Water quality of a port in NW Mexico and its rehabilitation with swell energy.
Ensenada Harbor is one of the most important ports of Mexico. Anthropogenic activities have affected the area over several decades, leading to the accumulation of contaminants in its sediments, which eventually are re-suspended into the water column. In spite of water treatment of the tributaries that discharge into the Ensenada Harbor, the water circulation patterns of the harbor, which consist of closed eddies in the northern and southeastern sector, favor the accumulation of those contaminants and hinder exchange with adjacent seawater. Samples collected in October of 2005 registered 63 microM total inorganic nitrogen and 280 mg/L of COD, confirming that this is a highly contaminated environment when compared with other water bodies of North America. Such concentrations can be lowered up to 80% by using a wave energy pumping system that demonstrates the possibility to gradually dilute these contaminants and rehabilitate the Ensenada Harbor.
Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000, Ciudad Universitaria, México D.F. 04510, Mexico. gdlle@servidor.unam.mx
Guadalupe
G
de la Lanza Espino
Iván Penié
IP
Rodríguez
Steven P R
SP
Czitrom
D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D007287:Inorganic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis; D008800:Mexico; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D011786:Quality Control; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D013997:Time Factors; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards
D007287:Inorganic Chemicals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen; D010100:Oxygen