Revista de Gestão Costeira Integrada
Volume 22, Issue 4, December 2022, Pages 285-297

DOI: 10.5894/rgci-n519
* Submission: 4 AGO 2022; Peer review: 20 SEP 2022; Revised: 16 MAR 2023; Accepted: 16 MAR 2023; Available on-line: 2 MAY 2023

Environmental assessment of pre-dredging sediments and proposals for their subsequent management in the port of Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

G.V. Cuello^{@ 1,2,3}, P.A. Garzo^1,2,3, R. Elias¹, F.I. Isla^1,2,3

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@ Corresponding author: gracielacuello@mdp.edu.ar
¹ Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMYC – UNMDP/CONICET), Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
² Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina.
³ Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario (IGCC – UNMDP/CIC), Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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ASBTRACT
Nowadays, the discharge of sediments from dredging works into the sea is one of the most critical problems affecting coastal management. Therefore, the characterization, assessment and handling of the materials to be dredged is of utmost importance. Since its creation, the Port of Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, has presented a structural difficulty that affects its operation: the interruption of the strong littoral drift by its breakwaters generates an important sand sedimentation, blocking the access channel. This hampers the entry and maneuverability of large ships, while promoting sediment imbalances on a regional scale, causing coastal erosion on many beaches. At present, the administrative authorities of the port are proposing a new dredging work in order to restore adequate navigation depths. On this basis, the aim of this work was to assess the current sediment characteristics of the Port of Mar del Plata and compare it with previous results from 1996. Grain size, water content and organic matter were monitored at 12 stations. The results indicate that the external sector receives a larger share of sand than in 1996; silts and clays are preferentially deposited at the inner docks; organic matter, with increases compared to the previous study, accumulates in the inner docks with lower water renewal and higher contributions of waste-water. Based on these results, this work proposes beach nourishment as a management alternative for dredged sediments. Several urban beaches of Mar del Plata subject to regional-scale erosive processes could be the target sites. It is expected that this study will be used as a baseline for the improvement of the environmental quality of the port system as well as for pre- and post-dredging studies within the framework of an integrated coastal zone management.

Keywords: dredged material; particle settling; beach erosion; multivariate analysis; dumping zone.

RESUMO
Nos dias de hoje a descarga no mar de sedimentos provenientes de obras de dragagem, é um dos problemas mais críticos que afetam a gestão costeira local. Assim, a caracterização, avaliação e manuseamento dos materiais a dragar é de extrema importância. Desde a sua criação, o Porto de Mar del Plata, em Buenos Aires, Argentina, têm apresentado uma dificuldade estrutural no que respeita ao seu funcionamento: nomeadamente a forte interrupção da deriva litoral pelos seus quebra-mares, acarretando sedimentação significativa local de areia e bloqueando o canal de acesso. A atual configuração dificulta a entrada e a manobrabilidade de navios de grande calado, enquanto incute desequilíbrios sedimentares à escala regional, proporcionando erosão costeira em praias adjacentes. Atualmente, as autoridades administrativas do porto equacionam uma nova operação de dragagem para restabelecer profundidades de navegação adequadas.
O objectivo do corrente estudo foi o de avaliar as características actuais dos sedimentos do Porto de Mar del Plata e compará-las com características anteriores a 1996. Monitorizou-se o tamanho dos grãos, o teor de água e a matéria orgânica, em 12 estações. Os resultados indicam que o sector exterior recebe atualmente maior percentagem de areia do que em 1996; os siltes e argilas são preferencialmente depositados nas docas interiores; a matéria orgânica, registando aumento em conteúdo, em relação ao período de estudo anterior, acumula-se nas docas interiores com menor renovação de água e observando contribuições de águas residuais mais elevadas.
Com base nos resultados obtido, e alternativamente, este estudo propõe que se utilizem os sedimentos provenientes das dragagens em alimentação de praias. Várias praias urbanas de Mar del Plata sujeitas a processos erosivos de escala regional poderiam ser os locais de deposição dos dragados. Espera-se que este estudo seja utilizado como base de referência para a melhoria da qualidade ambiental do sistema portuário, bem como para suportar outros estudos de pré e pós-dragagem no âmbito de uma gestão integrada da zona costeira.

 

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