Granulometric Analysis of Sediments for Sustainable Management of Tourist Ports: The Case Study of the Interreg ECOMAP Project Tourist Marinas

Small ports such as tourist marinas play a key role in tourism in the cities of the north-central Adriatic Sea. After their construction, regular maintenance activities in port areas must be associated with constant sediment monitoring, among which grain size characterization is strongly recommended. This paper presents the results of the particle size characterization of sediments collected at the three test sites in the central-northern Adriatic Sea as part of the Interreg ECOMAP Project. The investigated areas are Marina Dorica (Ancona), Porto Baseleghe (Bibione—Province of Venice) in Italy, and Spinut Marina (Split) in Croatia. This study suggests that the shape of the harbor strongly influences the particle size distribution of sediment in the port areas under study. This may also have a direct impact on the accumulation of pollutants in different areas of the harbors due to the toxic and long-lasting effects of the contaminants buried in them. Recreational boat careening activities can, for example, be an important source of metal contamination in marinas. Considering the main results obtained in the present study, brief guidelines are proposed for a cost-effective and fast monitoring of tourist ports.