Large lagoons usually show a salinity gradient due to fresh water tributaries with inner areas ch... more Large lagoons usually show a salinity gradient due to fresh water tributaries with inner areas characterized by lower mean values and higher fluctuation of salinity than seawater-dominated areas. In the Venice Lagoon, this ecotonal environment, characterized in the past by oligo-mesohaline waters and large intertidal areas vegetated by reedbeds, was greatly reduced by historical human environmental modifications, including the diversion of main rivers outside the Venice Lagoon. The reduction of the fresh water inputs caused a marinization of the lagoon, with an increase in salinity and the loss of the related habitats, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. To counteract this issue, conservation actions, such as the construction of hydraulic infrastructures for the introduction and the regulation of a fresh water flow, can be implemented. The effectiveness of these actions can be preliminarily investigated and then verified through the combined implementation of environmental monitor...
Abstract In port areas, sediments resuspension can be critical for the presence of contaminants (... more Abstract In port areas, sediments resuspension can be critical for the presence of contaminants (such as metals from industrial effluents), which may be dispersed to unpolluted areas under different hydrodynamics forces. In the framework of the interregional project SE.D.RI.PORT (SEdimenti, Dragaggi e RIschi PORTuali) project, the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and Regional Agency for Environmental Protection–Liguria (ARPAL) have implemented a numerical model to simulate the sediment plume dynamics for bed levelling operation in the pilot area of La Spezia harbour (Italy). The area is characterized by a diffused pollution and subjected, since the 90s, to different dredging and reclamation activities, as well as monitoring and environmental characterization, providing data for the model. According to sectors references, different modelling tools has been applied to characterize the area interested by sediment plume dynamics, in term of significant variations of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and sediment deposition rates (DEP). Model results are presented by means of synthetic maps showing the meaningful effects of operations at different water depths and at different key sites in order to support the dredging project and the environmental monitoring planning and optimization.
A restoration project is planned to take place in the northern Venice lagoon (northern Adriatic S... more A restoration project is planned to take place in the northern Venice lagoon (northern Adriatic Sea, Italy), aiming at introducing freshwater into a confined shallow water lagoon area and recreating transitional water habitats. This work describes the shifts in the nekton (fish and decapods) community structure to be expected following the future salinity decrease in the restoration area. Nekton was sampled at a series of natural shallow water sites located along salinity gradients in the Venice lagoon. A multivariate GLM approach was followed in order to predict species biomass under the salinity and environmental conditions expected after restoration. Biomass of commercially important species, as well as species of conservation interest, is predicted to increase following salinity reduction and habitat changes. From a functional perspective, an increase in biomass of hyperbenthivores-zooplanctivores, hyperbenthivores-piscivores and detritivores is also expected. This study emphasi...
In recent years increasing attention has been paid to environmental effects that may result from ... more In recent years increasing attention has been paid to environmental effects that may result from marine dredging and disposal operations. In general, the fine-grained fraction of handled sediments can be dispersed far from the intervention site as a turbidity plume, depending on the specific site and operational parameters. Starting from a literature review, this paper suggests standards for estimating and characterizing the sediment source term, for setting up far-field modeling studies and analyzing numerical results, with the aim of optimizing, also from an economic point of view, the different project, execution and monitoring phases. The paper proposes an integrated modeling approach for simulating sediment dispersion due to sediment handling operations in different marine-coastal areas (off-shore, near-shore and semi-enclosed basins). Attention is paid to the characterization of sediment source terms due to different operational phases (removal, transport and disposal). The pa...
