Figure 3: Numerical modeling. (A) Water level and wind climate data utilized for the numerical simulations. Data refer to the period 17 November 2005 – 17 December 2005. Water levels were measured at the “Punta della Salute” tidal-gauge station, whereas wind data were retrieved from the “Chioggia Diga Sud” anemometric station (see panel B). (B) An example of the computational grid employed by the model, referred to the 2014 morphological configuration of the Venice Lagoon. (C,D)Distributions of water levels (C) and wind climate (D) during the analyzed period are compared to those observed over the period 2000-2019 (in grey).
All the simulations were carried out employing the same boundary conditions, thus allowing for a comparison of the effects directly related to morphological changes in the lagoon hydrodynamics. Specifically, the model was forced using hourly water levels and both wind velocities and directions measured from November 16th, 2005 to December 17th, 2005 (Figure 3 A). The selected 30-day-long study period is representative of hydro-meteorological conditions experienced every year by the Venice Lagoon between October 1st and January 30th, which is the period typically characterized by the most significant storm-surge events.