Tide distortion and attenuation in an Amazonian tidal river

Freitas, Paulo T. A.; Silveira, Odete F. M.; Asp, Nils Edvin

Abstracts

The present study seeks to evaluate tidal propagation in the Guamá-Capim river system, in the Amazonian region, considering hydrodynamic and geomorphological aspects. Available data sets on fluvial discharge and water level variations were considered, besides several methods of measuring the tides (currents, water levels and discharges) recorded at different stations and in different periods. The main point argued is that fluvial discharge is the key-factor in tidal distortion and tidal bore formation in the system investigated, whereas the low relief of the area would be the main factor contributing to landward tidal incursion. The results show an impressive upward tidal incursion of more than 200 km, including substantial distortion -increasing upstream -of the tidal wave, of which the ebb phase lasts up to 5 hours longer than the flood, including higher flood current velocities as far as 161 km upstream. Generally, only hyposynchronous tidal response was observed. Seasonally, the fluvial discharge varies about 10 times in the Guamá and 4 times in the Capim River. The increase of the fluvial discharge results in an increasing distortion of the tide, besides a weak increase of the attenuation. During high fluvial discharge periods in conjunction with equinoctial tides (e.g. March-April), a tidal bore occurs in the system, also increased by the generally low relief. Therefore, the conclusions include: low relief and the distortion related to high fluvial discharges are the main factors controlling tidal propagation along the system and tidal bore formation. Furthermore, the system could be classified as a tidal river, in which massive regional fresh water input results in virtually non-existent salinity throughout the Guamá-Capim system.

Fluvial discharge; Tide propagation; Tidal rivers

O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar a propagação da maré no sistema fluvial Guamá-Capim, na região amazônica, considerando aspectos hidrológicos e geomorfológicos. Os métodos empregados incluem dados históricos de vazões fluviais e níveis d'água, além de medições próprias de maré em diferentes locais e períodos ao longo do sistema. Os principais pontos defendidos no presente trabalho incluem a vazão fluvial como principal fator para a distorção da maré e consequente formação de pororoca no sistema, assim como o baixo relevo da área seria responsável por incremento na incursão da maré para o continente. Os resultados revelam uma penetração da maré de mais de 200 km, ocorrendo também uma forte deformação da maré, se intensificando gradualmente a montante, resultando em uma vazante até 5 horas mais longa que a enchente 161 km a montante, apresentando também velocidades de enchente levemente superiores, incluindo o decaimento contínuo da altura da maré, intensificado a partir desse ponto. Sazonalmente, a vazão fluvial aumenta 10 vezes no rio Guamá e 4 vezes no rio Capim. Durante períodos de alta descarga, combinados com marés equinociais (e.g. março-abril), o fenômeno da pororoca ocorre no sistema, em associação ao baixo relevo da área. Desta forma as principais conclusões são de que a forte deformação da maré relacionada a altas descargas fluviais e o baixo relevo da área são os fatores preponderantes na propagação da maré no sistema e formação de pororoca. Mais além, o sistema foi classificado como tidal river, onde a enorme descarga de água doce na região costeira amazônica resulta na prática ausência de salinidade no sistema estudado. Assim, seu estudo vem contribuir na definição e classificação de sistemas estuarinos.

