Sampling Strategies Proposed to Monitor Guanabara Bay, RJ, Brasil

Villac, Maria C?lia; Mayr, Leticia M.; Tenenbaum, Denise R.; Paranhos, Rodolfo; ,

Sampling Strategies Proposed to Monitor Guanabara Bay, RJ, Brasil

by Maria C?lia Villac, Univ Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
Leticia M. Mayr, Univ Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
Denise R. Tenenbaum, Univ Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
Rodolfo Paranhos, Univ Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Coastal Zone '91

Abstract:

Guanabara Bay is characterized as a tropical system of estuarine nature and high biological productivity, that undergoes serious environmental problems. Despite its advanced state of degradation, it still is a life resource area of great ecological and socio-economic importance. Therefore, it has become the target of academic studies of several university research centers, among them the UFRJ/Institute of Biology which studies its water quality and plankton dynamics since 1984. At Coastal Zone 89, the UFRJ/IB presented a synthesis of the hydrobiology of the bay (Mayr et al., 1989 - CZ 89). The sampling strategies to monitor the water quality of the bay proposed here are based on this characterization, and it intends to contribute to the project of gradual recovery of this ecosystem, currently in progress at the Rio de Janeiro State environmental agency (FEEMA). This monitoring program takes into consideration that pollution focuses associated to a tidaly induced current pattern, determine areas of different degrees of deterioration in the bay. Thus, the sampling strategy is divided into two complementary projects. The first project, which works on a macro-scale approach, includes four field trips during neap tide (corresponding to the four seasons of the year), and a horizontal stratified random sampling. The second, which works on a micro-scale approach, proposes two field trips during spring tide (summer and winter), with simultaneous sampling of five strategic fixed points during 24 hours. Through these combined strategies, we intend to evaluate the general seasonal trends of the bay itself, as well as the influence of the cleaner coastal water contribution on waste dilution. Therefore, it will be possible to follow up the eventual changes on the water quality of this ecosystem.

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