Hydrologic dynamics in a Urban Tropical Lagoon, San Juan Bay Estuary, Puerto Rico

Abstract

The San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE) is an important natural coastal resource which comprises several types of habitats, five lagoons, and the largest mangrove forest in Puerto Rico: the Piñones Commonwealth Forest. During the last one hundred years, humans have altered the SJBE extensively by dredging, filling, and by the discharge of domestic and industrial wastes. The hydraulic characteristic of the Laguna San José (LSJ), its dynamics and nitrogen loads are not completely understood. A preliminary simple box model (according to Land-Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone-LOICZ guidelines) is proposed to calculate the water budget for the LSJ. Our overall goal is to develop a N budget for the LSJ. This research is relevant to the management and restoration efforts of the SJBE.