time evolution of the hydro- and morpho-dynamics of the inlet. The model resolves the opening and closing processes as well as the water level variations in the lagoon. Sensitivity of the model to several parameters and comparison with available field data was carried out first. Then, the model was used for analyzing how the lagoon responds in the mid to long term (i.e. years) to different artificial opening protocols. The response of the lagoon was quantified with several metrics, namely: number of openings per year, amount of water exchanged between the lagoon and the ocean, extent and frequency of flooded areas.
Two benchmark protocols are used for comparison purposes: the current protocol defined in Conde et al. (2019) and a no-intervention protocol.