Marcos Mateus

Technical University of Lisbon | UTL · Centre for the Environment and Maritime Technologies (MARETEC)

Wildfires are a recurring hazard in forested catchments representing a major threat to water security worldwide. Wildfires impacts on water quality have been thoroughly addressed by the scientific community through field studies, laboratory experiments, and, to a lesser extent, the use of hydrological models. Nonetheless, models are important tools...

Enhanced colour image scanning electron microscope of two harmful phytoplankton (A) Dictyocha sp. and (B) Dinophysis acuminata.

Marine viruses are considered the most enigmatic form of life in the oceans. They are, simultaneously, agents of chaos and promoters of order. Whether or not they can be considered living entities, they are active agents of infection and drivers of host diversity. Consequently, they modulate the dynamic changes of populations of marine bacteria, ar...

Across the European Atlantic Arc (Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Spain, and Portugal) the shellfish aquaculture industry is dominated by the production of mussels, followed by oysters and clams. A range of spatially and temporally variable harmful algal bloom species (HABs) impact the industry through their production of biotoxins that accumul...

Wildfires are an increasing threat in the Mediterranean region, causing frequent losses of goods and human lives. Not only are wildfires a concern due to their immediate effects on vegetation and soil, but they can also have substantial impacts on surface water quality. Approximately one-third of the world’s largest cities obtain their drinking wat...

Facing a hypothetical foodborne transmission of COVID-19 via the consumption of raw shellfish, we briefly address possible reasons to consider the incorporation of SARS-CoV-2 detection strategies on regular shellfish monitoring programs and include this risk on early warning systems to the aquaculture industry and public health. Our opinion is base...

Accurately estimating air–water gas exchanges requires considering other factors besides wind speed. These are particularly useful for coastal ocean applications, where the sea-state varies at fine spatial and temporal resolutions. We upgrade FuGas 2.5, with improved formulations of the gas transfer velocity parametrized based on friction velocity,...

Aquaculture has become the fastest-growing sector of the food industry worldwide. The increase of intensive aquaculture practices, however, has been raising global concern about economic and social impacts, but mostly due to the associated potential environmental impacts. The aim of this report is to make a preliminary assessment of the impact of a...

Forest fires have intensified in the Mediterranean area over the last decades, becoming increasingly destructive. Catastrophic wildfires, such as the ones that occurred on the Portuguese territory during 2017, have emphasized the need for developing management tools capable of rapidly assessing their impact on downstream water bodies. This study fo...

Drowning accidents followed by the disappearance of the body are particularly distressing events. When such tragedy strikes, Search and Rescue Operations are usually deployed to recover the body. The efficiency of such efforts can be enhanced by timely data and appropriate data integration tools, such as operational prediction systems relying on nu...

The Tagus Estuary is the largest estuarine system in the Iberian Peninsula. Located in a heavily populated metropolitan area (Lisbon), the estuary-coastal continuum is subject to significant natural variability (e.g., tidal variations, winds, river inflow, etc.) and human pressures (e.g., sewage outflow, infrastructures, coastal reclamation, dredgi...

In this study, a fully transient nested grid hydrodynamic Biogeochemical model of the Tagus estuary and adjacent coastal waters ( is used to study spatial and temporal patterns of nutrients and their connection to the hydrodynamic conditions of the estuary.

Coastal zones have always been preferential areas for human settlement, mostly due to their natural resources. However, human occupation poses complex problems and requires proper management tools. Numerical models rank among those tools and offer a way to evaluate and anticipate the impact of human pressures on the environment. This work describes...

Toxins from harmful algae and certain food pathogens (Escherichia coli and Norovirus) found in shellfish can cause significant health problems to the public and have a negative impact on the economy. For the most part, these outbreaks cannot be prevented but, with the right technology and know-how, they can be predicted. These Early Warning Systems...

This study assessed the impact of climate change on the hydrological regime of the Paraguaçu river basin, northeastern Brazil. Hydrological impact simulations were conducted using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for 2020–2040. Precipitation and surface air temperature projections from two Regional Climate Models (Eta-HadGEM2-ES and Eta-MI...

Over the past decades, water quality models have become unique tools in the management of aquatic resources. A consequence of their widespread application is the significant number of models now available. Available methodologies to compare models provide limited support for their choice in the first place, especially to end-users or modelers with...

Estuaries play a crucial role in regional carbon cycling. Until now, accurate estimations of the impact of environmental variables on estuarine air–water CO2 fluxes have been mostly characterized by a low spatial-temporal sampling resolution. This study reports on the variations of CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) and related environmental parameters, a...

