Integrated Monitoring of the Marine-Coastal Environment of the Port of Trieste – Marine Physical Parameters

The integrated environmental monitoring plan is aimed at assessing the status and evolution of the marine-coastal environment in the Port of Trieste area, in relation to the development of port infrastructures. The activity is carried out under two public procurement contracts awarded by the Port System Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea, following two separate tender procedures, both awarded to OGS (lead partner) within a joint venture (ATI) with private partners.

The two contracts and corresponding assignments cover the periods 12/2020–4/2025 and 6/2025–7/2029, respectively.

The monitoring is organized in several operational phases:

• System design and implementation phase (12/2020–04/2021): design of the buoy network, study and sizing of the most suitable mooring systems under local meteorological and marine conditions, acquisition and integration of instrumentation, installation of the observation network, and implementation of the portal for acquisition, management, and real-time visualization of data;
• Pre-operational phase (5/2021–4/2024): acquisition of baseline data for the physical component;
• Operational phase (from 5/2024): monitoring during construction activities;
• Post-operational phase: verification of impacts on the physical and hydrodynamic conditions of the water column at steady state.

Continuous physical monitoring (water column and marine dynamics)

The monitoring of the marine-coastal waters is based on a network of four instrumented buoys, positioned at fixed locations representative of the port area.

Each buoy is equipped with:

• Three multiparametric CTD installed at different depths along the water column to continuously measure parameters such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll, and other quality indicators;
• An ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) on the seabed to measure current profiles throughout the water column and characterize the system’s hydrodynamics.

The acquired data are transmitted in real time and made available through a dedicated, restricted-access portal, enabling:

• continuous monitoring of environmental conditions;
• timely detection of any anomalies;
• support for management and control activities during construction phases.

Integrated value of the monitoring system

The integration of:

• high-frequency continuous measurements (12 CTD and 4 ADCP),
• periodic chemical-biological sampling campaigns (contact: Tamara Cibic),
• ecotoxicological and benthic analyses (contact: Tamara Cibic),

provides a comprehensive, multi-scale characterization of the marine-coastal system, allowing:

• distinction between natural variability and anthropogenic impacts;
• support for management decisions;
• robust environmental control throughout all phases of port development.