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The present work describes an operational strategy for the development of a multiscale modelling system, based on a multiple–nesting approach and open–source numerical models. The strategy was applied and validated for the Gulf of Taranto in South Italy, scaling large–scale oceanographic model results to high–resolution coupled wave – 3D hydrodynamics simulations for the area of Mar Grande in Taranto Sea. The spatial and temporal high – resolution simulations were performed using the open–source TELEMAC suite, forced by wind data from the COSMO–ME database, boundary wave spectra from the RON Buoy at Crotone, and results from the Southern Adriatic Northern Ionian coastal Forecasting System (SANIFS) regarding sea levels and current fields. Model validation was carried out using data collected in the Mar Grande basin from a fixed monitoring station and during an oceanographic campaign in October 2014. The overall agreement between measurements and model results in terms of waves, sea levels, surface currents, circulation patterns and vertical velocity profiles is deemed to be satisfactory, and the methodology followed in the process can constitute a useful tool for both research and operational applications on the same field and and as support of decisions for management and design of infrastructures. more...

Numerical modelling has become an essential component of today's coastal planning, decision support and risk assessment. High resolution modelling offers an extensive range of capabilities regarding simulated conditions, works and practices, and provides with a wide array of data regarding nearshore wave- and hydro-dynamics. In the present work, the open-source TELEMAC suite and the commercial software MIKE21 are applied to selected coastal areas of South Italy. Applications follow a scenario-based approach in order to study representative wave conditions in the coastal field; the models' results are intercompared in order to test both their performance and capabilities, and are further evaluated on the basis of their operational use for coastal planning and design. A multiparametric approach for the rapid assessment of wave conditions in coastal areas is also presented, and implemented in areas of the same region. The overall approach is deemed to provide useful insights on the tested models and the use of numerical models – in general – in the above context, especially considering that the design of harbours, coastal protection works and management practices in the coastal zone is based on scenario-based approaches as well. more...