Venetian Lagoon

Coordinates: 45°24′47″N 12°17′50″E / 45.41306°N 12.29722°E / 45.41306; 12.29722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Venetian Lagoon
Aerial view of the Venetian Lagoon, showing many of the islands including Venice itself, center rear, with the bridge to the mainland
Venetian Lagoon is located in Venetian Lagoon
Venetian Lagoon
Venetian Lagoon
LocationVenice, Veneto, Italy
Coordinates45°24′47″N 12°17′50″E / 45.41306°N 12.29722°E / 45.41306; 12.29722
Primary outflowsAdriatic Sea
Basin countriesItaly
Surface area550 square kilometres (210 sq mi)
Average depth10.5 metres (34 ft)
Max. depth21.5 metres (71 ft)
Surface elevation3 m (9.8 ft)
SettlementsVenice, Campagna Lupia, Cavallino-Treporti, Chioggia, Codevigo, Jesolo, Mira, Musile di Piave, Quarto d'Altino, San Donà di Piave
Official nameLaguna di Venezia: Valle Averto
Designated11 April 1989
Reference no.423[1]

The Venetian Lagoon (

embayment of salt water, a lagoon
.

Location

The Venetian Lagoon
The island of Torcello seen from the Lagoon at low tide

The Venetian Lagoon stretches from the

mud flats, tidal shallows and salt marshes. The lagoon is the largest wetland in the Mediterranean Basin.[2]

It is connected to the

acqua alta
(Italian for "high water"), which regularly flood much of Venice.

The nearby

Marano-Grado Lagoon
, with a surface area of around 160 square kilometres (62 square miles), is the northernmost lagoon in the Adriatic Sea and is called sometimes the "twin sister of the Venice lagoon".

Development

The Lagoon of Venice is the most important survivor of a system of

seaport, the Venetian Arsenal, and for fishing, as well as a limited amount of hunting and the newer industry of fish farming
.

The Lagoon was formed about six to seven thousand years ago, when the marine transgression following the

Po
tended to close tidal inlets with sand bars.

Treporti
).

Venice Lagoon was inhabited from the most ancient times, but it was only during and after the

Lido di Venezia and Pellestrina are inhabited as well, but they are part of Venice. However, the most part of the inhabitants of Venice, as well as its economic core, its airport and its harbor, stand on the western border of the lagoon, around the former towns of Mestre and Marghera. At the northern end of the lagoon, there is the town of Jesolo, a famous sea resort; and the town of Cavallino-Treporti
.

Ecosystem

Food web diagram of the Venetian Lagoon[5][6]

Occasionally, bottlenose dolphins enter the lagoon, possibly for feeding.[7]

The level of pollution in the lagoon has long been a concern

macroalgae blooms of the late 1980s proved particularly devastating.[10][11] Researchers have identified the lagoon as one of the primary areas where non-indigenous species are introduced into the Mediterranean Sea.[12][13]

Orange-brown grasses bend in the wind on Lazzaretto Nuovo.
Grasses on Lazzaretto Nuovo

Negative effects to the environment such as air pollution, loss of landscape, surface water pollution, erosion, and decreasing water quality have occurred due to the emission and impacts of cruise ships transiting into the Venetian Lagoon.[14]

From 1987 to 2003, the Venice Lagoon was harmed by a relevant reduction of the nutrient inputs and of the macroalgal biomasses due to

organic carbon in the upper sediments. Meanwhile, the seagrasses started a natural process of recolonization, restoration the pristine conditions of the marine ecosystem.[15]

Islands

The Venetian Lagoon Islands
San Lazzaro degli Armeni, has been an important center of Armenian culture for around 300 years.

The Venice Lagoon is mostly included in the Metropolitan City of Venice, but the south-western area is part of the Province of Padua.

The largest islands or archipelagos by area, excluding coastal reclaimed land and the coastal

barrier beaches
:

Other inhabited islands include:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ This geological history follows Brambati et al. (2003).[4]

References

  1. ^ "Laguna di Venezia: Valle Averto". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ^ Poggioli, Sylvia (7 January 2008). "MOSE Project Aims to Part Venice Floods". Morning Edition (Radio program). NPR.
  3. ^ "Venice, Italy (1985–2003) - 25 Years of Landsat 5 - Landsat 5 showcase - Earth Watching". earth.esa.int. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  4. .
  5. ^ Heymans, J.J., Coll, M., Libralato, S., Morissette, L. and Christensen, V. (2014). "Global patterns in ecological indicators of marine food webs: a modelling approach". PLOS ONE, 9(4). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0095845.
  6. ^ Pranovi, F., Libralato, S., Raicevich, S., Granzotto, A., Pastres, R. and Giovanardi, O. (2003). "Mechanical clam dredging in Venice lagoon: ecosystem effects evaluated with a trophic mass-balance model". Marine Biology, 143(2): 393–403. doi:10.1007/s00227-003-1072-1.
  7. ^ Ferretti, Sabrina; Bearzi, Giovanni. "Rare Report of a Bottlenose Dolphin Foraging in the Venice Lagoon, Italy" (PDF). Tethys Research Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  8. ^ Grancini, Gianfranco & Cescon, Bruno (1971). "Observations of Dispersal Processes of Pollutants in Venice Lagoon and in the Po River Coastal Area". Liège Colloquium on Ocean Hydrodynamics. 2. Société Royale des Sciences de Liège: 99–110.
  9. .
  10. .
  11. (PDF) from the original on 25 December 2015.
  12. .
  13. ^ Marchini, Agnese; Ferrario, Jasmine; Sfriso, Adriano & Occhipinti-Ambrogi, Anna (2015). "Current Status and Trends of Biological Invasions in the Lagoon of Venice, a Hotspot of Marine NIS Introductions in the Mediterranean Sea" (PDF). Biological Invasions. 17 (10): 2943–2962.
    S2CID 17434132
    .
  14. ^ EJOLT. "Cruise Ships impacting Venetian Lagoon, Italy | EJAtlas". Environmental Justice Atlas. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  15. PMID 25126611
    .

Further reading

External links