Phytoplankton distribution in Mar Menor coastal lagoon (SE Spain) during 2017.
The Mar Menor is a Spanish coastal lagoon of great ecological and economic interest. The agricultural and tourist activities developed in the surroundings of the lagoon, together with the modifications in its channels of connection with the Mediterranean Sea, have notably affected the quality of its waters, which is altering the natural balance of the ecosystem. In this work, an analysis of the density of phytoplankton present in the lagoon between the months of May to December 2017 was carried out. The results indicate a significant increase in phytoplankton density between 2500 and 67,300 cells/mL compared to previous data of 1981 (between 10 and 500 cells/mL). Concentration of Chlorophyl…
Monitoring Coastal Lagoon Water Quality Through Remote Sensing: The Mar Menor as a Case Study
The Mar Menor is a hypersaline coastal lagoon located in the southeast of Spain. This fragile ecosystem is suffering several human pressures, such as nutrient and sediment inputs from agriculture and other activities and decreases in salinity. Therefore, the development of an operational system to monitor its evolution is crucial to know the cause-effect relationships and preserve the natural system. The evolution and variability of the turbidity and chlorophyll-a levels in the Mar Menor water body were studied here through the joint use of remote sensing techniques and in situ data. The research was undertaken using Operational Land Imager (OLI) images on Landsat 8 and two SPOT images, bec…
Mar Menor lagoon (SE Spain) chlorophyll-a and turbidity estimation with Sentinel-2
Mar Menor is a Mediterranean Coastal lagoon with high environmental and social value, but has suffered important episodes of contamination in recent years due to heavy rains, sediment dragging and polluting substances mainly from agriculture as well as the entry of mining waste, causing an increase in eutrophication. Water quality variables such as chlorophyll-a concentration [Chl-a] and turbidity, can be studied through its optical properties by remote sensing techniques. In this work, a methodology is proposed for monitoring [Chl-a] and the turbidity of the Mar Menor using Sentinel-2 images. For this purpose, an extensive database of both variables was used consisting of data taken on dif…
Bathymetry time series using high spatial resolution satellite images
The use of the new generation of remote sensors, such as echo sounders and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers with differential correction installed in a drone, allows the acquisition of high-precision data in areas of shallow water, as in the case of the channel of the Encañizadas in the Mar Menor lagoon. This high precision information is the first step to develop the methodology to monitor the bathymetry of the Mar Menor channels. The use of high spatial resolution satellite images is the solution for monitoring many hydrological changes and it is the basis of the three-dimensional (3D) numerical models used to study transport over time, environmental variability, and wa…