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Mussel platform in the estuary of Vigo. (Photo Credit: Farrangallo CC BY-SA 2.0)
Important progress to help predict red tides
(SPAIN, 5/23/2014)
A team of researchers from the area of Earth Physics of the Department of Applied Physics from the University of Vigo designed a model of oceanic high-resolution simulation of water circulation in the estuary of Vigo, which could help predict red tides.
According to Carlos Souto, professor of the Department of Earth Physics, it is "a tool that would also allow managers to have crucial information when making economically important decisions, such as building a dock, a treatment plant and even a power plant."
"To become aware of the way systems such as the Vigo estuary work is critical to making decisions that are often economically very important," he added.
Managers "need as much information as possible on the system operation when deciding what to do or how to do it," continued Souto.
The researcher explained that a good modeling of currents and of their influence on nutrient availability is the first task to design a tool to make useful predictions about the tides.
Based on the factors that influence currents, salinity and temperature -- such as tide, wind, cloudiness, precipitation and river inputs -- ocean model simulation solves physics equations and determines the values of the current speed, salinity and temperature at each point of the study area.
However, Souto points out that "there is some way to go to be able to use this tool in an operational mode, given the importance to our region's economic activity related to the sea, the return obtained far exceeds the effort of the resources employed."
This model fits the REIMAGE project, involving the Universities of Vigo and Aveiro, in collaboration with the Institute of Marine Research (IIM).
Lucia Lopez, of the Instituto Tecnológico de Galicia (ITG), explained the newspaper Faro de Vigo that the difference from what exists today is that it will be possible to have continuous information rather than weekly or daily data, with which there will be real time access to data on the presence of certain organisms in the water.
Microalgae records will be taken "in various parts of the water column," that is, at different depths to determine whether or not the toxin is toxic, she added.
Related article:
- Over 80pc of Galician platforms closes due to red tide
By Analia Murias
editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media
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