27 September 2006
The University of Wales has been awarded a £300,000 grant to conduct a freshwater study to discover how much river water is mixed into the sea.
Scientists at the University will team up with Proudman Oceanographic Labs staff to understand how freshwater from the Mersey and Dee rivers mixes with sea water in Liverpool Bay.
The work is due to begin this October and will continue for three years.
Dr Tom Rippeth, University of Wales spokesman, said: "The boundary between estuaries and the sea provides an important interface across which river borne freshwater, pollutants and sediment must cross. The fate of, freshwater, nutrients and pollutants have important effects on the health of the coastal seas.
"We know these interfaces are particularly sensitive to the consequences of climate change such as increasing sea level height, changing rainfall patterns and increased storm activity. These will affect the processes responsible for mixing freshwater and seawater in areas like Liverpool Bay.
"The new project will improve our understanding of these processes enabling more accurate predictions of the consequences of climate change."
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