Submarine Groundwater Discharge into the Venice Lagoon Italy

John Rapaglia & Postdoc Pere Masque practicing the exact science of getting stuck in the mud

Principal Investigators: Henry Bokuniewicz and Kirk Cochran

Funded by William J. Fulbright Foundation, the Institute of International Education
and ALCOA Corporation

Students Supported: Aaron Beck (Ph.D.) and John Rapaglia (Ph.D.)

Project Description: Beginning in November, 2003 a team of researchers from the Marine Sciences Research Center, Universita’ ca’ Foscari di Venezia, Consiglia Nazionale della Ricerca, and Univesitat Autonoma de Barcelona began a project to quantify the flux of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into the Venice Lagoon, Italy in order to complete the hydrological budget for the lagoonal drainage basin. Manual seepage devices were employed in two diverse locations to assess point flux measurements over several temporal scales, and were later compared with integrated SGD measurements made using radioisotope tracers
(^{223, 224, 226, 228}Ra). Results obtained, thus far, suggest that SGD may account for as much as 50% of the total freshwater budget, as well as maintain a significant pathway for the flux of contaminants into the lagoon.

John Rapaglia on the R/V Ghesboro with the Rialto Bridge in the background

National Research Council of Italy's Marine Lab