Coastal Lagoons

Coastal lagoons are inland water bodies, found on all continents, usually oriented parallel to the coast, separated from the ocean by a barrier, connected to the ocean by one or more restricted inlets which remain open at least intermittently, and have water depths which seldom exceed a few meters. A lagoon may or may not be subject to tidal mixing, and salinity can vary from that of a coastal fresh-water lake to a hypersaline lagoon, depending on the hydrologic balance. Lagoons formed as a result of rising sea level mostly during the Holocene and the building of coastal barriers by marine processes. They are often highly productive and ideal systems for aquaculture projects but are, at the same time, highly stressed by anthropogenic inputs and human activities