Vazão fluvial; Propagação da maré; Rios de marés

ANA -Agência Nacional de Águas. Hidroweb: Serviço de Informações Hidrológicas. May 2011. Available at <http://www2.ana.gov.br/Paginas/default.aspx> Access: May 05^th, 2011.
BEZERRA, M. O.; MEDEIROS, C.; KRELLING A. P. M.; ROSÁRIO R. P.; ROLLNIC, M. Physical oceanographic behavior at the Guamá/Acará-Mojú and the Paracauari river mouths, Amazon coast (Brazil). J. Coast. Res., SI, v.64, p. 1448-1452, 2011.
BOKUNIEWICZ, H. Sedimentary systems of costal-plain estuaries. In: PERILLO, G. M. E. (Ed.). Geomorphology and Sedimentology of estuaries. Chap. 3. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1995. (Developments in Sedimentology, 53. p. 49-68).
CAMERON, W. M.; PRITCHARD D. W. Estuaries. In: HILL, M. N. (Ed.) The Sea v. 2. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 1963. p. 306-324.
CARR, M. L.; REHMANN, C. R.; STOECKEL, J. A.; PADILLA, D. K.; SCHNEIDER, D. W. Measurements and consequences of retention in a side embayment in a tidal river. J. Mar. Syst., v.49, p. 41-53, 2004.
CHAPPELL, J.; WOODROFFE, C. D. Macrotidal estuaries. In: CARTER, R. W. G.; WOODROFFE, C. D. (Ed.). Coastal evolution: Late Quaternary shoreline morphodynamics, London: Cambridge University press, 1994. p. 187-218.
CHUN-YAN, L.; O'DONNELL, J. On the Exchange Flow in Tidal Rivers and Shallow Estuaries. Chin. J. Oceanol. Limnol., v.16, n.1, p. 1-8, 1998.
COHEN, B.; MCCARTHY, L. T. Salinity of the Delaware Estuary. Del. Geol. Survey, v.10, p. 1-41, 1963.
COOK, T. L.; SOMMERFIELD, S. K.; WONG, K. C. Observations of tidal and springtime sediment transport in the upper Delaware Estuary. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., v.72, p. 235-246, 2007.
DALRYMPLE, R. W., ZAITLIN, B. A., BOYD, R. Estuarine facies models: conceptual basis and stratigraphic implications. J. Sediment. Petrol., v.62, p. 1130-1146, 1992.
DALRYMPLE, R. W.; CHOI, K. Morphologic and facies trends through the fluvial-marine transition in tidedominated depositional systems: A schematic framework for environmental and sequence-stratigraphic interpretation. Earth-Sci. Rev., v.81, p. 135-174, 2007.
DYER, K. R. Sediment transport processes in estuaries. In: PERILLO, G. M. E. (Ed.). Geomorphology and Sedimentology of estuaries Amsterdam: Elsevier,1995. (Developments in Sedimentology, 53, p. 423-449).
EMEKA, N. C.; ANTIA, V. I.; UKPONG, A. J.; AMAH, E. A.; NTEKIM, E. E. U. A study on the Sedimentology of tidal rivers: Calabar and Great Kwa, S. E. Nigeria. Eur. J. Scient. Res., v.47, n.3, p. 370-386, 2010.
FRIEDRICHS, C. T.; AUBREY, D. G. Non-linear tidal distortion in shallow well-mixed estuaries: a Synthesis. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., v.27, p. 521-545, 1988.
GREGÓRIO, A. M. S.; MENDES, A. C.; Characterization of sedimentary deposits at the confluence of two tributaries of the Pará River estuary (Guajará Bay, Amazon); Continent. Shelf Res., v.29, p. 609-618, 2009.
HANSEN, D. V.; RATTRAY, M. New dimensions in estuary classification. Limnol. Oceanogr., v.11, n.3, p. 319-326, 1966.
JARVIS, A.; REUTER, H. I.; NELSON, A.; GUEVARA, E. Hole-filled SRTM for the globe, Version 4. Available from the CGIAR-CSI SRTM 90m Database (http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org), 2008.
KJERFVE, B. Coastal Lagoons (Chapter 1). In: B. KJERFVE , B. (Ed.). Coastal lagoon processes. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1994. (Elsevier Oceanography Series, 60, p. 2-8, 1994)
KJERFVE, B.; FERREIRA, H. O. Tidal bores: First ever measurements. In: Ciência Cult, S. Paulo, v.45, n.2, p. 135-138, 1993.
KJERFVE, B.; MAGILL, K. E. Geographic and hydrodynamic characteristics of shallow coastal lagoons. Mar. Geol., v.88, p. 187-199, 1989.
