Dispersion from the Genoa harbour - SAFE_AIR II simulations for simplified scenarios

The objective of this preliminary study is to estimate the areas affected by the dispersion of pollutants from sources in the harbour of Genoa for various meteorological conditions typical for the region. The harbour's emissions have very different origins - ships, traffic activities, industrial machinery, etc. The emission factors for most of these sources are estimated only in a preliminary way. Here we focus on a small part of the port, situated near the town centre. In order to reveal the importance of the meteorological conditions we consider scenarios with realistic but hypothetical emissions. The SAFE_AIR II numerical code is used to simulate the dispersion of air pollutants. SAFE_AIR II has been developed at the Department of Physics of the University of Genoa. It simulates transport, diffusion and deposition of airborne pollutants above complex terrain at local and regional scale, under non-stationary and inhomogeneous emission and meteorological conditions. The results are discussed mainly in view of meteorological effects on the dispersion in the complex area of the Genoa town and its surrounding.