Munitions in the Sea:

possible links between CNR-ISMAR activity and

tools and the DAIMON project

Sandro Carniel, Ph.D.

Oceanography Div., Head

CNR-ISMAR
(National Research Council, Inst. of Marine Sciences)
Venice, Italy
October 2016
 CNR-ISMAR IN A NUTSHELL

• Public Research Institute

• Headquarter in Venice and 6 regional
sections (Trieste, Genova, La Spezia,
Bologna, Ancona, Lesina)
• 180 Permanent Staff
• About 60 people in training (PhD, post-doc)
• About 160 ISI publications each year
• Coordination and participation to several
tens of EU projects

• Natural processes
ISMAR's mission is to increase the knowledge of
natural dynamics and help to solve society's • Mechanisms and effects of
problems related, but not limited, to: global change
• Human impacts
 WHY CARING ABOUT UXOs at SEA

UneXploded Ordnance (UXO) at sea are a

threaten for commercial maritime industry
operators and fishermen

Represent a risk as potential point-sources

or aggregated of pollutants

Pose a serious problem of National

security, being an accessible source of
illegal explosive supply

Moreover… common procedures for seabed

mapping, sea state characterization, definition of
improved search&intervention protocols are still
missing as a coordinated, integrated and trans-
national direction
 ON-GOING RELATED ACTIVITIES
1) the RITMARE National Italian Flagship Programme

Involving all italian research Institutions and inter-university consortia,

deals also with Coastal Oceanography observations&modeling,
development of sediment transport models, Maritime Spatial Planning

ISMAR coordinated SP3-WP4, “Coastal Oceanography – observations

and modeling” with efforts on some harbours and coastal sites
 ON-GOING RELATED ACTIVITIES
2) The JPI Ocean initiative “Munitions at Sea”

ISMAR is involved in the coordination of the WP1, “Science Support”

=combining different scientific disciplines, to support the development of a service to
forecast changes in the sea state in relation to munitions. Simulating the impact of
removal, dispersion on human health, on the environment […]
 ON-GOING RELATED ACTIVITIES

3) MUSE project (MUnitions at Sea)

ISMAR Venice/Univ. of Manoa (Hawaai) bilateral exchange

ISMAR will be addressing the use and state-of-the-art

numerical tools in coastal areas and links between IOOS
(Integrated Ocean Observing Systems) and UXOs
interventions, after the HUMMA project

HUMMA Project= Hawaii Undersea Military Munitions Assessment, a multi-

phase program addressing the challenge of characterizing a historic deep-
water munitions disposal site.
Results addressed the use of acoustic instrumentation to identify submerged
UXOs and possible Risk Assessment practices

Dr. Carniel will be at UH as Visiting Scientists (Dr. Margo Edwards)

during oct-nov 2016
 POSSIBLE RELATED ACTIVITIES

4) Bilateral Project CNR-PAN (to be submitted)

Possible subject:
- identifying good practices in the use and state-of-the-art
numerical tools in coastal areas in Mediterranean and Baltic
region;
- performing turbulence measurements in support of sea-
trial operations

Deadline: December 2nd, 2016

Dr. Carniel and Dr. Beldowski are currently exploring this opportunity
 SOME ISMAR TOOLS

(1) Munition detection and high-res seabed mapping

• Kongsberg Multi Beam

echo-sounders
• Kongsberg MS1000 sonar
• Remoted Operated Vehicle
 SOME ISMAR TOOLS
(2) Sea-state observations and characterization
A proper description of the oceanic sea-sate is crucial for identifying:
TURBIDITY [FNU]
1) exact localization of UXOs position and status 1 5 10 50 100 500
1000 1500

2)characterization of ocean initial conditions before

intervention

3) identification of relevant emerging issues to be

considered while operations (main circulation
patterns, tidal effects, turbulent mixing, etc.)

4) definition of some key-aspects that are usually

parameterized (such as vertical mixing)

5) acquisition of additional data that are not always • Two free-falling turbulence
available for a thorough numerical modeling support profilers (measuring every 0.5
(e.g. turbulence data) mm T, S, diffusivity, TKE,
turbidity, oxygen)
 SOME ISMAR TOOLS
(3) Numerical Modeling
However, direct measurements are often scarce and sparce, while some other
tenchinques (e.g. satellite) are still not providing enough temporal coverage.