KOSUTH, P.; CALLÉDE, J.; LARAQUE, A.; FILIZOLA, N.; GUYOT, J. L.; SEYLER, P.; FRITSCH, J. M.; GUIMARÃES, V. Sea-tide effects on flows in the lower reaches of the Amazon River. Hydrol. Process., v.23, p. 3141-3150, 2009.
LENTZ, S. J. The Amazon River plume during AMASSEDS: subtidal current variability and the importance of wind forcing. J. Geophys. Res., v.100, p. 2377-2390, 1995.
MARENGO, J. A.; NOBRE, C. A.; TOMASELLA, J.; CARDOSO, M. F.; OYAMA, M. D. Hydro-climatic and ecological behavior of the drought of Amazonia in 2005. Philos. T. Roy. Soc. B, v. 363, p. 1773-1778, 2011.
MEADE, R. H.; DUNNE, T.; RICHEY, J. E. Storage and remobilization of suspended sediment in the lower Amazon River of Brazil. Science, v. 228, p. 488-490, 1985.
MORAES, B. C.; COSTA, J. M. N.; COSTA, A. C. L.; COSTA, M. H. Variação espacial e temporal da precipitação no estado do Pará. Acta Amazonica, v. 35, p. 207-214. 2005.
NICHOLS, M. M.; BIGGS, R. B. Estuaries. In: DAVIS R. A. (Ed.). Coastal sedimentary environments. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1985. p. 77-186.
PRITCHARD, D. W. Estuarine Circulation Patterns. Proceedings American Society Civil Engineering, v. 81, p. 1-11, 1955.
PRITCHARD, D. W. What is an Estuary: Physical viewpoint. In: LAUFF, G. H. (Ed.). Estuaries. Washington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1967. p. 3-5.
ROSSETTI, D. F.; SANTOS-JÚNIOR, A. E. Facies architecture in a tectonically influenced estuarine incised valley fill of Miocene age, northern Brazil. J. South Am. Earth Sci., v. 17, p. 267-284, 2004.
SANTOS, V. F.; FIGUEIREDO JR., A. G.; SILVEIRA, O. F. M.; POLIDORI, L.; OLIVEIRA, D. M.; DIAS, M. B.; SANTANA, L. O. Processos sedimentares em áreas de macromarés influenciados pela pororoca -estuário do rio Araguari-Amapá-Brasil. In: CONGRESSSO DA ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE ESTUDOS DO QUATERNÁRIO, 10, 2005. Anais.. Guarapari: ABEQUA, 2005. Artigos, 6p. CD-ROM.
SHIH, D. C. F. Identification of phase propagation of water level in tidal river by spectral analysis. Stochastic environmental research and risk assessment New York: Springer-Verlag, 2002. v.16, p. 449-463.
SOUZA-FILHO, P. W. M.; TOZZI, H. A. M.; EL-ROBRINI, M. Geomorphology, land use and environmental hazard in Ajuruteua macrotidal sandy beach, northeastern Pará, Brazil. J. Coast. Res.,v. 35, p. 580-589, 2003.
SOUZA-FILHO, P. W. M.; LESSA, G. C.; COHEN, M. C. L.; COSTA, F. R.; LARA, R. J. The subsiding macrotidal barrier estuarine system of the eastern Amazon coast, Northern Brazil. In: DILLENBURG, S. F., HESP, P. A. (Ed.). Geology and Geomorphology of Holocene coastal barriers of Brazil New York: Springer-Verlag, 2009. (Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, 107, p. 347-376).
STRAHLER, A. N. Hypsometric (area-altitude) analysis of erosional topography. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am.,v. 63, p. 1117-1142, 1952.
TAGLIAPIETRA, D.; MARCO SIGOVINI, M.; GHIRARDINI, A. V.A review of terms and definitions to categorise estuaries, lagoons and associated environments.Mar. Freshwat. Res., v.60, p. 497-509, 2009.
VRIEND, H. J. Advances in morphodynamics of tidal rivers and estuaries. In: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ESTUARIES AND COASTS, 2003. China,. p. 3-10.
WELLS, J. T. Tide-dominated estuaries and tidal rivers. In: PERILLO, G. M. E. (Ed.). Geomorphology and Sedimentology of estuaries. Amsterdam: Elsevier,1995. (Developments in Sedimentology, 53, p. 179-205).
WOLANSKI, E.; WILLIANS, D.; HANERT, E. The sediment trapping efficiency of the macro-tidal Daly Estuary, tropical Australia. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci.,v.69, p. 291-298, 2006.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
18 Feb 2013
Date of issue
Dec 2012

