MODELING AND MULTITEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF SHRIMP FARMS EFFLUENTS IN THE POTENGI ESTUARY, BRAZIL
Carcinicultura. Hidrodinâmica. Qualidade da água. Estuário.
Shrimp farms are frequently associated with environmental impacts at coast ecosystems, especially in estuaries. Although it is considered less harmful than other anthropogenic activities, shrimp farm's effluents have high levels of nutrients, suspended solids, chlorophyll and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and when discharged in the water body without treatment, causes reducing dissolved oxygen, increasing water turbidity and eutrophication. Adjustment of shrimp farm's discharges considering the residence time, the tidal regime, the size and the water body assimilation capacity could reduce shrimp pond operation's effects. Therefore, hydrodynamic and water quality models are good tools for planning and coast management. However, discharge temporal series considering the randomness of the cultivation cycles in each farm is a model obstacle. This study intends to spatial and temporal analyze the hydrodynamic and water quality changes promoted by shrimp farm's effluents in the Potengi estuary, based on a hydrodynamic and water quality model associated with a stochastic model for generation of scenarios considering a randomness of cultivation.