John Rapaglia

Investigation of residence time and groundwater flux in Venice Lagoon: comparing radium isotope and hydrodynamical models

The four naturally-occurring isotopes of radium were coupled with a previously evaluated hydrodynamic model to determine the apparent age of surface waters and to quantify submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into the Venice Lagoon, Italy. Mean apparent age of water in the Venice Lagoon was calculated using the ratio of 224Ra to 228Ra determined from 30 monitoring stations and a mean pore water end member. Average apparent age was calculated to be 6.0 d using Ra ratios. This calculated age was very similar to average residence time calculated for the same period using a hydrodynamic model (5.8 d). A mass balance of Ra was accomplished by quantifying each of the sources and sinks of Ra in the lagoon, with the unknown variable being attributed to SGD. Total SGD were calculated to be 4.1 +/- 1.5, 3.8 +/- 0.7, 3.0 +/- 1.3, and 3.5 +/- 1.0 x 10(10) L d(-1) for (223,224,226, 228)Ra, respectively, which are an order of magnitude larger than total mean fluvial discharge into the Venice Lagoon (3.1 x 10(9) L d(-1)). The SGD as a source of nutrients in the Venice Lagoon is also discussed and, though significant to the nutrient budget, is likely to be less important as the dominant control on SGD is recirculated seawater rather than freshwater.

Isotopic, geophysical and biogeochemical investigation of submarine groundwater discharge: IAEA-UNESCO intercomparison exercise at Mauritius Island

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into a shallow lagoon on the west coast of Mauritius Island (Flic-en-Flac) was investigated using radioactive ((3)H, (222)Rn, (223)Ra, (224)Ra, (226)Ra, (228)Ra) and stable ((2)H, (18)O) isotopes and nutrients. SGD intercomparison exercises were carried out to validate the various approaches used to measure SGD including radium and radon measurements, seepage rate measurements using manual and automated meters, sediment bulk conductivity and salinity surveys. SGD measurements using benthic chambers placed on the floor of the Flic-en-Flac Lagoon showed discharge rates up to 500 cm/day. Large variability in SGD was observed over distances of a few meters, which were attributed to different geomorphological features. Deployments of automated seepage meters captured the spatial and temporal variability of SGD with a mean seepage rate of 10 cm/day. The stable isotopic composition of submarine waters was characterized by significant variability and heavy isotope enrichment and was used to predict the contribution of fresh terrestrially derived groundwater to SGD (range from a few % to almost 100%). The integrated SGD flux, estimated from seepage meters placed parallel to the shoreline, was 35 m(3)/m day, which was in reasonable agreement with results obtained from a hydrologic water balance calculation (26 m(3)/m day). SGD calculated from the radon inventory method using in situ radon measurements were between 5 and 56 m(3)/m per day. Low concentrations of radium isotopes observed in the lagoon water reflected the low abundance of U and Th in the basalt that makes up the island. High SGD rates contribute to high nutrients loading to the lagoon, potentially leading to eutrophication. Each of the applied methods yielded unique information about the character and magnitude of SGD. The results of the intercomparison studies have resulted a better understanding of groundwater-seawater interactions in coastal regions. Such information is an important pre-requisite for the protection and management of coastal freshwater resources.

Submarine Groundwater Discharge Into Venice Lagoon, Italy

Venice Lagoon, Italy, rests on a series of aquifers that are 1,000 m thick. Measurements of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) were made in Venice Lagoon using benthic chambers vented to a plastic collection bag. Two hundred measurements taken in a pristine northern lagoon site (Isola la Cura) revealed flow rates as high as 200 cm d−1 with an average of 30 cm d−1. Over 100 measurements taken adjacent to a bulkhead shoreline in the Porto Marghera industrial zone (Fusina) showed flow rates as high as 30 cm d−1 and averaging 6 cm d−1. These flow rates, if representative of even a fraction of the lagoon floor, are easily able to account for the 15% deficit previously calculated between precipitation and runoff for the entire Venice Lagoon drainage basin. Land elevation surrounding the Venice Lagoon is < 10 m within 20 km of the shoreline and is unable to support any substantial onshore water table. Submarine groundwater discharge most likely represents upward artesian discharge from deeper partially confined aquifers. Over 60 samples were collected in total from both sites for nutrient analysis. Ammonium concentration was found to be 2–8 fold higher in the device water than in the lagoon water at the northern site depending on season, and 10–30 times higher at the industrial zone site. These numbers suggest that SGD may be the primary pathway for nutrients and perhaps other contaminants to enter Venice Lagoon.

