Towards an operational modelling for coastal zones management: the example of Marennes-Oleron Bay (France)

An operational modelling strategy has been implemented for Marennes-Oleron bay (France) within the OPCOM European project. The strategy is based on the following points: i) definition of the objectives of an operational model based on inquiries among potential end-users and decision-makers, ii) implementation and validation of TELEMAC2D software to simulate the hydrodynamism and the transport of suspended and dissolved matter, iii) development of an interface between the model outputs and a Geographic Informations System (GIS) to enable the visualisation and the analysis of the model results. The spatial and temporal variability of basic parameters - current velocity and direction, water elevation, salinity, was therefore assessed through several simulations based on different scenarios of wind, tidal coefficient and river freshwater flows. The model outputs were imported in a GIS and statistical tools implemented in order to combine the information yielded by the model with other existing information and to help in coastal zone management.