Outline of marine currents in the bay of naples and some considerations on pollutant transport

Summary Many T, S, O₂, marine currents and meteorological data, observed with modern techniques and instruments, have been collected by the Institute of Meteorology and Oceanography in the Bay of Naples from 1977 on. Even, if the variability was large, some flow patterns were recognized as well as changes in the trend of currents: a periodicity of 3 to 7 days resulted all the year round with an oscillation of about 18 hours superimposed on it in summertime. The flow patterns resulted from current records and water mass analysis. When the open sea currents are flowing to SE the inner waters of the bay are cut off in a slow cyclonic gyre which leaves the coastal waters in a still slower motion making high pollutant concentration possible. The open sea currents flowing toward NW have branches entering into the bay which provide a fair renaewal of waters. The knowledge we have now of the South-Tyrrhenian surface marine currents indicates prevailing NW flow, hence giving one element in favour of a more or less active renewal of the waters in the bay. NE and WSW winds provided two simple models of water moving from the East coast toward the open sea: the former following the stress of the wind and the latter following the piling up of water along the coastal area. Paper presented at the 1° Congresso del Gruppo Nazionale per la Fisica del-l'Atmosfera e dell'Oceano, Roma, June 19–22, 1984.