Dredging activities can cause environmental impacts due to, among other, the increase of the Susp... more Dredging activities can cause environmental impacts due to, among other, the increase of the Suspended Solid Concentration (SSC) and their subsequent dispersion and deposition (DEP) far from the dredging point. The dynamics of the resulting dredging plume can strongly differ in spatial and temporal evolution. This evolution, for both conventional mechanical and hydraulic dredges, depends on the different mechanisms of sediment release in water column and the site-specific environmental conditions. Several numerical models are currently in use to simulate the dredging plume dynamics. Model results can be analysed to study dispersion and advection processes at different depths and distances from the dredging source. Usually, scenarios with frequent and extreme meteomarine conditions are chosen and extreme values of parameters (i.e. maximum intensity or total duration) are evaluated for environmental assessment. This paper presents a flexible, consistent and integrated methodological approach. Statistical parameters and indexes are derived from the analysis of SSC and DEP simulated time-series to numerically estimate their spatial (vertical and horizontal) and seasonal variability, thereby allowing a comparison of the effects of hydraulic and mechanical dredges. Events that exceed defined thresholds are described in term of magnitude, duration and frequency. A new integrated index combining these parameters, SSCnum, is proposed for environmental assessment. Maps representing the proposed parameters allow direct comparison of effects due to different (mechanical and hydraulic) dredges at progressive distances from the dredging zone. Results can contribute towards identification and assessment of the potential environmental effects of a proposed dredging project. A suitable evaluation of alternative technical choices, appropriate mitigation, management and monitoring measure is allowed in this framework. Environmental Risk Assessment and Decision Support Systems (DSS) may take advantage of the proposed tool. The approach is applied to a hypothetical dredging project in the Augusta Harbour (Eastern coast of Sicily Island-Italy).
Proceedings of the 4th IAHR Symposium on River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics (RCEM 2005, Urbana, Illinois, USA, 4-7 October 2005), 2006
... Alessandra Feola, Enrica Belluco, Andrea D'Alpaos, Stefano Lanzoni, Marco Marani & A... more ... Alessandra Feola, Enrica Belluco, Andrea D'Alpaos, Stefano Lanzoni, Marco Marani & Andrea Rinaldo Dipartimento di Ingegneria Idraulica, Marittima Ambientale e Geotecnica and International Centre for ... To account for natural vari-ability of river network structures, Rigon et al. ...
... AndrEa Rinaldo1, Enrica BElluco, AndrEa fgAlpaos, AlEssandra FEola, StEFano Lanzoni, Marco Ma... more ... AndrEa Rinaldo1, Enrica BElluco, AndrEa fgAlpaos, AlEssandra FEola, StEFano Lanzoni, Marco Marani ... Keywords: Tidal net w or k s, geomorp h ology, drainage density, salt mars h es and tidal fl ats, tidal meanders, h alop h yti c vegetation, e c omorp h odynami c s ...
Large lagoons usually show a salinity gradient due to fresh water tributaries with inner areas ch... more Large lagoons usually show a salinity gradient due to fresh water tributaries with inner areas characterized by lower mean values and higher fluctuation of salinity than seawater-dominated areas. In the Venice Lagoon, this ecotonal environment, characterized in the past by oligo-mesohaline waters and large intertidal areas vegetated by reedbeds, was greatly reduced by historical human environmental modifications, including the diversion of main rivers outside the Venice Lagoon. The reduction of the fresh water inputs caused a marinization of the lagoon, with an increase in salinity and the loss of the related habitats, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. To counteract this issue, conservation actions, such as the construction of hydraulic infrastructures for the introduction and the regulation of a fresh water flow, can be implemented. The effectiveness of these actions can be preliminarily investigated and then verified through the combined implementation of environmental monitor...
Abstract In port areas, sediments resuspension can be critical for the presence of contaminants (... more Abstract In port areas, sediments resuspension can be critical for the presence of contaminants (such as metals from industrial effluents), which may be dispersed to unpolluted areas under different hydrodynamics forces. In the framework of the interregional project SE.D.RI.PORT (SEdimenti, Dragaggi e RIschi PORTuali) project, the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and Regional Agency for Environmental Protection–Liguria (ARPAL) have implemented a numerical model to simulate the sediment plume dynamics for bed levelling operation in the pilot area of La Spezia harbour (Italy). The area is characterized by a diffused pollution and subjected, since the 90s, to different dredging and reclamation activities, as well as monitoring and environmental characterization, providing data for the model. According to sectors references, different modelling tools has been applied to characterize the area interested by sediment plume dynamics, in term of significant variations of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and sediment deposition rates (DEP). Model results are presented by means of synthetic maps showing the meaningful effects of operations at different water depths and at different key sites in order to support the dredging project and the environmental monitoring planning and optimization.