History

Received
28 Sept 2011
Accepted
03 Oct 2012
Reviewed
02 Dec 2012

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[1] ANA -Agência Nacional de Águas. Hidroweb: Serviço de Informações Hidrológicas. May 2011. Available at <http://www2.ana.gov.br/Paginas/default.aspx> Access: May 05^th, 2011.

[2] BEZERRA, M. O.; MEDEIROS, C.; KRELLING A. P. M.; ROSÁRIO R. P.; ROLLNIC, M. Physical oceanographic behavior at the Guamá/Acará-Mojú and the Paracauari river mouths, Amazon coast (Brazil). J. Coast. Res., SI, v.64, p. 1448-1452, 2011.

[3] BOKUNIEWICZ, H. Sedimentary systems of costal-plain estuaries. In: PERILLO, G. M. E. (Ed.). Geomorphology and Sedimentology of estuaries. Chap. 3. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1995. (Developments in Sedimentology, 53. p. 49-68).

[4] CAMERON, W. M.; PRITCHARD D. W. Estuaries. In: HILL, M. N. (Ed.) The Sea v. 2. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 1963. p. 306-324.

[5] CARR, M. L.; REHMANN, C. R.; STOECKEL, J. A.; PADILLA, D. K.; SCHNEIDER, D. W. Measurements and consequences of retention in a side embayment in a tidal river. J. Mar. Syst., v.49, p. 41-53, 2004.

[6] CHAPPELL, J.; WOODROFFE, C. D. Macrotidal estuaries. In: CARTER, R. W. G.; WOODROFFE, C. D. (Ed.). Coastal evolution: Late Quaternary shoreline morphodynamics, London: Cambridge University press, 1994. p. 187-218.

[7] CHUN-YAN, L.; O'DONNELL, J. On the Exchange Flow in Tidal Rivers and Shallow Estuaries. Chin. J. Oceanol. Limnol., v.16, n.1, p. 1-8, 1998.

[8] COHEN, B.; MCCARTHY, L. T. Salinity of the Delaware Estuary. Del. Geol. Survey, v.10, p. 1-41, 1963.

[9] COOK, T. L.; SOMMERFIELD, S. K.; WONG, K. C. Observations of tidal and springtime sediment transport in the upper Delaware Estuary. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., v.72, p. 235-246, 2007.

[10] DALRYMPLE, R. W., ZAITLIN, B. A., BOYD, R. Estuarine facies models: conceptual basis and stratigraphic implications. J. Sediment. Petrol., v.62, p. 1130-1146, 1992.

[11] DALRYMPLE, R. W.; CHOI, K. Morphologic and facies trends through the fluvial-marine transition in tidedominated depositional systems: A schematic framework for environmental and sequence-stratigraphic interpretation. Earth-Sci. Rev., v.81, p. 135-174, 2007.

[12] DYER, K. R. Sediment transport processes in estuaries. In: PERILLO, G. M. E. (Ed.). Geomorphology and Sedimentology of estuaries Amsterdam: Elsevier,1995. (Developments in Sedimentology, 53, p. 423-449).

[13] EMEKA, N. C.; ANTIA, V. I.; UKPONG, A. J.; AMAH, E. A.; NTEKIM, E. E. U. A study on the Sedimentology of tidal rivers: Calabar and Great Kwa, S. E. Nigeria. Eur. J. Scient. Res., v.47, n.3, p. 370-386, 2010.

[14] FRIEDRICHS, C. T.; AUBREY, D. G. Non-linear tidal distortion in shallow well-mixed estuaries: a Synthesis. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., v.27, p. 521-545, 1988.

[15] GREGÓRIO, A. M. S.; MENDES, A. C.; Characterization of sedimentary deposits at the confluence of two tributaries of the Pará River estuary (Guajará Bay, Amazon); Continent. Shelf Res., v.29, p. 609-618, 2009.

[16] HANSEN, D. V.; RATTRAY, M. New dimensions in estuary classification. Limnol. Oceanogr., v.11, n.3, p. 319-326, 1966.

[17] JARVIS, A.; REUTER, H. I.; NELSON, A.; GUEVARA, E. Hole-filled SRTM for the globe, Version 4. Available from the CGIAR-CSI SRTM 90m Database (http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org), 2008.

[18] KJERFVE, B. Coastal Lagoons (Chapter 1). In: B. KJERFVE , B. (Ed.). Coastal lagoon processes. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1994. (Elsevier Oceanography Series, 60, p. 2-8, 1994)

[19] KJERFVE, B.; FERREIRA, H. O. Tidal bores: First ever measurements. In: Ciência Cult, S. Paulo, v.45, n.2, p. 135-138, 1993.

[20] KJERFVE, B.; MAGILL, K. E. Geographic and hydrodynamic characteristics of shallow coastal lagoons. Mar. Geol., v.88, p. 187-199, 1989.

[21] KOSUTH, P.; CALLÉDE, J.; LARAQUE, A.; FILIZOLA, N.; GUYOT, J. L.; SEYLER, P.; FRITSCH, J. M.; GUIMARÃES, V. Sea-tide effects on flows in the lower reaches of the Amazon River. Hydrol. Process., v.23, p. 3141-3150, 2009.

