Water and soil temperature dynamic in very shallow tidal environment: the role of the heat flux at the soil-water interface

Water and soil temperature are crucial factors affecting the biological and ecological processes in enclosed or semi-enclosed ecosystems like lakes, estuaries, bays and lagoons (Guarini et al. (2000)). The understanding of these processes is relevant considering the role of inland water bodies in processing a large amounts of organic carbon (Battin et al. (2009)). Furthermore, water temperature of inland and coastal water bodies is one of the main factor that can be considered as a signal of climate change (Adrian et al. (2009)). The aim of this study is to investigate the evolution of the temperature profile in the water column and within the soil in a shallow tidal environment. In particular, we want to analyze the heat exchange at the interface between soil and water (SWI), its role for the evolution of the temperature in the water column and of the vertical temperature profile within the soil. The present study aims at investigating the temperature dynamics at the sub-daily time scale and is based on the analysis of temperature data collected in the Venice lagoon, located in the North East of Italy and characterized by a Mediterranean climate.