ECOSUD was a research project of international cooperation financed by the European Commission (contract no. ICA4-CT-2001-10027, A4-INCO-DEV Programme). It addressed the sustainable development of estuarine and coastal areas using advanced knowledge from field observations and numerical simulation tools. From here a set of scientifically motivated strategies was derived for two specific field cases, namely the Patos Lagoon in the south of Brazil and the Jucar River Estuary in the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
Within the project a number of significant advances in both site-specific and generic knowledge were obtained related to the hydrodynamics of both areas and the corresponding consequences for water quality and socio-economic impacts. These advances are summarized in the enclosed set of papers which are considered to provide a faithful picture of the present state-of-art, while incorporating new point-wise advancement in natural processes, numerical tools and socio-economic implications.
This special issue covers, therefore, these advances starting with the...
