Seminars : Documents

The importance of hydrodynamics on coastal lagoons processes
Francisco López Castejón (Technical University of Cartagena)

When we think about a highly anthropogenic impacted area as the Mar Menor, we usually think about the biological, chemical and ecological aspects of it. Nevertheless the role of the hydrodynamic processes as a regulator of these processes usually is discarded. Recent studies have showed how coastal lagoons have a complex hydrodynamic structures: eddies, upwellings, countercurrents and the importance to know properly how the water exchange with the Mediterranean Sea is forced and how any change of the shape or bathymetry of the communication channels could affect to the lagunar ecosystem. Moreover, the hydrodynamic conditions could be a trigger of processes as eutrophication. In my presentation I will show the result of different hydrodynamic studies performed in the Mar Menor coastal lagoon and how different instrumentation (ADCP, pressure gauge) and methodologies (numerical model) are used for a better understanding of the role of the hydrodynamic processes on the lagoon.