Operational hydrodynamic modeling as a tool to predict risks on underwater cultural heritage sites. Demonstration for the Algarve Coast.

Submerged underwater cultural heritage (UCH) provides insight into past human behavior and history and thus the preservation of these artifacts at the site of discovery is crucial. However, marine environmental conditions such as physical, chemical, and biological processes directly impact the degradation of these underwater historical sites. Under the frame of the Horizon Europe project THETIDA (Technologies and methods for improved resilience and sustainable preservation of underwater and coastal cultural heritage to cope with climate change, natural hazards and environmental pollution), which runs between 2023 and 2026, the current work aims to demonstrate the suitability of process-based numerical models to (1) predict in real-time hazards threatening UCH sites associated with currents and sediment abrasion and (2) to estimate the risks associated with these oceanic conditions. This general approach is demonstrated for the Coast of Algarve (southern coast of Portugal), focusing specifically on the B-24 wreck. This WWII bomber airplane rests on the bottom of the coastal shelf at 20 m deep and approximately three kilometers offshore of Praia de Faro. The methodology couples a wave model (SWAN) to an existing operational hydrodynamic system SOMA powered by the MOHID model, which will provide inputs to run a non-cohesive sediment transport model. In-situ measurements and laboratory experiments will be used to determine deterioration rates that will provide insights into risk categorization and impacts on UCH sites. The final product will be a demonstrative operational ocean model for UCH management, assessment, and emergency response.

Acknowledgement: This research has been funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under THETIDA project (Grant Agreement No. 101095253) (Technologies and methods for improved resilience and sustainable preservation of underwater and coastal cultural heritage to cope with climate change, natural hazards and environmental pollution). The authors also acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), under the project LA/P/0069/2020 granted to the Associate Laboratory ARNET and UID/00350/2020 CIMA (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDP/00350/2020).