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Sediment grain size and hydrodynamics in Mediterranean coastal lagoons: Integrated classification of abiotic parameters

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Abstract

Integrated classification maps were produced by combining sediment grain-size and hydrological data (water renewal time, WRT) from two Mediterranean lagoons, Lesina (LL) and Varano (LV), Italy. The geophysical characteristics of the two basins, derived from detailed bathymetric charts, are quite distinct: ∼30% of LL (mean depth ∼1 m) but only 3% of LV (mean depth ∼3 m) is shallower than 1 m. The sediments of both lagoons are mainly composed of mud (∼80%). A detailed multivariate analysis of grain-size data by EntropyMax classified the lagoon beds of LL and LV into five sedimentary facies. WRT data, computed by a hydrodynamic model, indicated different hydrological conditions in the two lagoons: LL showed a sharp west–east gradient, with a basin-wide average of ∼190 days, whilst LV showed a fairly uniform distribution and a higher basin-wide average (∼260 days). The distribution of sedimentary facies and water renewal times were combined in a composite map representing the distribution of environmental patterns. The approach outlined in this study can be used to improve zonation schemes by providing a hydromorphological perspective on transitional and coastal environments.

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Acknowledgements

The useful comments of Alex Callaway and two anonymous reviewers are kindly acknowledged. Stefano Menegon provided invaluable assistance in preparing maps and plots. Mr. George Metcalf revised the English text. Supplementary information with the database is available at the link:http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1044121.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali Informatica e Statistica, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Dorsoduro 2137, 30123, Venezia, Italy

    Emanuela Molinaroli

  2. CNR–Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, ISMAR – Istituto di Scienze Marine in Bologna, via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy

    Alessandro Sarretta

  3. CNR–Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, ISMAR – Istituto di Scienze Marine in Venezia, Castello 2737/F, 30122, Venezia, Italy

    Christian Ferrarin & Stefano Guerzoni

  4. CNR–Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAMC – Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero in Oristano, 090782, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy

    Christian Ferrarin

  5. Urban Planning, Via S. Martino, 11-35030, Veggiano, Padova, Italy

    Emanuele Masiero

  6. CNR–Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, ISMAR Istituto di Scienze Marine in Lesina, via Pola 4, 71010, Lesina (FG), Italy

    Antonietta Specchiulli

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  1. Emanuela Molinaroli
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  2. Alessandro Sarretta
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Correspondence to Emanuela Molinaroli.

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Molinaroli, E., Sarretta, A., Ferrarin, C. et al. Sediment grain size and hydrodynamics in Mediterranean coastal lagoons: Integrated classification of abiotic parameters. J Earth Syst Sci 123, 1097–1114 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-014-0445-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-014-0445-9

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