Modeling study of bacterial dispersion for marine-coastal waters, according with the European Directives

In this paper an overview of the numerical modeling applications for marine-coastal waters, carried out at ARPA FVG, the Environmental Protection Agency of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, is given according with the European Directives. The aim of these modeling applications is to identify andd assess the critical factors (pressure sources) that may condition water quality from the microbiological point of view and to investigate the impact on the marine-coastal waters and on the shellfish farmings and bathing activities that are present along the coast of the Friuli Venezia Giulia, in the north-eastern part of Italy. The finite element model SHYFEM, developed at ISMAR-CNR in Venice, has been implemented and applied to investigate the bacterial dispersion, taking into account Escherichia coli as a tracer. Results of modeling and data analysis are discussed in order to better understand the mechanisms that may influence water quality.