WAVE ENERGY ESTIMATION IN FOUR ITALIAN NEARSHORE AREAS

In this work, a set of analyses concerning the deep water wave power of the whole Mediterranean Sea has been carried out. These analyses cover the period from July 2009 to March 2012. Processes affecting waves as they propagate towards the coasts can modify the wave power, leading to reductions or, sometime, local enhancements due to focusing mechanisms. To quantify these processes, and thus to select the most energetic locations, numerical simulations were used to propagate the offshore time series into four selected near-shore areas. Monthly and yearly mean wave power maps are presented. Moreover some hot-spots, located at water depths in the range of 50 m to 15 m, are highlighted.