Assessment of Potential Nitrate Pollution Sources in the Marano Lagoon (Italy) and its Catchment Area Using a Multi Isotope Approach

The aims of this study were mainly: (i) the identification and differentiation of the main anthropogenic nitrogen sources in the Marano Lagoon (Italy) and its catchment area; and (ii) the assessment of the intra-lagoonal water circulation, the morphological development of the lagoon and its anthropogenic pressure by applying a combined approach of hydrochemical, isotopic and remote sensing techniques. To achieve the aforementioned targets analyses of stable isotope signatures of nitrate, boron, water and sulphate have been used. Moreover the residence times of groundwater were determined by the tritium-helium dating method. To characterize the chemical composition of the different water types the concentrations of the major ions and nutrients as well as the physicochemical parameters have been measured. Remote sensing techniques have been applied to assess the spatial distribution of most superficial algal flora, water temperature as well as the key environmental and morphological changes of the lagoon since the beginning of the 1970s.