Modeling of flushing time in coastal lagoons

Coastal lagoons are shallow lakes connected to a larger water body. Coastal lagoons exist mostly in the transition zones between the terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and therefore their hydrodynamics have a particular importance. Lagoons are delicate ecosystems that are deeply affected by the physical, geological, chemical and biological processes. In coastal lagoons, flushing is mainly caused by wind, tidal and density induced circulations. In this study the water exchange mechanisms of enclosed coastal lagoons are investigated. Flushing time in coastal lagoons is investigated by numerical and analytical models. In this thesis, flushing time (the water exchange period) is discussed with the help of zero line modelling, one-dimensional modelling and three-dimensional modeling. Ölüdeniz Lagoon is selected as the case study area.