LandSeaLot Integration Labs: Spotlight on the Tagus and Sado Estuaries System Lab
What is an Integration Lab?
LandSeaLot Integration Labs (LILs) are testing sites for developing a common strategy for observing the land-sea interface areas across Europe. They are piloting new methods, technologies and community-based approaches to the observation of these areas, including river mouths, estuaries and deltas.
Exploring the Tagus and Sado Estuaries
● The Tagus and Sado estuaries are located along the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Both estuaries are designated as Natural Reserves and are included in the Natura 2000 network
● The Tagus estuary, located in the Lisbon metropolitan area, is the second largest in Europe. It is home to Lisbon, the largest Portuguese city and capital, and includes a major harbour. Many migratory birds visit the mud and marshes on their journeys, with thousands of flamingos arriving in autumn
● The Sado estuary is a significant centre for oyster production and includes a resident population of bottlenose dolphins, being the only population living in an estuary in Portugal, and one of only three known in the rest of Europe (The Estuary)
Pressures on the Area
Floods
● The estuaries are at high risk of flooding from a combination of tides, storms and rising sea levels
● Rising sea levels increase the salinity (saltiness) of estuarine waters, altering their levels of nutrients and suspended sediments (turbidity), which are frequently high due to the mud from the river inflow
Heat waves
● Increasingly intense heat waves can alter salinity and sediment levels
●These conditions can impact local tourism, agriculture and aquaculture. They can also affect local plants and animals, including phytoplankton (microscopic organisms that absorb carbon from and release oxygen into rivers and oceans)
Responding to Pressures
● Researchers at the TSS LIL are measuring sea surface temperature using satellites, numerical models and cost-effective sensors, quantifying the effects on local ecosystems and inferring the impact on the local aquaculture and tourism industries
● The LIL will provide flooding predictions and forecasts, measure water levels with increased accuracy and address data gaps
● The use of cost-effective technology – affordable, accessible and highly reliable sensors that are in some cases as small as a bottlecap – will help researchers and their collaborators gather and share more data about the area
Enhancing Observation through Collaboration
● The TSS LIL is testing new technologies and forging new collaborations to enhance observation of the land-sea interface area
● The LIL works with local stakeholders including environmental organisations, NGOs, citizen scientist groups and marinas
● For example, the LIL is planning to collaborate with aquaculture producers as citizen scientists, placing sensors in coastal spots like oyster farms to measure water temperature and water levels
Images provided courtesy of the Tagus and Sado Estuaries System LandSeaLot Integration Lab and CoLAB +ATLANTIC.
Comments are closed