ANALYZING DISPERSION IN THE PORT OF GENOVA: HYDRODYNAMIC AND LAGRANGIAN MODELS FOR METE-OCEAN SCENARIOS

Thanks to its strategic position in the upper Tyrrhenian coast, linking international cargo traffic and the European trade stage, the port of Genoa is one of the most important in Europe. In recent years, the volume of goods moved through the port has increased and is expected to increase even more, due to its expansion with a new breakwater (Port Authority, 2023). As commercial activities increase, so does the risk of accidents that can adversely affect the environment (Jungen, 2021). This study aims to understand the impact of the port traffic on the surrounding marine environment, by developing a numerical model for the simulation of the dispersion of substances released within the port. It is also planned to provide a tool able to support mitigation and recovery activities, allowing the user to efficiently and rapidly simulate a release and forecast its temporal and spatial evolution. The study is carried out using the hydrodynamic model Delft3D for the simulation of currents and the Lagrangian dispersion model OceanParcels (Van Sebille, 2023) for the dispersion analysis.