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Impact of Climate Change on the Estuarine System
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Impact of Climate Change on the Estuarine System

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Coastal Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 June 2025 | Viewed by 2165

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Magda Catarina Sousa

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Guest Editor
Physics Department, CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: climate change; coastal oceanography; coastal estuarine dynamics; aquaculture; numerical modelling; marine pollution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ines Alvarez

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Guest Editor
Centro de Investigación Mariña (CIM), Environmental Physics Laboratory (EphysLab), Universidade de Vigo, Campus da Auga, 32004, Ourense, Spain
Interests: physical oceanography; atmosphere–ocean interaction; climate change; renewable energies; atmospheric dynamics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, there is a special concern about the possible impact of climate change on estuarine systems and its consequences in contingent ecosystems. Estuarine ecosystems are susceptible to shifts in temperature, rising sea levels, and altered precipitation patterns. Rising global temperatures contribute to the thermal expansion of seawater, leading to an increase in sea levels that can result in coastal erosion and submersion of estuarine habitats. Additionally, changes in precipitation patterns may affect the amount and timing of freshwater input into estuaries, disrupting the delicate balance between salt and freshwater crucial for the diverse species inhabiting these areas. This can lead to the loss of critical nursery habitats for commercially important fish species. As climate change accelerates, these cumulative impacts threaten the biodiversity, ecological functions, and socio-economic services provided by estuarine systems, emphasizing the urgent need for effective mitigation and adaptation strategies.

This Special Issue aims to publish recent findings, notable achievements, and general insights about the assessment of the impacts of climate change on estuarine systems. Encompassing aspects such as tidal propagation, extreme events, estuarine plumes, sea level rise, alterations in precipitation, ocean acidification, salinity intrusion, water quality patterns, and aquaculture, the Issue welcomes contributions in the form of research articles, reviews, and case studies, among other relevant formats. The scope extends beyond the mentioned topics, encouraging a comprehensive exploration of the impacts of climate change on estuarine environments.

Dr. Magda Catarina Sousa
Dr. Ines Alvarez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate change
  • estuarine environments
  • extreme events
  • estuarine plumes
  • hydrodynamic and water quality patterns

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 8660 KiB  
Article
Impact of Climate Change on the Hydrodynamics of the Ria de Arousa (NW Spain)
by Clara Ribeiro, Magda C. Sousa, Humberto Pereira, Américo Ribeiro, Ines Alvarez and João M. Dias
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13(6), 1063; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13061063 - 28 May 2025
Viewed by 271
Abstract
Ria de Arousa, one of the Rias Baixas, presents very high economic value for the Galician communities due to its importance for aquaculture, but the changes associated with climate change are expected to have an impact on its hydrodynamics and consequently on the [...] Read more.
Ria de Arousa, one of the Rias Baixas, presents very high economic value for the Galician communities due to its importance for aquaculture, but the changes associated with climate change are expected to have an impact on its hydrodynamics and consequently on the production of cultivated species. The main objective of this work is to study the impact of climate change on the circulation and hydrography of the Ria de Arousa, considering the SSP5-8.5 scenario defined by IPCC. To achieve this goal, the Delft3D hydrodynamic model was implemented three-dimensionally using the results obtained from the CMIP6 MPI-ESM1-2-HR climate model as boundary conditions. Future changes in the hydrodynamic and hydrographic circulation of this coastal system were analysed. The model results were used to assess the impact of climate change on water temperature, salinity, and density patterns of the Ria de Arousa, as well as on stratification, Brunt–Väisälä frequency, and residual circulation. During summer, the water temperature is higher at the surface and lower at the bottom, likely due to the intrusion of water from the Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENAWC). In the future, this pattern will continue, albeit with higher temperatures, as the water temperature is expected to increase by around 2.2 °C by 2100. During winter, the water temperature at the bottom is warmer than at the surface, indicating a thermal inversion typical of this season. In the future, the water temperature will also increase, although the increase will be lower compared to summer, with a value of approximately 0.5 °C. Salinity will decrease in the summer and increase in the winter, especially in the areas closest to the rivers. Density analysis shows vertical homogeneity in the water column during winter and stratification during summer. During winter, the Brunt–Väisälä frequency (N) is higher in the region closest to the river’s mouth and lower near the ocean. In the summer, the N value decreases with depth. In the future, the density will increase in winter and decrease in summer, and stratification is expected to decrease. Regarding the residual circulation, it was observed that it will strengthen in the summer and weaken in the winter due to a decrease in freshwater runoff. However, the positive circulation pattern observed in the present will be maintained in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Climate Change on the Estuarine System)
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17 pages, 16800 KiB  
Article
Understanding Salinity Intrusion and Residence Times in a Small-Scale Bar-Built Estuary under Drought Scenarios: The Maipo River Estuary, Central Chile
by Karina Soto-Rivas, Raúl P. Flores, Megan Williams and Cristián Escauriaza
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024, 12(7), 1162; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12071162 - 10 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1327
Abstract
The Maipo River estuary is a low-inflow bar-built estuary that includes a protected wetland, which harbors a rich ecosystem. The estuary and wetland have been threatened by a persistent drought for more than a decade, which has resulted in greater salinity intrusion and [...] Read more.
The Maipo River estuary is a low-inflow bar-built estuary that includes a protected wetland, which harbors a rich ecosystem. The estuary and wetland have been threatened by a persistent drought for more than a decade, which has resulted in greater salinity intrusion and increased residence times. Previous studies have described salinity and pollutants in estuaries; however, almost all have focused on deeper and/or wider estuaries with dimensions much larger than those of the small-scale Maipo River estuary. In this study, we used the numerical model FVCOM to simulate the dynamics of the Maipo River estuary under drought scenarios and explored the interactions between river discharge and tides in terms of saline intrusion and particle dispersal. The model was validated against observations collected during a field campaign near the river mouth. The simulations successfully reproduced the water surface elevation but underestimated salinity values, such that the vertical salinity structure observed in the field was not captured by the model in this shallow and morphologically complex estuary. Consequently, our model results provide qualitative insight related to salinity and baroclinic dynamics. Results of maximum saline intrusion showed an exponential decay with increasing river discharge, and the analysis of salinity intrusion time series revealed that droughts may cause permanent non-zero salinity levels in the estuary, potentially affecting ecological cycles. The incorporation of passive tracers showed that decreasing river discharge increases the residence time of particles by allowing the tracers to re-enter the estuary. Model results showed the formation of accumulation zones (hotspots) in the shallower zones of the estuary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Climate Change on the Estuarine System)
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