Following OPAL Project, which aimed to understand the major pathways delivering nutrients, trace metals, and pollutants originating from anthropogenic activities to the Mar Menor coastal lagoon, the WINDERS project strives to elucidate the role of sediment resuspension as a source delivering these same solutes to the lagoon and its role as a driver of the eutrophication events occurring in the lagoon waters in 2016, 2019 and 2021.

This project will focus on

1. identifying the origin of solutes (agriculture, urbanism, tourism, and mining wastes) present in sediments.
2. quantifying the transfer of these compounds from sediments to the water column in stationary conditions and during sediment resuspension events caused by wind and storm events.

• elucidating the contribution of solutes driven by resuspension
  events on the eutrophication events.

WINDERS proposes a multidisciplinary approach combining radioactive and stable tracers, microbiological assessments, geophysical techniques, and modeling tools to address these objectives.

The project results will advance our understanding of the direct and indirect impacts of human activities on the vulnerability of Mar Menor. We will develop a broad conceptual model that quantifies the relative contribution of the different solute sources to lagoon waters, including the yet overlooked sediment resuspension and the already considered sources (i.e., streams, groundwater discharge, atmospheric deposition). This conceptual model will improve our ability to understand the drivers of the current degradation of the Mar Menor.

WINDERS will allow informing public institutions and stakeholders to substantiate policies and strategies to improve the management of coastal water resources and ecosystems and to enhance the resilience of Mar Menor to future global and climate
changes, a knowledge that can be extended to other coastal Mediterranean lagoons and other vulnerable coastal systems.

Consortium

Dr. Valentí Rodellas Vila, Physics Department and Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Dr. Javier Gilabert Cervera, Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Ambiental, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena

Dr. Juan Santos Echeandía, Instituto Español de Oceanografía

Dr. Teresa Serra Putellas, Physics Department, Universitat de Girona

Dr. Marianna Soler Ortega, Physics Department, Universitat de Girona

Dr. Jordi Colomer Feliu, Physics Department, Universitat de Girona

Dr. Anna Soler Membrives, Animal and plant biology, and ecology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Dr. Paula Sánchez, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Vigo

Dr. Patricia Bernárdez Rodríguez, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Vigo

Dr. Clara Ruiz González, Institut de Ciències del Mar, Barcelona

Dr. Andrea García Bravo, Institut de Ciències del Mar, Barcelona