Water Exchange Calculations Using the Salt Conservation Law in Ayla Lagoons in the Northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

Abstract

The salt conservation law was applied, for the first time, in order to compare the real and calculated values of water outflow (m 3 /s) and residence time (days) in the lagoons of Ayla Oasis at the northernmost tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. The aim is to obtain the scientific bases of monitoring beside the real observation in areas that could not be measured directly by the current meters. The real measurements of water current by Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) workhorse 600 kHz, salinity and density by the Conductivity, Temperature and Depth meter (CTD 19plusV2), were collected during the period June 2012-May 2013. The statistical analysis was performed using Statview (5.0) software. The results revealed highly significant correlation between the real and calculated values for both water flow (r = 0.90; P = 0.0001) and residence time (r = 0.89; P < 0.0001). Hence, the salt conservation law can be used to calculate the outflow and residence time of seawater inside the lagoons, particularly at areas that could not be accessed for direct current measurements. The differences between the real and calculated values of the water outflow (1.85 ± 1.71 m 3 /s) and residence time (0.80 ± 0.72 days) should be taken into consideration to correct the calculated values.