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Abstract: This paper illustrates the research activities linked with the European Project “Wind and Ports: The forecast of wind for the management and the safety of port areas”, which involves the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering of the University of Genova, and the Port Authorities of Genova, La Spezia, Livorno, Savona (Italy) and Bastia (France). The project is based on three tools, namely the historical databases, the global meteorological data and forecasting system, and the data provided by a wide seaport monitoring network that represents also the first product of the project. These tools are processed by a set of numerical models that represents the second product and the key tool to derive three further products, namely the statistical mapping of seaport areas, a medium-term forecasting system and a short-term forecasting system. A web-based GIS system is being realized to make the products of this project directly available to port operators, within a global system for a safe management of port areas. Downstream of these products, this paper provides some insights of the wide validation procedure that is going to be implemented to check and to improve the quality of the results. Further prospects for new research projects using the results of the Wind and Ports Project as starting point are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In spite of recent progress in the prognostic numerical simulation of the atmospheric boundary layer, the explicit simulation of turbulent flows in actual complex terrain is generally still very complicated and time consuming for many environmental applications. In an attempt to develop simpler and more efficient application oriented techniques, although less refined, we propose a multi-step procedure for simulating wind fields. Once obtained the necessary meteorological input, the mass-consistent modelling technique is used to perform high-resolution mean wind flow simulations taking into account recent developments in the atmospheric boundary-layer theory. Besides, a procedure based on a generalisation of the local logarithmic law-of-the-wall over complex terrain is used to estimate the effective parameters characterising the simulated wind profiles. Turbulence intensities and spectral properties are then calculated through the estimated effective parameters, in particular through the effective friction velocity parameter. Finally, time series of the instantaneous velocity field are simulated by the Monte Carlo technique. Two applications of the proposed approach are discussed briefly: the first one is related to a coastal area in southern Italy (the Messina Straits), where the construction of the world’s longest central span bridge is being planned; the second one corresponds to the flow in a mountainous area in northern Italy (the Albenga Airport). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]