Therefore, in general the support of numerical tools is useful to:

1) frame quantitatively the ocean dynamics, that are intrinsically complex and
cannot be completely described by “simple” equations
2) fill the gap of the picture provided by real meteo-oceanic states, that are not
enough to characterize spatially and temporally the areas of intervention
3)define scenarios of intervention and Risk Assessment procedures
4) provide forecast circulation patterns for specific test site, also at high-
resolution (e.g. harbours)
5) provide tools capable of estimating the fate of chemicals or sediments in
marine areas where UXOs are present
 SOME ISMAR TOOLS
(3.1) Lagrangian transport of sea-going objects
Modelled surface velocity allowed to reconstruct the trajectory of 1000 floating
particles released on January 8 off Portofino (Ligurian Coast), assimilated to chemical
dispersion

Accounting for seafall date uncertainty, spatial

uncertainty, effect of waves on currents,
diffusivity

Daily position of the particle ensemble

centroid and final distribution of each
particle after 22.5 days
 SOME ISMAR TOOLS
(3.2) Risk analysis due dispersion of conservative tracers
using subroutines of GNOME (devel. by NOAA) or ICHTHYOP models, Risk
Maps along the Italian coast (oil-spill, turbidity, microplastics) have been
produced, forced by an operational hydrodynamic model of the Adriatic Sea.
(here a possible extension to chemical products is feasible)
 SOME ISMAR TOOLS
(3.3) Seabed-Currents interaction and fate of UXOs
SSC(kg/m3)

MODEL NESTING,
INCREASED RESOLUTION
e.g. 2 km – 500 m – 50 m
horizontal resolution in the
t2
Adriatic basin

t1

MODEL COUPLING
Wave-Current interactions,
Air-Sea exchanges,
Sediment resuspension and
Transport

Expertise in coupled numerical models. Towards a better description of sea

states, currents and tracer pathways
The figure shows the differences between integrated suspended sediment forecasted
using coupled (2WC) and uncoupled (UNC) models at 2 different timings
 SOME ISMAR TOOLS
(3.3) Seabed-Currents interaction and fate of UXOs

SEABED MORPHODYNAMICS
OVER DIFFERENT TIME SCALES
• Scouring/burial at the event
scale (short time scale, hours to
days)
• Long-term migration of large-
scale bedform patterns
• Pollutant dispersion via sediment
saltation
• capability to compute sediment
resuspension/deposition

Possible Case Study: the Southern Adriatic Sea,

where several UXOs are already mapped and the
Italian Navy is engaged in daily interventions. Very
dynamic area for transport and spread of possible
chemicals
 SOME ISMAR TOOLS
(3.3) Seabed-Currents interaction and fate of UXOs
• Example of high-resolution modeling of
shallow coastal areas, with focus on
sediment transport/scouring

• Test in the vicinity of small underwater

obstacles in the northern Adriatic sea,
with typical sediment tgrain size (20, 60,
100 micron) and velocities up to 0.5 m/s

MEASUREMENTS MODELED
 OTHER TOOLS
(3.4) Implications for Divers visibility

Predicting the resuspension of sediments allows the

computation of Diver Visibility for nearshore
operations, e.g. LSOM (Littoral Sedimentation and
Optic Model)

Turbidity is caused by wave action and shoreline erosion, but also from:
1. phytoplankton abundance in the water column
2. nutrients release from sediment (which increases phytoplk productivity)
3. organic discharged by sewage treatment plants.
4. DOM ....

In this case, the inclusion of a biogeochemical model would be helpful in forecasting and
planning underwater operations in shallow regions with limited visibility
 CONCLUDING NOTES

ISMAR is a Public Resarch Institute with >200 scientists in different

fields of marine sciences, cooperating with international institutions
dealing with UXOs (EU, ONR, NATO CRME, Univ. of Hawaii…)

ISMAR is already leading Projects that relate to the field of Munitions

at Sea: ocean forecast, sediment transport, detection of submerged
objects (National Flagship Project “RITMARE” , JPI Ocean
Action“Munitions in the Sea”, bilateral exchange with UH Manoa
USA)

ISMAR is involved in such projects with the firm committment to

reach an integrated and shared approach to good practices and
protocols in the field of UXOs
 CONCLUDING NOTES
ISMAR has a strong expertise in high-resolution bottom mapping and
sea-truth measurements (particularly turbulence measurements,
owing also 2 free-falling turbulence profilers ready to be deployed in
joint cruises)

ISMAR is highly active in the field of numerical models (leader in

coupled wave-current-sediment numerical models at high-resolution,
implemented either in harbours or coastal seas within the
Mediterranean basin)

For all these reasons, we believe that a tighter collaboratin inside

the DAIMON project would represent a win-win collaboration.

This would be capable of fostering already existing activities (e.g.

JPI Oceans) and at the same time posing the basis for exploring
common projects focused in the southern region of Europe
 CONCLUDING NOTES
WORKING GROUP

Sandro CARNIEL, Ph.D. hydrodynamics

Francesco BARBARIOL, Ph.D.. wave dynamics, numerical nesting

Alvise BENETAZZO, Ph.D. hydrodynamics and wave dynamics

Davide BONALDO, Ph.D. sediment transport

Francesco M. FALCIERI, Ph.D. turbulence meas., lagrangian model

Antonio RICCHI, Ph.D. student coupled models, numerical nesting

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

sandro.carniel@ismar.cnr.it