Numerical models of hydrodynamics in coastal waters

In the framework of the GEOGRID project, the Department of Hydraulic Engineering and Environmental Applications has developed a fully three-dimensional numerical model to simulate coastal water hydrodynamics. The model employs a finite-volume technique to discretize the governing equations. The numerical model is able to predict the hydrodynamic patterns in coastal water bodies, including time and space evolution of the concentration of tracers (nutrients, pollutants, etc. .). A one-way nesting procedure is used to obtain boundary conditions starting from the results of a numerical model simulating large scale motion in the whole Mediterranean developed and operationally applied by a research group of the italian CNR. The purpose of using the nesting procedure is to obtain detailed simulations of the hydrodynamics in limited extension areas, discretized by means of very refined grids, while accounting as well for the effects of large scale currents. The model application required a refined description of the bathymetry of the area of interest (the Gulf of Castellammare, in the northern part of Sicily). The calibration and validation of the model was performed using the measures of currents collected near the coast by means of several ADCP anemometers.