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Hydrodynamics of Ebrié lagoon as revealed by a chemical and isotopic study

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Abstract

To determine the origin and the circulation of waters in the different areas of the Ebrié lagoon (Ivory Coast), ionic concentrations (K+ Cl-) and isotopic (δ18O) measurements were performed. Sixty stations were sampled. Chemical and isotopic analyses were made thrice during a hydrological cycle: in May 1986, at the end of the great dry season; in October 1986, during the maximum of rainfall, in December 1987, after the Comoe river peak flow. From a hydrodynamical point of view, the results reported in this work indicate that the lagoon comprises four distinctive areas. The first is filled with freshwater all the year round and is characterized by an weak isotopic enrichment (these waters are of continental origin and annually renewed); the second corresponds to oligohaline waters highly enriched in18O (waters essentially of continental origin and poorly renewed); the third area is constituted of a mixture of waters of continental and oceanic origins. The latter group can be separated into two subgroups: a group completely renewed by oceanic water during the dry season and another group totally renewed by freshwater during the rainy and flood seasons.

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Guiral, D., Ferhi, A. Hydrodynamics of Ebrié lagoon as revealed by a chemical and isotopic study. Hydrobiologia 245, 65–74 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00764766

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00764766

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