Analysis of Breakwater-Induced Environmental Effects At Pescara (Adriatic Sea, Italy) Channel-Harbor

In the present paper a preliminary study about a coastal environment, using both numerical methods and field measurements, is shown. Pescara river mouth (Adriatic sea, Italy) has been chosen as case-study. Our aim is to describe the behavior of a natural environment heavily modified by human activity. Shallow water equations have been implemented to simulate the hydrodynamic field due to the interaction of river run-off with coastal water body, taking into account the presence of marine structures. Complicate geometries have been studied by a body forces based approach. Validation tests have been performed for a simple-shaped geometry and preliminary numerical results have been obtained for the Pescara river mouth flow. Field data related to infrared images as well as water quality parameters have been also considered to describe the environmental aspects related to coastal structures. As a result, the combined use of numerical and environmental data is shown to be a very effective tool for coastal environment management.