Coastal shallow basins are often heavily anthropized and greatly exposed to environmental risk areas, thus requiring strict monitoring action by local authorities and stakeholders. Preventive measures against environmental degradation and early warning to hazards have been proved to benefit from the combined use of numerical models and field measurements. The present work sets out to show the potential of a meteorological-hydrodynamic model system, validated with field data, to identify the main physical processes characterizing a semi-enclosed basin located in the inner part of the Ionian Sea, in southern Italy. Furthermore, based on the model results, we adopted some convenient indicators, especially related to flow exchanges, in order to identify and characterize the area in the basin most sensitive to environmental problems. The results highlight the retentive feature of the inner part of the basin and different times necessary for the water renewal in both the surface and bottom layers.

沿海浅流域通常人为密集，并且大量暴露于环境风险区域，因此需要地方当局和利益相关者采取严格的监控措施。事实证明，结合使用数值模型和现场测量结果，可以防止环境恶化和对危险进行预警。本工作着手显示通过现场数据验证的气象水动力模型系统的潜力，以识别位于意大利南部爱奥尼亚海内部的半封闭盆地的主要物理过程。此外，基于模型结果，我们采用了一些方便的指标，特别是与流量交换相关的指标，以识别和表征流域中对环境问题最敏感的区域。