Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Conference papers
DOI 10.5194/egusphere-egu25-14268
Title (Primary) Connected reservoirs: modelling aquatic ecosystems along a cascade system in Brazil
Title (Secondary) EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025
Author Soares, L.M.V. ORCID logo ; Fernandes, T. ORCID logo ; Silva, T.F.G.; do Carmo Calijuri, M.
Source Titel EGUsphere
Year 2025
Department SEEFO
Page From EGU25-14268
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Abstract Connected reservoirs along cascade systems have been constructed along large rivers worldwide, establishing a network of aquatic environments. To date, modeling studies largely ignore the ecological feedback on water quality in connected reservoirs, thus limiting the ecosystem representation and missing the mechanisms acting between them. Here, we applied a novel modelling framework that fully links reservoir processes along the cascade system, considering the input from each water body to the next in the system. The one-dimensional GLM-AED model was applied to simulate hydrodynamics and biogeochemical processes in six reservoirs along the Tietê River (Brazil) situated in the most populous Brazilian state (24 million inhabitants), playing a relevant role for the energy generation and water supply in the region. The model was run for the 2008-2016 period, calibrated and validated against measured field data. Eighteen scenarios of reducing nutrient loads were simulated to assess how restoration strategies modify the ecological state downstream. All six reservoirs were sensitive to nutrient load reductions, which changed the nutrient retention capacity, and triggered a domino effect along the cascade system, improving the ecological conditions further downstream. It reveals that local restoration strategies devoted to the uppermost reservoir in a cascade system are propagated and amplified along the system. This finding is of primary interest to water managers since the improvements from local strategies into the uppermost reservoir, rather than site-specific, act at catchment scale.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=31965
Soares, L.M.V., Fernandes, T., Silva, T.F.G., do Carmo Calijuri, M. (2025):
Connected reservoirs: modelling aquatic ecosystems along a cascade system in Brazil
EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025
EGUsphere
Copernicus Publications, EGU25-14268 10.5194/egusphere-egu25-14268