Coastal lagoons are transitional ecosystems with complex spatial and temporal variability. Remote sensing tools are essential for monitoring and unveiling their variability. Turbidity is a water quality parameter used for studying eutrophication and sediment transport. The objective of this research is to analyze the monthly turbidity pattern in a shallow coastal lagoon along two years with different precipitation regimes. The selected study area is the Albufera de Valencia lagoon (Spain). For this purpose, we used Sentinel 2 images and in situ data from the monitoring program of the Environment General Subdivision of the regional government. We obtained Sentinel 2A and 2B images for years 2017 and 2018 and processed them with SNAP software. The results of the correlation analysis between satellite and in situ data, corroborate that the reflectance of band 5 (705 nm) is suitable for the analysis of turbidity patterns in shallow lagoons (average depth 1 m), such as the Albufera lagoon, even in eutrophic conditions. Turbidity patterns in the Albufera lagoon show a similar trend in wet and dry years, which is mainly linked to the irrigation practice of rice paddies. High turbidity periods are linked to higher water residence time and closed floodgates. However, precipitation and wind also play an important role in the spatial distribution of turbidity. During storm events, phytoplankton and sediments are discharged to the sea, if the floodgates remain open. Fortunately, the rice harvesting season, when the floodgates are open, coincides with the beginning of the rainy period. Nevertheless, this is a lucky coincidence. It is important to develop conscious management of floodgates, because having them closed during rain events can have several negative effects both for the lagoon and for the receiving coastal waters and ecosystem. Non-discharged solids may accumulate in the lagoon worsening the clogging problems, and the beaches next to the receiving coastal waters will not receive an important load of solids to nourish them.

Based on hydrographic data and vertical distributions of tropical species of fish larvae (Diogenichthys laternatus, Vinciguerria lucetia, Bregmaceros bathymaster, and Auxis spp.), effects of “Godzilla El Niño 2015–2016” in the shallow oxygen minimum zone off Mexico were analyzed. Zooplankton samples were collected during four cruises, before (February 2010 and April 2012) and during (June 2015 and March 2016) the warm event. Temporal series of sea surface temperature revealed that June 2015 was the warmest June of the last years. Conservative temperature was >2°C higher than normal in the surface mixed layer, and the suboxic layer (4.4 µmol/kg) reached as shallow as 100 m depth. Unexpected results were that larval abundances were relatively high during the warm event, unlike zooplankton volumes, which declined. Before the warm event, V. lucetia and Auxis spp. were more abundant in the surface mixed layer, while B. bathymaster and D. laternatus dominated in the thermocline and shallow hypoxic layer (44 µmol/kg). However, during the event in June 2015, all species were most abundant in the surface mixed layer, which implied that the species adapted to hypoxia had inverted their normal pattern of distribution, possibly as consequence of the rise of the suboxic layer; however, further observations are required to confirm this generality. Results showed no dramatic change in the total larval abundance during the warm event. Nevertheless, a differential response in their vertical distribution was evident in association with changes in the depth of the shallow hypoxic and suboxic layers. This might indicate adaptability of tropical species to prolonged periods of warming in the oceans.