[22] LENTZ, S. J. The Amazon River plume during AMASSEDS: subtidal current variability and the importance of wind forcing. J. Geophys. Res., v.100, p. 2377-2390, 1995.

[23] MARENGO, J. A.; NOBRE, C. A.; TOMASELLA, J.; CARDOSO, M. F.; OYAMA, M. D. Hydro-climatic and ecological behavior of the drought of Amazonia in 2005. Philos. T. Roy. Soc. B, v. 363, p. 1773-1778, 2011.

[24] MEADE, R. H.; DUNNE, T.; RICHEY, J. E. Storage and remobilization of suspended sediment in the lower Amazon River of Brazil. Science, v. 228, p. 488-490, 1985.

[25] MORAES, B. C.; COSTA, J. M. N.; COSTA, A. C. L.; COSTA, M. H. Variação espacial e temporal da precipitação no estado do Pará. Acta Amazonica, v. 35, p. 207-214. 2005.

[26] NICHOLS, M. M.; BIGGS, R. B. Estuaries. In: DAVIS R. A. (Ed.). Coastal sedimentary environments. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1985. p. 77-186.

[27] PRITCHARD, D. W. Estuarine Circulation Patterns. Proceedings American Society Civil Engineering, v. 81, p. 1-11, 1955.

[28] PRITCHARD, D. W. What is an Estuary: Physical viewpoint. In: LAUFF, G. H. (Ed.). Estuaries. Washington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1967. p. 3-5.

[29] ROSSETTI, D. F.; SANTOS-JÚNIOR, A. E. Facies architecture in a tectonically influenced estuarine incised valley fill of Miocene age, northern Brazil. J. South Am. Earth Sci., v. 17, p. 267-284, 2004.

[30] SANTOS, V. F.; FIGUEIREDO JR., A. G.; SILVEIRA, O. F. M.; POLIDORI, L.; OLIVEIRA, D. M.; DIAS, M. B.; SANTANA, L. O. Processos sedimentares em áreas de macromarés influenciados pela pororoca -estuário do rio Araguari-Amapá-Brasil. In: CONGRESSSO DA ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE ESTUDOS DO QUATERNÁRIO, 10, 2005. Anais.. Guarapari: ABEQUA, 2005. Artigos, 6p. CD-ROM.

[31] SHIH, D. C. F. Identification of phase propagation of water level in tidal river by spectral analysis. Stochastic environmental research and risk assessment New York: Springer-Verlag, 2002. v.16, p. 449-463.

[32] SOUZA-FILHO, P. W. M.; TOZZI, H. A. M.; EL-ROBRINI, M. Geomorphology, land use and environmental hazard in Ajuruteua macrotidal sandy beach, northeastern Pará, Brazil. J. Coast. Res.,v. 35, p. 580-589, 2003.

[33] SOUZA-FILHO, P. W. M.; LESSA, G. C.; COHEN, M. C. L.; COSTA, F. R.; LARA, R. J. The subsiding macrotidal barrier estuarine system of the eastern Amazon coast, Northern Brazil. In: DILLENBURG, S. F., HESP, P. A. (Ed.). Geology and Geomorphology of Holocene coastal barriers of Brazil New York: Springer-Verlag, 2009. (Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, 107, p. 347-376).

[34] STRAHLER, A. N. Hypsometric (area-altitude) analysis of erosional topography. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am.,v. 63, p. 1117-1142, 1952.

[35] TAGLIAPIETRA, D.; MARCO SIGOVINI, M.; GHIRARDINI, A. V.A review of terms and definitions to categorise estuaries, lagoons and associated environments.Mar. Freshwat. Res., v.60, p. 497-509, 2009.

[36] VRIEND, H. J. Advances in morphodynamics of tidal rivers and estuaries. In: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ESTUARIES AND COASTS, 2003. China,. p. 3-10.

[37] WELLS, J. T. Tide-dominated estuaries and tidal rivers. In: PERILLO, G. M. E. (Ed.). Geomorphology and Sedimentology of estuaries. Amsterdam: Elsevier,1995. (Developments in Sedimentology, 53, p. 179-205).

[38] WOLANSKI, E.; WILLIANS, D.; HANERT, E. The sediment trapping efficiency of the macro-tidal Daly Estuary, tropical Australia. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci.,v.69, p. 291-298, 2006.

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Tide distortion and attenuation in an Amazonian tidal river

Abstracts

Publication Dates

History