Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Science

More than 90% of key nutrients degrading the Mar Menor lagoon come from recirculated underground flows

More than 90% of the key nutrients degrading the Mar Menor, such as ammonium, phosphorus and silica, do not come from streams or continental groundwater, but rather through a mechanism that has so far been overlooked: Water from the lagoon itself infiltrates the sediments and re-emerges loaded with...

More than 90% of key nutrients degrading the Mar Menor lagoon come from recirculated underground flows
Image: Phys.org
More than 90% of the key nutrients degrading the Mar Menor, such as ammonium, phosphorus and silica, do not come from streams or continental groundwater, but rather through a mechanism that has so far been overlooked: Water from the lagoon itself infiltrates the sediments and re-emerges loaded with nutrients that have accumulated over years. This is the conclusion of a recent study carried out by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Spain, which questions the current restoration strategies for the Mar Menor because they do not take this pathway of contamination into account.

Originally published at Phys.org

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