Laguna di Venezia: la complessa rete di canali e meandri negli ambienti di barena

In the new episode of the series dedicated to the Venice Lagoon, we learn more about the channels and meanders that characterize saltmarsh environments, both from a geomorphological perspective and in terms of the ecosystem services and biodiversity they contribute. Historically, these channel networks have always been considered stable morphologies over time. In reality, through more in-depth analysis and, above all, thanks to the increased resolution of satellite and aerial imagery available today, it has been possible to understand that these channels exhibit a high level of dynamism. "The study of the dynamics of these channels is a relatively recent line of research and is of interest not only for lagoon saltmarshes, such as those in the Venice Lagoon, but also for those found in deltaic environments, such as the saltmarshes of the Mississippi Delta or the Ganges River Delta," explains Alvise Finotello, researcher at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Padua. "Meandering canals, characterized by an extremely complex and sinuous shape, have always been a major focus of interest for both geomorphologists and sedimentologists," adds Massimiliano Ghinassi, associate professor at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Padua. He explains that in lagoon environments, these canals are an essential element of the landscape, essentially serving as arteries of the system. They are responsible for the exchange of water and nutrients between the lagoon and the sea, and provide various types of ecosystem services, including being one of the main spawning grounds for local fish species. Film and editing by Barbara Paknazar Aerial drone footage by Stefano Castelli