The future supply of fish according to the most recent projections from the OECD-FAO 2014 will derive more from aquaculture (Agricultural Outlook 2013-2022). This will demand responsible and sustainable approaches to its economic development. Every year approximately 1.25 million tonnes of products are produced by aquaculture in the EU, much of it...

Accurate estimates of the atmosphere–ocean fluxes of greenhouse gases and dimethyl sulphide (DMS) have great importance in climate change models. A significant part of these fluxes occur at the coastal ocean which, although much smaller than the open ocean, have more heterogeneous conditions. Hence, Earth System Modelling (ESM) requires representin...

The subtidal variability of surface plume response to local wind and river runoff is studied off central Portugal using a hindcast model for the Tagus Estuary (TE) plume. In addition to the model, the main patterns of variability of the TE plume were extracted in an automated mode using Self Organizing Maps (SOM). Three characteristic spatial patte...

Over the last decade, the Antarctic continent has been the object of intensive scientific programmes. However, the emphasis of these studies rarely focuses on the Antarctic as a source of potential elements such as mercury. The release of mercury to the environment is known to occur at Deception Island, associated with volcanic activity. In this st...

Ten field cruises were carried out in Tagus estuary from 1999 to 2007 to study the dynamics of the inorganic carbon system. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) increased with salinity. DIC and TA were generally conservative in the estuarine mixing zone (salinity > 10), while a complex distribution pattern was observed at the...

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Viruses are the most abundant biological entities in the world's oceans. Their potential control on the dynamics and diversity of bacterioplankton and some phytoplankton groups, and consequent effect on the flow of energy and matter in food webs, may be argued as beyond dispute. Paradoxically, their importance seems to be persistently underestimate...

Accurate estimates of the atmosphere-ocean balances and fluxes of greenhouse gases and aerosols are fundamental for geoscientific models dealing with climate change. A significant part of these fluxes occur at the coastal ocean which, although much smaller than the open ocean, is also much more heterogenic. The scientific community is becoming incr...

Estuaries and coastal lagoons are naturally stressed and highly variable ecosystems, and are also frequently exposed to strong anthropogenic pressures. Such pressures can be particularly pronounced in small systems such as the Ria de Alvor, a small tidal lagoon in southern Portugal. The Ria de Alvor is a priority area for conservation, being a RAMS...

A limited number of forensic studies report on the Post Mortem Submersion Interval (PMSI) and the related Accumulated Degree Days (ADD) necessary for a body to resurface after drowning. Some of these studies result from experiments using animal carcasses. Death by drowning represents the only source of PMSI and ADD information for human corpses. Si...

A numerical model (www.mohid.com) is used to study the Tagus Estuary (TE) buoyant plume propagation is studied in terms of the subtidal variability of the surface plume as a response to local wind and river runoff. Also, predicted surface structure of current velocity and salinity is analyzed for the period from March 20 to April 11, 2013, when the...

Model II regression (i.e. minimizing residuals obliquely) is the adequate alternative to Model I regression by Ordinary Least Squares (i.e. minimizing residuals vertically) given the absence of well-established dependence relationships or x measured with error. Yet, it has no perfect solution. Determining the true slope from errors-in-the-variables...

Coastal areas worldwide are important and sensitive ecosystems. Rivers are considered to be one of the most influential hydrological pathways for the waterborne transport and therefore estuaries are critical areas for a pollution hazard. To describe that hazard, the risk of exceeding the allowed concentration values of the pollution substance in su...

Vaz, L.; Serodio, J., Mateus, M., Dias, J.M., and Vaz, N., 2016. Primary production of the benthic microalgae in the bottom sediments of Ria de Aveiro Lagoon. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special I...

The Ria de Aveiro is a mesotidal coastal lagoon located in the north coast of Portugal. It has a complex irregular geometry characterized by large intertidal areas and several freshwater tributaries, which are the main sources of nutrients into the lagoon. The dynamics between the tidal propagation and the landward nutrient sources modulates the pr...

Estuarine plumes are frequently under strong influence of land-derived inputs of organic matter. These plumes have characteristic physical and chemical conditions, and their morphology and extent in the coastal area depends strongly on physical conditions such as river discharge, tides and wind action. In this work we investigate the physical dynam...

The present work is focused on the dispersion of a thermal effluent, produced by the Sines power plant, Portugal, along coastal waters. This facility intakes a yearly average around 40 m3/s of seawater, for the required cooling process, which is subsequently discharged back to the ocean at a 10 °C increase in temperature. A three-dimensional hydrod...

