The oceanographic tower Acqua Alta -: activity and prediction of sea states at Venice

The oceanographic tower Acqua Alter was constructed in early 1970 in the Adriatic Sea some 20 km from Venice. The main objective was to obtain information about the meteomarine conditions off the Venice lagoon, where the old town is threatened by ever more severe floodings. The paper describes the tower and its instrumentation, and summarizes the experience and results of activities relevant to coastal engineering. This encompasses modelling of wind field, storm surge and wind generated waves. Various types of models have been applied to and validated for the Adriatic Sea and in particular for the coastline of the Venice lagoon. This includes application of long-term statistics of extreme wave heights. Specific studies of the influence of bottom friction and wind gustiness on waves are presented as well as measurements of kinematics of wind generated waves. Further, a short discussion of white capping is included. Finally, some information about the management of the tower is given. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All lights reserved.