Pollution and Eutrophication in the Venice Lagoon

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 813-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Cossu ◽  
E. de Fraja Frangipane ◽  
D. Degobbis ◽  
A. A. Orio ◽  
G. Andreottola

To reduce the effect of the “high water”, which involves mainly the City of Venice, a project is underway to install barriers in the three port channels which connect the Venice lagoon to the Northern Adriatic Sea. To have a basis on which to gauge any observed effects in the water quality as a consequence of the reduction of the exchange of water between the lagoon and the open sea, a survey on the most polluted area of the lagoon was carried out over the period of a year. The following parameters were determined: pH, temperature, salinity, transparency, dissolved oxygen, ammoniacal nitrogen, orthophosphate, zinc and total coliforms. The results, compared to those obtained from previous studies, show that situation improved for ammoniacal nitrogen, zinc and coliforms and remained fairly constant for the other parameters. The inner zones of the lagoon are much more exposed to eutrophication as a consequence of a lower circulation of water and higher accumulation of nutrients. Release from sediments appears to play an important role in controlling the water quality in the shallow areas. Frequent algae blooms have been observed during spring and summer seasons. There is no evidence of an attenuation of eutrophic phenomena in recent years.

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 731-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Cosoli ◽  
M. Gačić ◽  
A. Mazzoldi

Abstract. Time scales and modes of variability of the flow in the water column in the Northern Adriatic Sea for late summer 2002 are described based on current record from a single bottom-mounted ADCP in the shallow-water area in front of the Venice Lagoon. The time averaged flow was directed 277° E (CCW), roughly aligned with the coastline, with typical magnitudes in the range 4–6 cm/s and a limited, not significant clockwise veering with depth. Tidal forcing was weak and mainly concentrated in the semidiurnal frequency band, with a barotropic (depth-independent) structure. On a diurnal time scale, tidal signal was biased by the sea-breeze regime and was characterized by a clockwise veering with depth according to the Ekman spiral. A complex EOF analysis on the velocity profile time series extracted two dominant spatial modes of variability, which explained more than 90% of the total variance in the current field. More than 78% of the total variance was accounted for by the first EOF mode, with a barotropic structure that contained the low-frequency components and the barotropic tidal signal at semidiurnal and diurnal frequencies. The second mode had a baroclinic structure with a zero-crossing at mid-depth, which was related with the response of the water column to the high-frequency wind-driven diurnal sea breeze variability. The response of low-passed non-tidal currents to local wind stress was fast and immediate, with negligible temporal lag up to mid-depth. Currents vectors were pointing to the right of wind stress, as expected from the surface Ekman veering, but with angles smaller than the expected ones. A time lag in the range 10 to 11 h was found below 8 m depth, with current vectors pointing to the left of wind stress and a counterclockwise veering towards the bottom. The delay was consistent with the frictional adjustment time scale describing the dynamics of a frictionally dominated flow in shallow water, thus suggesting the importance of bottom friction on the motion over the entire water column.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 3032
Author(s):  
Andrea Augusto Sfriso ◽  
Yari Tomio ◽  
Abdul-Salam Juhmani ◽  
Adriano Sfriso ◽  
Cristina Munari ◽  
...  

Marine macrophytes are hypothesized to be a major temporary sink for microplastics. In this study, microplastic contamination was investigated in 15 macroalgal species and one seagrass from different sites in two lagoons of the northern Adriatic Sea: the Goro lagoon and the Venice lagoon. A high percentage (94%) of the macrophyte samples contained microplastics, ranging from 0.16 to 330 items g−1 fw, with the prevalent size in the range 30–90 µm and an average contamination per unit of fresh weight of 14 items g−1 fw. Microplastic contamination displayed a site-specific, rather than a species-specific, pattern of accumulation. In addition, exopolysaccharides (EPS) displayed a significant positive correlation with the microplastics ononcontamination on macrophytes acting as glue for the plastic particles available in the water column.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 2914
Author(s):  
Adriano Sfriso ◽  
Alessandro Buosi ◽  
Yari Tomio ◽  
Abdul-Salam Juhmani ◽  
Michele Mistri ◽  
...  

The analysis of nutrient concentrations in surface sediments is a reliable tool for assessing the trophic status of a water body. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations are strongly related to the sediment characteristics but are mainly driven by anthropogenic impacts. The results of the determination of total nitrogen and total inorganic and organic phosphorus in surface sediments of the lagoons and ponds of the northwestern Adriatic Sea (Marano-Grado, Venice, Po Delta, Comacchio Valleys, Pialassa della Baiona) show the merit of this approach. Indeed, when previous data are available, the ratio between the actual and background values can provide useful information on the trophic changes that have occurred in the most recent times, and the results can also explain the conditions present in less studied environments. In this context, numerous studies performed in the Venice lagoon since the second half of the 20th century during different environmental scenarios provide mean concentration ranges and propose the main causes of changes. The results of single datasets available for the other lagoons fall into scenarios that occurred in the Venice lagoon. At present, the most eutrophic basins are Pialassa della Baiona, the Po Delta lagoons and ponds and the Comacchio valleys due to industrial effluents, fish farming and clam harvesting, respectively, whereas the Venice lagoon is now experiencing environmental recovery.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bastianini ◽  
L. Cavaleri ◽  
T. La Rocca

Abstract. We report the evidence of a remarkable meteorological event in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Following the irruption of cold northerly air into the previously hot and humid eastern part of the Po valley, a strong instability developed with violent thunderstorms. At the ISMAR oceanographic tower, 15 km off the coast of the Venice lagoon, although no one was on board, the records of 6 July 2008 from the various instruments coherently show the presence of an extreme and short-lived event that we associate either to a water spout or, more likely, to the strong downdraft of a mesoscale convective system


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. 1028-1037 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Braga ◽  
Claudia Giardino ◽  
Cristiana Bassani ◽  
Erica Matta ◽  
Gabriele Candiani ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Rizzi ◽  
S. Torresan ◽  
A. Critto ◽  
A. Zabeo ◽  
D. Brigolin ◽  
...  

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