Investigation of limnology and sediment transport properties of Küçükçekmece lagoon

Lagoons are among the most productive coastal areas as they owe that feature not only to the opportunities they provide in terms of social and economical means but also to their prosperous environment which is rich with nutrients to its inhabitant species. Naturally having all the attributes for settlement, these areas have already started to suffer all the negative effects caused by growing population and the industrialization it brings in the last decades. While gradually growing pollution loads have become one of the most threatening effects for the water quality and aquatic life in lagoons, studies concerned with solution schemes on these effects also increase as new perspectives and different solution techniques are presented everyday. To understand the hydraulics in such studies performed in aquatic environments; more precisely, to understand the motion of the flow of water, where and how long it resides and how long time it takes until it reaches its destination, is the most important knowledge concerning the water quality and transport processes. The interest on sediment among the other material transported in water is because of their ability to adsorp material rather easier and settle with them to the bottom of a basin just to be re-suspended in future for some reason in order to cause deteriorating effects and toxicity even in water bodies long regarded as they no longer have any water quality problems. Another important matter about transport of sediment is its effect on the morphology of the basin. Eventually to determine the hydrodynamics and transport processes in Küçükçekmece Lagoon which has been under excessive anthropogenic pressure with increasing pollution that destroys its ecosystem, can guide further steps to be taken in future for the restoration of that lake. In this study the required analysis and studies prior to any campaign to completely outline the hydrodynamics and sediment transport issues are given as Küçükçekme lagoon is chosen as the case. Keywords: Küçükçekmece lake, coastal lagoons, limnology, hydrodynamics, sediment transport.