WATER RENEWAL RATE AND WATER AGE STUDIES TO THE POTENGI/JUNDIAI ESTUARY BY HYDRODYNAMIC MODEL
Water renewal rate. Water age. Hydrodynamic model.
The concepts of water renewal rate and water age were applied to the Potengi/Jundiai (Brazil) estuary to investigate the water renewing. An Eulerian transport model was run to calculate these parameters. The renewal rate at each domain’s point was obtained simulating the concentration of a conservative marker and the water age was calculated by estimating the decay time of a passive, age marker substance, present in the water. The water age was analyzed by the end of one-year simulation, while the water renewal rate was analyzed by seasonal variations between typical dry and rain seasons' months. The overall results indicate that the effect of tides is the main factor influencing the water renewing in the estuary, especially during the dry season. Water age results indicate a tendency of stagnation in the main channel, where water age reaches 140 days.