CHARACTERISTIC HYDRAULIC TIMES OF WATER AGE AND RENEWAL RATES IN THE LOWER AMAZON

The analysis of characteristic hydraulic times (CHT), Times of Renewal Rates (TRRpercent), and Water Age (WA) have been used as important diagnostic tools in tracking the scale of kinetic reactions as water masses move downstream. These analyses are helpful to track the water mass exchange (Monsen et al., 2002), giving us an important knowledge of the hydrodynamics processes that helps water bodies to recover from local pollution. Currently, transport models are the main tool used worldwide to develop CHT analysis (Bacher et al., 2016). One can find numerous examples in the literature of CHT studies on water bodies pressured by the surrounding population or by the presence of industrial activity, that usually present environmental risks. The lower reaches of the Amazon are extremely complex, with 2 large and several small tributaries entering, an extensive floodplain, multiple channels, and islands.