Análisis de los procesos de renovación de las aguas de la Bahía de Cienfuegos

How it exchanges their waters the Bay of Cienfuegos with the Caribbean Sea and which factors determine the speed of this process it is a poorly approached topic. To determine the distribution of the residence time of the Bay of Cienfuegos, considering this natural system as a continuous mixing tank reactor, applying the ideal model of perfect mixture, it is the main goal of this work. Through high-resolution numerical modeling technique, the role of tidal forc- ing, the freshwater inputs and the winds on the mass exchange processes of Cienfuegos Bay with Caribbean Sea are determine. Three characteristics of the renovation process of the waters are definite: the residence time, the flushing lag and the local residence time. The spatial distributions of flushing lag and of the local residence time revealed the differences in the self-cleaning capacity of both lobes of the bay, the existence of areas of slow movement, the seasonal character of these characteristics and strong vertical gradients of the residence time that overcome the 10 d between the bottom and the surface in some areas of the bay. It is concludes that the Bay of Cienfuegos is a system of slow exchange with residence time that reach up to 60 d, being vital the necessity to strengthen actions of environmental administration that reduce the polluting loads to this ecosystem.