Abstract
The Gulf of Gaeta, in the western margin of central Italy, is characterized by a coastal morphology that creates a natural sheltered area in which fine sediment settles. The new port regulatory plan provides for dock expansions and dredging works that could alter the suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration. The present study investigates the dynamics of the Gulf of Gaeta with a focus on the dynamic processes that affect the fine particle concentration. The study was conducted through a multidisciplinary approach that involves remote sensing acquisitions (satellite imagery and X-band radar), measurements in situ (water sampling, wave buoy, weather station, turbidity station, CTD profiles), and numerical modelling (SWAN and Delft3D FLOW). The X-band radar system supports the analysis of the dynamic processes of the SPM concentration providing a large dataset useful for the hydrodynamic model’s validation. The analysis reveals a strong influence of nearby rivers in modulating the SPM at the regional scale. Short-term high and low fluctuations in SPM concentration within the gulf are triggered by the local effect of the main physical forces. In particular, the direction of events and bottom sediment resuspension play a key role in modulating the SPM concentration while micro-tidal regime does not appear to influence turbidity in the study area. This approach represents an important tool in improving the long-term coastal management strategy from the perspective of sustainable human activities in marine coastal ecosystems.
Highlights
Estuaries and coasts are precious and sensitive environments that have remained strategic points of human settlement through history, with consequent persistent and intense impacts on coastal ecosystems [1]
The X-band radar system supports the analysis of the dynamic processes of the suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration providing a large dataset useful for the hydrodynamic model’s validation
The morphology of the Gulf of Gaeta and the presence of Ischia Island constrain the propagation of waves from a small southeast (SE) sector that determine a local wave climate inside the gulf that shelters the coast from the main western events
Summary
Estuaries and coasts are precious and sensitive environments that have remained strategic points of human settlement through history, with consequent persistent and intense impacts on coastal ecosystems [1]. Marine and terrestrial processes constantly affect coastal areas and influence their evolution over various time scales. The terrestrial inputs of material and the interactions between continental waters and coastal dynamics drive deposition and transport processes that influence ecological conditions for species reproduction and development. Rapid land cover changes over wide areas into the watershed impact water and sediment fluxes. This has caused a significant shift in ecosystem dynamics, and scientific evidence of the adverse effects of anthropogenic fluxes are demonstrated by, as an example, a continuous decline in seagrasses [7,8], which represents a biodiversity hotspot in the Mediterranean Sea [9]
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