Abstract:
The Ria Formosa lagoon is located in the south of Portugal, and is a barrier island system that communicates with the
sea through 6 inlets. This work aims at studying contaminant transport in Ria Formosa in two distinct configurations:
before and after Ancão Inlet relocation, through the implementation of the transport models VELA and VELApart and
exploration of the models results. The results obtained for both bathymetries suggest better water exchanges through
Ancão Inlet and smaller residence times in the western part of Ria Formosa for the new bathymetry. Overall, it can be
conclude that Ancão Inlet relocation was a successful human intervention in order to reduce the pollution hazards in Ria
Formosa.
