Author(s)

W. Elshorbagy, M. Azzam & S. Mustafa

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the water quality and biological data collected from a coastal industrial site in the United Arab Emirates. Evaluation of the data shows that the area is characterized by high nutrients and low productivity and chlorophyll carbon. Evaluation indicates that further identification of the small-sized phytoplankton is needed. The data is then incorporated in a 3-D ecological numerical model to simulate the lower trophic level prevailing in the area. Hydrodynamic conditions are needed for the model as they were developed in an earlier study. The simulation is done for both the summer and winter seasons utilizing four data sets for parameter stabilization and calibration. Phytoplankton and zooplankton are both simulated with time and space in response to variable effluent fluxes of nutrients and organic matters. Other simulated parameters include nutrients, DOC, POC, COD, and DO. The model proves to be a good tool for evaluating the ecological conditions of coastal areas under different effluent loads. 1 Introduction The coastal ecosystem of the UAE may experience environmental threats due to the establishment of new industries linked to oil and petrochemicals. The limited

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