Rio Cruces Estuarine Wetland Assessment |

Case Study

Rio Cruces Estuarine Wetland Assessment

Overview

A large estuarine wetland, formed by post-earthquake subsidence in 1960, underwent dramatic sedimentary, floral and faunal changes in recent years. A large, multi-phased investigation of the dynamics of the wetland assessed the disappearance of submerged aquatic vegetation and sedimentation in the 40 km long estuary.

Cencentration Test

Project Highlights

The causes and environmental consequences of wetland changes were evaluated using field investigations and sampling, and 3-D hydrodynamic and sediment transport modeling. The investigations determined the cause of the disappearance of the aquatic plant Egeria Densa from the region.

Assessment of estuary hydrodynamics
Comprehensive study of sedimentation and contamination history
Sediment core analyses examined heavy metals, microscopic fossils and radionuclide dating

Project Challenges:

Hydrodynamic model calibration was problematic given lack of available historic data
Establish accurate modeling parameters for a large wetland covered with trees and dense vegetation
Very complex environmental history due to significant changes to the estuary in a short number of years

Project Solutions:

Comprehensive field studies including topographic and hydrographic surveys, and extensive marine instrumentation were completed
Site specific non-linear spatial roughness parameters that varied with depth were developed
An extensive data analysis plan was developed including geotechnical tests, organics, Pb210 and Cs137 dating, stable isotopes analysis, metals, diatoms, water quality, thecamebans, mass spectrometry and erodibility

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