Water Circulation, Sediment Transport, and Pollutant Dynamics in Southern Iberia Waters: A Review on Numerical Modelling Studies

Abstract

Southern Iberian Peninsula coastal waters have a high ecologic and economic value. The objective of this work has consisted of describing numerical models which simulate the dispersion of particle-reactive tracers in these waters and reproducing measured concentration levels in water and bed sediment samples. Additionally, information on suspended matter concentration distributions and sedimentation rates is obtained. In the Alboran Sea, the model has been applied to simulate the transport of radionuclides introduced from atmospheric fallout. Transport pathways of heavy metals discharged from three rivers draining a large mining area have been obtained for the Gulf of Cadiz. It has been found that these rivers constitute a source of trace elements to the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. Some characteristic times have been calculated, as well as fluxes of isotopes through the Strait of Gibraltar, as additional results of environmental interest.