Abstract
Port silting is a common and natural process which often causes serious inconveniences for safe navigation and requires expensive dredging operations to keep the port operative. Sediment deposition is closely related to the exchange water between the basin and the surrounding environment; one way to limit deposits is by reducing the flow entering the port. However, this may be in contrast with the need for adequate sediment quality, which in turn is closely related to an appropriate water current. This seems to be particularly important in lagoon environments, where sediments are often polluted, making its disposal more complicated and costly. The present paper investigates the situation of the port of Marano Lagunare (Italy) by means of a bidimensional morphological-hydrodynamic and spectral coupled model. To reduce the sediment input into the port, the closure of a secondary port entrance is usually suggested. However, this work demonstrates that a complete dredging of the secondary port inlet allows for an increase in water circulation or efficiency renewal, which ensures a better oxygenation at the bottom of the canals.
Highlights
Since ancient times, ports have served as a safe shelter for boats for all civilizations, to protect them from waves, storm surges or river currents depending on their specific location
The first step should be a thorough understanding of the local hydrodynamics responsible for the water exchange between the basin and the surrounding environment, and, as a consequence, for the entry of sediments into the harbor [3]
A true designation designationofofsediment sedimentdynamics dynamics inside harbor starts from a correct inside thethe harbor starts from a correct estiestimate of sediment input and hydrodynamic currents
Summary
Ports have served as a safe shelter for boats for all civilizations, to protect them from waves, storm surges or river currents depending on their specific location. When the sediments entering the port are only fine-grained, as occurs in semi-enclosed basins like lakes or coastal lagoons, they can remain in suspension for a longer period thanks to a much lighter fall velocity, and they spread all over the harbor before they deposit as the speed of the current decreases, for instance, during slack tides, resulting in a more uniform spatial distribution. Marano Lagunare (usually referred to as Marano) is a small historical town, first built as a fishing community and already established during the ancient Roman period It is located at the northernmost edge of the lagoon, far from the tidal inlets, and it probably evolved precisely because it represented a safe harbor and a shelter for navigation as well as a commercial site between the sea and the hinterland. A new canal that connects the Marano canal to the Taglio canal was
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