Abstract
The intertidal patterns at the inlet of three coastal lagoons (Agiasma, Porto Lagos, and Xirolimni) in Northern Greece were investigated by combining in situ samplings and computational efforts. These lagoons are Mediterranean, microtidal coastal systems, connected with the adjacent open sea (Thracian Sea) through their inlet canals and are highly affected by the lagoon–sea exchange processes. Limited freshwater enters their basins, mostly due to precipitation and agricultural drainage. An intense monitoring program of water flow and quality at the mouth of the three lagoons was carried out, aiming to quantify the transport mechanisms of water, salt, and nutrients across the inlet canal under different tidal/meteorological conditions. Ebb currents were recorded higher than flood currents, and the temporal variability of the longitudinal velocity was characterized by asymmetries. Residual currents were important to the water exchange, with the Eulerian water, salt, and nutrient fluxes being an order of magnitude larger than the Stokes drift. Eulerian transport and tidal pumping are considered as important mechanisms for salt and nutrients exchange through the inlets. The return flow factor varied from 1 to 17.5% of the water exiting the lagoons in ebb, while the residence time ranged from 0.7 days to 4.2 days.
Highlights
Coastal lagoons are highly productive ecosystems important for the cycling of energy and nutrients
A large fraction of the population living in the vicinity of these coastal systems depends largely on these ecosystems and receives their services [1]
Information on coastal systems and their hydrodynamic processes is essential for their management and restoration [6]
Summary
Coastal lagoons are highly productive ecosystems important for the cycling of energy and nutrients. A series of key biogeochemical processes take place in the lagoon basins, such as net primary production, burial and remineralization of substances across the water-sediment interface, dissolving oxygen over-consumption towards benthic anoxia, and chemical exchange with the atmosphere [1,2]. Mediterranean lagoons provide key ecosystem services, such as human welfare and wellbeing, climate, water and natural hazard regulation, primary production, biotic diversity, habitat and food for bivalves, crustaceans, fish and birds, erosion prevention, and wild life refuge [1,3]. Lagoons are threatened mostly by humans, and the main causes of their degradation are pollution, water withdrawal, habitat destruction, overexploitation, invasive species, and climate change [4,5]. Information on coastal systems and their hydrodynamic processes is essential for their management and restoration [6]
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