Variability and fluxes of hydrology, nutrients and particulate matter between the Venice Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea. Preliminary results (years 2001-2002)

Although several considerations about fluxes and budgets of dissolved and particulate matter between the Venice Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea recently appeared in the scientific literature, no detailed study has been performed until now in such a coastal environment to give a reasonable exhaustive picture of the quantities exchanged from lagoon to sea. In this paper, preliminary results about the seasonal variability of some biogeochemical parameters (hydrology, dissolved nutrients and particulate matter) at the three Lagoon inlets (Lido, Malamocco and Chioggia), as well as preliminary calculations of fluxes and budgets at Lido, derived from I year of intensive field experiments, are reported and discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.