Climate Change and Coastal Hazards
Understanding the Impact of a changing climate on coastal risks and vulnerability
Research
Research topics
Mixing and Dispersion in the Ocean
Investigating the effects of mixing and dispersion processes in the ocean for environmental engineering challenges, from oil spills to microplastics
Ocean Waves Extremes and Structures Design
Investigating the Characteristics and Impacts of Extreme Wave Events, and Developing Strategies for the Design of Robust Coastal Structures
Coastal Morphodynamics and Evolution
Coastal Morphodynamics and Evolution: Investigating the Dynamic Interactions between the Ocean, Atmosphere, and Land in Coastal Environments
Coastal Environment Monitoring
Coastal environment monitoring, Citizen Science Project
Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models and AI to predict extreme weather events
We use state-of-the-art NWP models in synergy with data-driven AI-based algorithms to obtain weather forecasts of extreme events with unprecedented accuracy
Downscaling of IPCC scenarios via high-resolution Numerical Weather Prediction models
We use state-of-the-art NWP models to obtain HRES climate projections of atmospheric fields (e.g. precipitations and winds) by 2100
AI-based methods and Numerical Weather Prediction models for the green energy revolution
We use state-of-the-art NWPs in concert with data-driven AI-based algorithms to obtain accurate weather forecasts of green sources (wind, solar, waves)
AI-based methods in concert with air-quality models for forecasting pollutant concentrations
We use state-of-the-art air-quality models in concert with data-driven AI-based algorithms to obtain calibrated prediction for pollutant concentrations
Research projects
Most recent research projects
- Space It Up!
Innovation and Collaboration for the Future of Space
The consortium brings together research institutions, companies, and innovation actors from across the entire Italian space sectorLeading scientist Andrea Mazzino (Head of unit)Duration 2025 - 2028Sponsors ASIFunding for the Unit 56 k€ - COMEM+
Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management
MSc in Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management is a collaboration among five universities from four countries (NO, FR, ES, IT)Leading scientist Giovanni Besio (Head of unit)Duration 2022 - 2027Sponsors ERASMUS-EMJM-UNTotal funding 4.47 M€Funding for the Institution 350 k€Funding for the Unit 350 k€ - CRESO
Rischio costiero e impatto socioeconomico a seguito dei cambiamenti climatici
Theme Climate Change and Coastal HazardsTransboundary coastal zone management under climate change conditionsLeading scientist Giovanni Besio (Head of unit)Duration 2025 - 2027Sponsors Interreg IT-FRTotal funding 1.8 M€ - RESILIENCE
Bays and estuaries resilience to climate change: morphodynamic response to extreme events
Theme Coastal Morphodynamics and EvolutionLeading scientists Andrea Margarita Lira Loarca (Collaborator), Giovanni BesioDuration 2022 - 2025Sponsors MICINNTotal funding 97.2 k€
Publications
Most recent publications
| Title | Year | Author | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turbulence-informed kinetic theory of inertial-range fibre fragmentation | 2026 | Mazzino, A. | JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS |
| SIMULATING PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING PRACTICE THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN AEROSPACE AND FLUID MECHANICS COURSES | 2026 | Guillermo Martín-Llanes; Ana S. Rivero; Alejandro López‐Ruiz; Carmen Zarzuelo | EDULEARN Proceedings |
| A hybrid decision-support framework for managing salt intrusion via controlled freshwater pulses in regulated estuaries | 2026 | Guillermo Martín-Llanes; Erwan Garel; Alejandro López‐Ruiz | Journal of Hydrology |
| FROM THEORY TO ENGINEERING PRACTICE: DEVELOPING CONTINUOUS COMPUTATIONAL NOTEBOOKS WITH MATLAB LIVE SCRIPTS | 2026 | Ana S. Rivero; Guillermo Martín-Llanes; Alejandro López‐Ruiz; Carmen Zarzuelo | EDULEARN Proceedings |
| A New Management Tool to Monitor Salinity Intrusion in the Guadiana Estuary Under Average and Extreme River Discharge Conditions | 2026 | Guillermo Martín-Llanes; Erwan Garel; Alejandro Lopez-Ruiz | Coastal Research Library |
Open data & software
Sturla MeteOcean Monitoring System
Giovanni Besio, Francesco De LeoOcean Waves and Temperature Monitoring System deployed offshore Sturla beach.
The monitoring buoy consist of a Directional Wave Spectra Barometer Drifter (DWSBD) provided by the Lagrangian Drifter Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Deployment of the instruments has been made possible by the NRRP project RAISE: Robotics and AI for Socio-economic Empowerment is an innovation ecosystem funded by the Ministry of University and Research under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP, Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.5).
Italian coastal wave climate dataset
Andrea Lira Loarca, Giovanni BesioThis dataset provides bias-adjusted wave data for 15 buoy locations along the Italian coastline, together with bias-corrected historical and future wave projections. The dataset includes corrections applied to multiple reanalysis and model sources—ERA5, CMEMS, MeteOcean-UniGe 10 km regular grid, and MeteOcean-UniGe unstructured grid.
MeteOcean wave climate and extremes statistics in the Mediterranean Sea: hindcast and multi-model ensemble of GCM-RCMs projections by 2100
Andrea Lira Loarca, Giovanni BesioMeteOcean wave climate and extremes statistics in the Mediterranean Sea.
The dataset contains statistics for significant wave height (Hs), mean wave period (Tm), peak wave period (Tp) and mean wave direction (θm) for Hindcast (1979-2005) and a multi-model ensemble of 17 EURO-CORDEX GCM-RCMs projections for the following periods: Baseline (1979-2005), Mid-century (2034-2060) for RCP 8.5, and End-of-century (2074-2100) for RCP 8.5.
MeteOcean 2D wave spectra statistics in the Mediterranean Sea: multi-model ensemble of GCM-RCMs projections by 2100
Andrea Lira Loarca, Giovanni BesioMeteOcean 2D wave spectra statistics in the Mediterranean Sea.
The dataset contains statistics for bias-adjusted 2D wave spectra for a multi-model ensemble of 17 EURO-CORDEX GCM-RCMs projections for the following periods: Baseline (1979-2005), Mid-century (2034-2060) for RCP 8.5, and End-of-century (2074-2100) for RCP 8.5 for 11 locations in the Mediterranean Sea.