Ocean circulation models are frequently used in maritime Search and Rescue operations due to their skill in simulating the effects of local currents on the transport of people or objects. They are also occasionally used in forensic contexts. Frequently, positively or neutrally buoyant passive particles are used in these simulations, as a proxy for...

Accurate solubility estimates are fundamental for (i) Earth-System models forecasting the climate change taking into consideration the atmosphere–ocean balances and trades of greenhouse gases, and (ii) using field data to calibrate and validate the algorithms simulating those trades. We found important differences between the formulation generally...

Earth-System and regional models, forecasting climate change and its impacts, simulate atmosphere–ocean gas exchanges using classical yet too simple generalizations relying on wind speed as the sole mediator while neglecting factors as sea-surface ag- 5 itation, atmospheric stability, current drag with the bottom, rain and surfactants. These were p...

Sensitivity analysis (SA) has long been recognized as part of best practices to assess if any particular model can be suitable to inform decisions, despite its uncertainties. SA is a commonly used approach for identifying important parameters that dominate model behavior. As such, SA address two elementary questions in the modeling exercise, namely...

1. Appropriate use of mathematics and statistics is fundamental for sound interpretations of ecological results and to prevent inaccurate conclusions. 2. Throughout the article by Cabaço et al. (2013) emerge cases of biased data analyses including absence of statistical tests, application of unsuited tests, inconsistent geometrical interpretation o...

Fish farming activities are a relevant economic coastal resource in the warm oligotrophic Mediterranean waters. This work describes the application of a numerical model to determine the carrying capacity of a mixed gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) and European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) culture in a Marine Culture Park, located in the coast of...

Óbidos Lagoon is classified as a sensible system according to the eutrophication criteria in the Portuguese Decree-Law 149/2004, which transpose the standards of Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (Council Directive 91/271/EEC) concerning urban waste water treatment. From September 2005 onwards, the urban loads of five Waste Water Treatment Plan...

Water quality models are in great demand to complement studies about the status of estuarine waters. However, local models do not perform well when boundary conditions are not properly defined and when biogeochemical processes are not described with adequate detail. This chapter presents advanced modeling applications to perform water quality studi...

This work studies the influence of the Tagus estuary, Portugal, on the near coastal system using a model application to describe the main physical and biogeochemical processes in the Region of Freshwater Influence (ROFI). It was used a nested modeling approach, downscaling the solution for the general circulation from a larger domain model (the Por...

Recreational accidents in aquatic environments leading to death by drowning are quite frequent. Even if they do not usually require forensic investigation, they may provide useful information on the Post Mortem Submersion Interval (PMSI) and its relation with Accumulated Degree Days (ADD). This is particularly useful to forensic science since most...

Isomorphic biphasic algal life cycles often occur in the environment at ploidy abundance ratios (Haploid:Diploid) different from 1. Its spatial variability occurs within populations related to intertidal height and hydrodynamic stress, possibly reflecting the niche partitioning driven by their diverging adaptation to the environment argued necessar...

Management decisions related with water quality in lakes and reservoirs require a combined land-water processes study approach. This study reports on an integrated watershed-reservoir modeling methodology: the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to estimate the nutrient input loads from the watershed, used afterwards as boundary conditions...

Numerical modelling tools for marine systems have developed at a brisk pace over the last decades. By the turn of the century they were already ‘’tools of the trade” in ocean studies and coastal zone management, as shown by the variety of models available today. Now, more than ever before, studies in most fields of marine sciences rely on process-o...

CHAPTER SYNOPSIS Background Mohid Modelling System was used to assess the carrying capacity of a Marine Culture Park located on the coast of Murcia (SE Spain). This location includes seven facilities with a global production of near 7000 tons of finfish. To assess the Productive Carry-ing Capacity (PCC), three distinct scenarios of increasingly unf...

The finding of human remains in aquatic environments is usually attributed to causes such as work-related or recreational accidents, suicides, discarded homicide victims, and natural disasters. When the point and date of entry in the water is unknown, these findings pose serious challenges to forensic analysis given the difficulty to estimate the d...

One of the leading challenges in marine science and governance is to improve scientific guidance of management measures to mitigate eutrophication nuisances in the EU seas. Existing approaches do not integrate the eutrophication process in space (continuum river-ocean) and in time (past, present and future status). A strong need remains for (i) kno...

CHAPTER SYNOPSIS Background Mohid Modelling System was used to assess the carrying capacity of a Marine Culture Park located on the coast of Murcia (SE Spain). This location includes seven facilities with a global production of near 7000 tons of finfish. To assess the Productive Carry-ing Capacity (PCC), three distinct scenarios of increasingly unf...