Estimation of submarine groundwater discharge from bulk ground electrical conductivity measurements

The utility of bulk ground conductivity (BGC) measurements in the estimation of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) was investigated at four sites covering a range of hydrogeological settings, namely Cockburn Sound (Australia); Shelter Island (USA); Ubatuba Bay (Brazil) and Flic-en-Flac Bay (Mauritius). At each of the sites, BGC was surveyed in the intertidal zone, and seepage meters were used for direct measurements of SGD flow rates. In the presence of detectable salinity gradients in the sediment, a negative correlation between SGD and BGC was recorded. The correlation is site-specific and is dependent on both the type of sediment and the mixing processes. For example, at Shelter Island the maximum mean flow rates were 65 cm d−1 at a BGC of ∼0 mS cm−1 while at Mauritius maximum mean flow rates were 364 cm d−1 at a BGC of ∼0 mS cm−1. BGC measurements are used to estimate SGD over a large scale, and to separate its fresh and saline components. Extrapolating BGC measurements throughout the study sites yields a total discharge of 2.91, 1.59, 7.16, and 25.4 103 m3 d−1 km−1 of shoreline with a freshwater fraction of 41, 24, 29, and 63% at Cockburn Sound, Shelter Island, Ubatuba Bay, and Flic-en-Flac Bay respectively. The results demonstrate that ground conductivity is a useful tracer to survey and separate freshwater and recirculated seawater component of SGD. The presented investigation is a subset within a series of experiments designed to compare different methods to investigate SGD co-organized and carried out by SCOR, LOICZ, IOC and IAEA.

Sediment Resuspension by Ship Wakes in the Venice Lagoon

ABSTRACT Gelinas, M.; Bokuniewicz, H.; Rapaglia, J., and Lwiza, K.M.M., 2013. Sediment resuspension by ship wakes in the Venice Lagoon. Observations of Bernoulli wakes were recorded and analyzed for 22 passing ships in the industrial Malamocco–Marghera shipping channel in the Venice Lagoon. The wakes were characterized as a progressive N-wave with a dominant, leading trough preceded and followed by small crests. As the wake traveled, water transport under the trough was initially opposite the direction of wake propagation, sending resuspended sediment back toward the channel. Water velocities were documented to reach more than 2 m s−1 under the trough, and suspended sediment concentrations exceeded 380 mg L−1. Sediment loads were successfully predicted from measurements of current speeds, settling speeds, and sediment flux determined as a function of bottom shear stress. Resuspension rates reached several thousand milligrams per square meter per second. The size of the wake, and the amount of resuspension it can cause, might be parameterized by a nonlinear combination of a blocking coefficient S and a depth-based Froude number F; both parameters depend only on the channel geometry and ships dimensions and speed. In this case, both the depth of the trough and the maximum suspended sediment concentration depended on S1.6F3.5.

An effect of pier pilings on nearshore submarine groundwater discharge from a (partially) confined aquifer

Concurrent bulk ground conductivity mapping and direct measurements of seepage rates were carried out near a pier at Shelter Island, New York, U.S.A. A shallow sediment layer was identified to provide confinement for lower aquifer units. The conductivity and seepage rate data indicate that pilings of the pier apparently pierce this shallow sediment layer, producing a comparatively high seepage rate driven by the hydraulic head of the (partially) confined aquifer, resulting in a substantial increase in submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) near the pier. Seepage rate measurements made close to the pier, which runs perpendicular to the shoreline, cannot be considered representative for the area. At the study site, the magnitude of SGD depends both on the distance from shore and on the distance from the pier, a rmding that confounds the commonly observed patterns of decreasing SGD with increasing distance from shore. This alteration of a groundwater flow pattern is a previously undescribed effect of anthropogenic perturbation in a coastal system.

Fast Shoreline Erosion Induced by Ship Wakes in a Coastal Lagoon: Field Evidence and Remote Sensing Analysis

An investigation based on in-situ surveys combined with remote sensing and GIS analysis revealed fast shoreline retreat on the side of a major waterway, the Malamocco Marghera Channel, in the Lagoon of Venice, Italy. Monthly and long-term regression rates caused by ship wakes in a reclaimed industrial area were considered. The short-term analysis, based on field surveys carried out between April 2014 and January 2015, revealed that the speed of shoreline regression was insignificantly dependent on the distance from the navigation channel, but was not constant through time. Periods of high water levels due to tidal forcing or storm surges, more common in the winter season, are characterized by faster regression rates. The retreat is a discontinuous process in time and space depending on the morpho-stratigraphy and the vegetation cover of the artificial deposits. A GIS analysis performed with the available imagery shows an average retreat of 3˗4 m/yr in the period between 1974 and 2015. Digitization of historical maps and bathymetric surveys made in April 2015 enabled the construction of two digital terrain models for both past and present situations. The two models have been used to calculate the total volume of sediment lost during the period 1968˗2015 (1.19×106 m3). The results show that in the presence of heavy ship traffic, ship-channel interactions can dominate the morphodynamics of a waterway and its margins. The analysis enables a better understanding of how shallow-water systems react to the human activities in the post-industrial period. An adequate evaluation of the temporal and spatial variation of shoreline position is also crucial for the development of future scenarios and for the sustainable management port traffic worldwide.