Análise quantitativa da descarga dos rios afluentes da Lagoa dos Patos

The main objective of this paper is to establish the mean monthly contribution of each one of the tributaries of Patos Lagoon. A specific methodology was applied to recover missing data and 3 time series covering 57 years of monthly data for Jacui, Taquari and Camaqua rivers could be formed. A seasonal behavior that presents a peak in late winter/early spring was depicted from the records. The sum of the annual mean flow of Jacui, Taquari and Camaqua rivers is 1770 m³/s. When the mean flow of Sao Goncalo channel (700 m³/s) is included, the total river discharge of Patos Lagoon attains 2400 m³/s. Large year-to-year variations are likely to occur and they are mostly tied with events of “El Nino”, when above normal values are recorded, and “La Nina” that presents river flows well below average.