A restoration project is planned to take place in the northern Venice lagoon (northern Adriatic S... more A restoration project is planned to take place in the northern Venice lagoon (northern Adriatic Sea, Italy), aiming at introducing freshwater into a confined shallow water lagoon area and recreating transitional water habitats. This work describes the shifts in the nekton (fish and decapods) community structure to be expected following the future salinity decrease in the restoration area. Nekton was sampled at a series of natural shallow water sites located along salinity gradients in the Venice lagoon. A multivariate GLM approach was followed in order to predict species biomass under the salinity and environmental conditions expected after restoration. Biomass of commercially important species, as well as species of conservation interest, is predicted to increase following salinity reduction and habitat changes. From a functional perspective, an increase in biomass of hyperbenthivores-zooplanctivores, hyperbenthivores-piscivores and detritivores is also expected. This study emphasi...
In recent years increasing attention has been paid to environmental effects that may result from ... more In recent years increasing attention has been paid to environmental effects that may result from marine dredging and disposal operations. In general, the fine-grained fraction of handled sediments can be dispersed far from the intervention site as a turbidity plume, depending on the specific site and operational parameters. Starting from a literature review, this paper suggests standards for estimating and characterizing the sediment source term, for setting up far-field modeling studies and analyzing numerical results, with the aim of optimizing, also from an economic point of view, the different project, execution and monitoring phases. The paper proposes an integrated modeling approach for simulating sediment dispersion due to sediment handling operations in different marine-coastal areas (off-shore, near-shore and semi-enclosed basins). Attention is paid to the characterization of sediment source terms due to different operational phases (removal, transport and disposal). The pa...
Dredging activities can cause environmental impacts due to, among other, the increase of the Susp... more Dredging activities can cause environmental impacts due to, among other, the increase of the Suspended Solid Concentration (SSC) and their subsequent dispersion and deposition (DEP) far from the dredging point. The dynamics of the resulting dredging plume can strongly differ in spatial and temporal evolution. This evolution, for both conventional mechanical and hydraulic dredges, depends on the different mechanisms of sediment release in water column and the site-specific environmental conditions. Several numerical models are currently in use to simulate the dredging plume dynamics. Model results can be analysed to study dispersion and advection processes at different depths and distances from the dredging source. Usually, scenarios with frequent and extreme meteomarine conditions are chosen and extreme values of parameters (i.e. maximum intensity or total duration) are evaluated for environmental assessment. This paper presents a flexible, consistent and integrated methodological approach. Statistical parameters and indexes are derived from the analysis of SSC and DEP simulated time-series to numerically estimate their spatial (vertical and horizontal) and seasonal variability, thereby allowing a comparison of the effects of hydraulic and mechanical dredges. Events that exceed defined thresholds are described in term of magnitude, duration and frequency. A new integrated index combining these parameters, SSCnum, is proposed for environmental assessment. Maps representing the proposed parameters allow direct comparison of effects due to different (mechanical and hydraulic) dredges at progressive distances from the dredging zone. Results can contribute towards identification and assessment of the potential environmental effects of a proposed dredging project. A suitable evaluation of alternative technical choices, appropriate mitigation, management and monitoring measure is allowed in this framework. Environmental Risk Assessment and Decision Support Systems (DSS) may take advantage of the proposed tool. The approach is applied to a hypothetical dredging project in the Augusta Harbour (Eastern coast of Sicily Island-Italy).
Proceedings of the 4th IAHR Symposium on River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics (RCEM 2005, Urbana, Illinois, USA, 4-7 October 2005), 2006
... Alessandra Feola, Enrica Belluco, Andrea D'Alpaos, Stefano Lanzoni, Marco Marani & A... more ... Alessandra Feola, Enrica Belluco, Andrea D'Alpaos, Stefano Lanzoni, Marco Marani & Andrea Rinaldo Dipartimento di Ingegneria Idraulica, Marittima Ambientale e Geotecnica and International Centre for ... To account for natural vari-ability of river network structures, Rigon et al. ...
... AndrEa Rinaldo1, Enrica BElluco, AndrEa fgAlpaos, AlEssandra FEola, StEFano Lanzoni, Marco Ma... more ... AndrEa Rinaldo1, Enrica BElluco, AndrEa fgAlpaos, AlEssandra FEola, StEFano Lanzoni, Marco Marani ... Keywords: Tidal net w or k s, geomorp h ology, drainage density, salt mars h es and tidal fl ats, tidal meanders, h alop h yti c vegetation, e c omorp h odynami c s ...
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