Assessment of the tidal currents and pollutants dynamics associated with shrimp aquaculture effluents in SAMARE coastal lagoon (NW Mexico)

The pollutant dispersion induced by the tidal hydrodynamics was investigated through a modified model in Santa Marìa‐La Reforma coastal lagoon, a body water that receives effluents containing chemicals that are used in shrimp aquaculture. Maxima tidal currents (0.7 ms^?1) were predicted within the main channel. Residual currents, of the order of 0.01 ms^?1, were also predicted. The hypothetical pollutant, released at four selected sites that receive effluents from shrimp aquaculture and agriculture within the lagoon, spread towards the northern and southern inlets. The advection and diffusion processes allow the pollutant in most of the cases, to reach the inlets in about 120 h. The spreading of the pollutant in the coastal lagoon seems to be modulated by the tidal velocity fields. The presence of an area where tidal currents converge in the eastern part of Talchichitle Island suggests that a potential accumulation of pollutants occurs in this site.